The service/ value chain

There is a saying: "If you look after your staff, they will look after your customers who will in turn look after your profits."

Business imperative and top team clarity
It is clear that unless there is business imperative for customer retention and top management is fully committed to customer care, there is little chance of success. Customer orientation needs to permeate the organisation's mission, vision, values and key objectives. It needs to be visible both in senior managers' words and deeds.

Listening posts
Organisations with the best practices actively measure both internal and external customer satisfaction. They use the data to make improvements and drive change.

Service strategy and goals
To be successful, service-orientated organisations need to have a clear strategy and a set of specific and measureable goals for service improvements.

Customer-driven processes
The way an organisation does business with its customer s should match the customer's needs, not it's own. Technology can help here as new customer channels such as internet and contact centres have brought about new ways of doing business with the customers.

People development
Everyone throughout an organisation can benefit from training and development to enhance their attitude towards the customer - their behaviour, knowledge an skills. The quality of leadership in an organisation is often an indicator of its customer orientation.

Empowerment
Giving people responsibility for decision affecting their work encourages a customer focus and ongoing improvement.

Communication
The lifeblood of an organisation, communication about customers, competitors and the best practice in customer service can help create an impetus for change.

Reward and recognition
Organisations with the best practices create a motivating climate for their employees by recognising and rewarding customer-orientated behaviour.

Sustaining a customer focus
World-class service organisation recognise the need to sustain a focus on the customer at all times.

Service quality initiatives should not be measured on a short term basis- changing the culture of an organisation is a long term process which needs to be approached on a continuous basis. Achieving improvements in service quality is a never ending journey.