This year's 1to1 Impact Award winners faced many internal and external struggles when implementing their customer initiatives. Here, executives from Procter & Gamble, Westpac, La Redoute, and Voices.com offer some advice based on their experiences.
How do you keep employees engaged and customer-focused over the
long term?
Westpac has implemented a customer-focused strategy of "Ask Once." We want our customers to only have to "ask once" for a home loan, credit card, or to speak to a specialist or have a problem resolved. We want to go further and understand our customers' financial needs, provide value-added solutions, and build long-term relationships with our customers. By solving this challenge, we would be able to equip our employees with the capabilities and tools needed to meet customer needs and make "Ask Once" a reality.
This strategy is supported by a sales management discipline called "Westpac Way" to generate superior sales and profit growth. This ensures bankers have more meaningful interactions with customers, so that we can better understand their needs and help build long-term relationships, which in turn keeps employees engaged and focused over the long term.
-- Rob Craig
General Manager of Enterprise Channels and Infrastructure
Westpac Banking Corp.
La Redoute works together as a close team focused on common objectives. All of our employees recognize that they play an integral role in La Redoute's customer interaction. This shared knowledge excites and motivates us to continually focus on how we can best communicate and provide the highest level of service to our customers.
-- Victor Essoka
Senior Vice President and General Brand Manager
La Redoute
What advice would you give to marketers about using customer strategy to make an impact on the bottom line?
I would say treat each customer uniquely, and understand that each has specific needs. They're coming to you for solutions to whatever problem they might have. Also, be flexible. Understand that their needs are unique to them, and tailor whatever you have to offer around wherever they're at. That's everything from going the extra mile to offering discounted rates or flexible payment terms. I think that those are just small ways to meet those customer needs. But also explore tools and best practices that vendors and partners have to offer. Utilize the knowledge of other people within the industry.
-- David Ciccarelli
CEO
Voices.com
This experience has been a challenging but rewarding one. Beneficial learnings include the rigor which should be applied to gaining employee support so that the change management journey is successful.
-- Rob Craig, Westpac
The customer has always been in control. In today's Internet connected world, they clearly express their control. Embrace each customer -- listen to their needs, let them influence your product or service design, and put them at the core of all your companies strategies.
-- Randy Peterson
Search Marketing Innovation Manager
Procter & Gamble
Listen to more of this year's winners from Travelocity, Honeywell, AT&T, Sylvan Learning, Earthlink, US Bank, and others in the 1to1 on the Run podcast, " What It Takes to Make an Impact."