Customer-Centric Organizations Presented By: Jolie Duncan Lauren Balliet What is Customer Centricity? “An approach to doing business in which a company focuses on creating a positive consumer experience at the point of sale and post-sale. A customer-centric approach can add value to a company by differentiating themselves from competitors who do not offer the same experience.” What is Customer Centricity? Emphasis on superior quality of service and customer relations Time spent visiting with customers and listening to them Examining customer and market issues-trends, needs, opportunities Creating value for the customer and value for the firm Employees are advocates for the customer The Starbucks Experience “Expect more than coffee” Focus on the entire coffehouse experience The Three P’s: People, Place, Product “When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection.” The Starbucks Experience “Hi, Welcome to Starbucks. What Can We Do for You?” “Bottom line is we can’t exceed expectations of shareholders unless we exceed the expectations of customers first. And we do both by inspiring our partners and refocusing them on the customer.” The Ritz Carlton Gold Standards "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.“ Three Steps Of Service A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest's name. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest's needs. Fond farewell. Give a warm good-bye and use the guest's name. The Ritz Carlton Gold Standards Service Values: I Am Proud To Be Ritz-Carlton I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests for life. I am always responsive to the expressed and unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests. I am empowered to create unique, memorable and personal experiences for our guests. I understand my role in achieving the Key Success Factors, embracing Community Footprints and creating The RitzCarlton Mystique. I continuously seek opportunities to innovate and improve The Ritz-Carlton experience. The Ritz Carlton Gold Standards I own and immediately resolve guest problems. I create a work environment of teamwork and lateral service so that the needs of our guests and each other are met. I have the opportunity to continuously learn and grow. I am involved in the planning of the work that affects me. I am proud of my professional appearance, language and behavior. I protect the privacy and security of our guests, my fellow employees and the company's confidential information and assets. I am responsible for uncompromising levels of cleanliness and creating a safe and accident-free environment. Best Buy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ5qWtlQmZE Best Buy "If we do nothing, Wal-Mart will surpass us by the simple fact that they open more stores than we do each year. There is no point in trying to compete on price.” Decentralization: “Instead of head office telling the store what to do, it would be the store asking what it can do in assisting its customers” Focus on five customer segments (at least one per each store) Best Buy Five customer segments: Swinging single professional Gadgeteers Cherry pickers Affluent soccer moms Small business How Does It Apply to Libraries? “Almost everyone who enters library/information service does so, in part, because of a strong drive to serve or help people.” How Does It Apply to Libraries? Front line staff are in charge of innovation Effective immediately Instability equals safety Patrons are our partners Nottingham Trent University Customer Value Discovery Workshops Customers prioritize values Resulted in redirecting funding to value added services Increased customer satisfaction in all cases “You Asked” and “We Responded” Licensed additional e-journals for 24/7 access Created a user friendly interface to the online catalogue and website Color zoning across the library Annual customer service training and staff development Revised student charter to reflect values identified by students Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Electronic and eye-catching signs Open layout conducive to browsing Coffee shop More teen space Elimination of jargon Maps and information at “break points” Now You Respond . . . How can you apply some of the corporate ideas of customer centricity to libraries? Have you seen any of these concepts already in action in a library setting (other than Nottingham Trent and CLP)? Most libraries use the terms “users” or “patrons.” Do you think it is important to switch our thinking and use the term “customer”? Resources (2003). Developing customer-centric employees at Ritz-Carlton Hotels.Training Strategies for Tomorrow, 17(1), 2731. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global. (2006). Designing Better Libraries: An Approach to Customer-Centric Innovation Retrieved from http://dbl.lishost.org Customer centric definition . Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com Dion, James. Is Your Store Customer-Centric? Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com Hanft, Adam. (2005). What You Can Learn from Starbucks. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com McKnight, S., & Berrington, M. (2008). Improving customer satisfaction: Changes as a result of customer value discovery. Evidence Based Library & Information Practice, 3(1), 33-52. Retrieved from Directory of Open Access Journal. Reiss, R. (2009). How the Rtiz stays at the top. Forbes Magazine. http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/30/simoncooper-ritz-leadership-ceonetwork-hotels.htmll Rossi, Karen. (2006). Customer-centric. Library Journal.com. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com The Ritz Carlton corporate website. http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/Default.htmm Schwartz, Paul. (2008). What IS the Starbucks Customer Experience? Retrieved from http://customeru.wordpress.com Shah, D., Rust, R., Parasuraman, A., Staelin, R & Day, G. (2006). The path to customer centricity. Journal of Service Research, 9(2), 113-124. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global. Smith, Steve. (2004). Best Buy gives details on “customer centricity” Retrieved from http://www.twice.com Starbucks corporate website. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/