By Dale Wolf
The relentless pursuit of perfection is about base hits that roll up to become homeruns. The war on imperfection is achieved by enterprise team members who in some small way, continuously push their work day-by-day to the next level. It is the direct result of a disciplined culture that silently, every day works at getting better. It is a process of tweaking and tuning. It is a process of simplification through innovation that enables us to deliver a better, more perfect customer experience.
This is cultural and often unarticulated. It is very difficult for competitors to duplicate. Sure, they might rip off an idea here or there from such a creative organization, but they cannot rip out the heart that drives toward perfection.
When this pursuit is aimed at providing customers more value, the organization attracts more customers and holds on to those it already has. This calls for simple, straight-forward problem solving – done from a customer point of view.
The truth today is that business is about customers. Some might claim it’s always been so, or at least since Peter Drucker made his observation years ago. But the intensity level of this commitment to customers is now dialed up to its highest-ever volume. Business managers tuned into this high volume discussion know that it is no longer about products and features. Customers want solutions to their problems. They want real value.
From its beginning nearly 40 years ago, Cincom has seen the link between simplicity and innovation to provide customers with a better experience than they could get at any other software company. Our associates have a legendary commitment to solve problems for clients who are harnessed by complex, labor intensive processes and make these problems go away. Working hand-in-hand with our clients, we enable them to deliver better customer experiences. Our clients are some of the fastest growing and most profitable in their industries.
I look around Cincom and see smart, clever people working every day to improve how our clients get their work done: ingenuity, artistry, experience and a relentless pursuit of a perfect customer experience.
§ People engineering the easiest-to-use document automation system in the world.
§ People who make the cost estimating process simpler for manufacturers of complex products.
§ People building a contact center solution conceived from ground-up to deliver a perfect customer experience.
§ People dedicated to reducing complex marketing processes into a series of replicable and scalable best practices, to achieve better results with less effort and expense.
§ People who are inventing new ways for hospital admissions staff to improve the experience for patients while improving the financial outcome for the hospital.
§ People who make it easier for IT staff to create new applications or to manage legacy technology systems.
It is the sum of similar efforts that are built into a company’s heritage. The same is true for all customer-centric innovative companies in pursuit of perfection. We know perfection is a process that makes things better, little-by-little until we finally achieve the big breakthrough. It is a patient process that can be touched by anyone in an organization. It is a passionate process accomplished by many who are each masters of their part of the whole.
At this point, let me draw a distinction between two similar concepts: the first is “perfection” and the second is “the perfect customer experience.”
§ Perfection is a state of zero-defects. It is clear that “perfection” is unachievable but that its pursuit is absolutely necessary in every task we do. Otherwise, we never get better. It is hard work. It is incremental. Like the compounding of financial investments, it is built consistently across a longitudinal time frame of small victories that lead to huge leaps forward.
§ The perfect customer experience, on the other hand, is one which results in customers becoming advocates for the company; creating referral, retention and profitable growth. . “The perfect customer experience” is achievable, one customer at a time. Indeed, it is something that must be achieved if a business is to be successful.
Harrods knows the difference. This successful casino hotel relentlessly pursues perfection so that it can deliver a perfect customer experience. So does Tesco, the UK grocery chain. And Virgin Air, Harley-Davidson, The Banyan Tree, First Direct. They all pursue perfection but they absolutely deliver the perfect customer experience in large numbers. They have each discovered how to sustain competitive advantage by pleasing their customers.
The principles of this methodology are applicable to any organization. Listen. Learn. Emote. Define. Visualize. Simplify. Design. Experiment. Listen. Observe. Refine. Measure. Listen. Observe. Measure. Refine. Refine. Refine.
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