We all know that doctors relay on vital signs in order to understand how ill a patient
is and what the causes might be. Pulse rate, blood pressure, pain levels,
states of consciousness, visual clues to physical trauma etc. They all help
diagnosis and treatment.
Businesses also have vital signs. There are the obvious ones
that the financial investors and senior managers tend to focus heavily on.
Revenue, profit, levels of debt, business costs etc.
And there are other ones as well that often give some really insightful
clues about the underlying health of a business. Here are three really obvious
ones:
How many of
your staff buy your products? If you sell Rolls Royce’s then the answer is probably going to
be ‘not many!’ Understandable. But if you’re in a mass market business such as
insurance then the answer you should be looking for is almost all of them. And
not just a product. There should be
several products. If your staff are not buying your products then it begs the
question of whether the products are actually any good, or just how motivated
your staff are in selling stuff they themselves won’t buy. There’s a well
proven and powerful relationship between business success and staff product
advocacy based on their own purchase of these products. Staff who place
personal value in the things they sell will do so in a much more engaging and
authentic manner than those who are simply trying to hit volume targets for
some commodity tey care nothing about.
The frequency
and depth of contact between your senior managers and real customers. If your
senior managers are insulated from direct customer contact by layers of reports
and subordinate managers then you’re probably in trouble. Managers who manage
without having an intimate understanding of their customers’ needs, wants and
desires simply do not have the customer credentials needed to be a true
customer focused company. Whether it’s arrogance, lack of moral courage or just
laziness, shame on you for letting this happen.
The size of
the gap between what you say and what you do. You may say that you’re ‘customer
centric’ and that you’re committed to delivering a great experience for your
customers – but if you then focus on the minutiae of process and targets and bureaucracy
and authority and penny pinching – don’t be surprised of no-one really believes
you when you say you care about your customers. Don’t be surprised if your
staff don’t embrace the latest service strap lined issued by head office.
What vital signs are you missing?
