Wednesday 8th July 2009 by Lawrence Clarke
It's been a long two days in Bournemouth meeting a spectrum of businesses already trying out social media or thinking of giving it a go – so it was nice to end the day with Serena Everton, the Head of eCommerce at AllSaints Retail, saying I'd given her 'the best piece of advice of all'. And what was that advice? If you're in the retail sector especially, don't attempt to engage with social media initiatives if your business is not already truly customer-focused.
What is a customer-focused business?
Sounds obvious but I guess that's the point about an outsider looking in and commenting on what those in the front line wrestle with on a daily basis. So what is SiftGroups' benchmark for a customer-focused online retailer? In the UK it has to be asos and in the US zappos. Hearing first-hand from Gary Mudie IT Director at asos and Tony Hseih (pronounced 'shay') CEO of zappos it's clear that if the culture of the business is not completely aligned with the customer at its heart, then engaging in social media can be a truly risky endeavour.
For Hseih there is only one focus – company culture. In the context of Web 2.0 being transformational, here is a guy whose company from day one was designed to be transformational and not replicate business norms.
Started in 1999 as an online shoe retailer, zappos's turnover last year was over $1 billion. Zappos's differentiator is service and quality. As Hseih puts it, you can only run a business based on two out of three possibilities: Great service, great product or low price. His great service is based on conversations between his customer service people, available 24/7/365, and anyone, not just those looking to buy.
The reason Hseih's focus is on getting the culture right is that the behaviour of his employees is based on a complete understanding of the business and its objectives, so each person can take initiatives that should always be right for the business without the need to reference a 'higher authority'. Every manager is encouraged to spend 20 per cent of their time outside the office with other employees. "You get more productivity working with a friend than working with a co-worker." If you want to be a zappos employee you have to sign up to the culture as defined in the culture book. Failure to comply, for example, behaving arrogantly, is a fireable offence.
Does your business have these core values?
So how do you compare to zappos's core values, which define their culture, brand and business strategies?
- Deliver 'WOW' Through Service
- Embrace and Drive Change
- Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
- Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
- Pursue Growth and Learning
- Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
- Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
- Do More With Less
- Be Passionate and Determined
- Be Humble
Here are SiftGroups's:
- One team
- Open, honest, trusting, respectful
- 'Get the job done', responsible, ownership, committed
- Empowered, pro-active
- Business-savvy – profitable, ambitious, professional, understand value-add
- Listening
- Provide excellent customer service
- Learning, changing, evolving
- 'Great place to work'
... and what about your vision? Here is zappos's:
One day, 30 per cent of all retail transactions in the US will be online. People will buy from the company with the best service and the best selection. Zappos.com will be that company.
... and SiftGroups's:
To be the first-port-of-call in our chosen sectors for organisations looking to maximize their online potential.
How do you measure your customer service?
If your customer service people answer 'yes' to any one of these questions, you're not in the same place as Hseih:
- Do you use a script?
- Are conversations timed?
- Are you goaled to up-sell?
- Are you discouraged from recommending a competitor?
... and perhaps more importantly, you are not in a good position to reap the rewards of social media ... of which more another time.
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