Jacob What is your go-to fast-food chain? Is it McDonald’s? Whether McDonald’s is your choice or not, the fact that they have an exceptional customer service experience makes it stand out from its competitors. The quality of products and/or service does matter alongside customer service, it is like a feather in your cap, if you’re good at it, your company will thrive. Therefore, if you strategize and shift the focus to a customer-centric business it will help you sustain better customer relations and support.
Keeping customers at the heart of everything that you do, places you in a position where your business can make customers feel satisfied, resulting in your company meeting its goals and objectives. That was exactly the case with McDonald’s; they improved their company’s customer focus which started in 2015 when Steve Easterbrook took over the company as the new CEO. Before he had the authority, McDonald’s was in fierce competition with other well-known fast-food chains like Taco Bell and Chipotle. Easterbrook knew the importance of a customer-centric company and how beneficial it can get in the long run. He introduced the culture of listening and acting over customer feedback.
Steve Easterbrook decided to work on improving the company’s customer focus by shedding light on the multiple ways a company can get customer input by making their feedback and involvement a priority. He made sure to collect customer feedback through surveys on social media. How do you think this helped the company? Well, it was one of the most thought-out powerful strategies. Customer feedback helped McDonald’s learn about the needs of their customers, which helped them identify what the customer is expecting from the company.
For instance, they realized a desire for longer opening hours and healthier menu options. Moreover, they introduced the ‘All-Day Breakfast” in some of the US stores, because they knew for a fact that customers desired it. They even started to interact in public forums with their customers, even today McDonald’s is well known for interacting with its customers on social media platforms. The adaption towards a customer-centric approach and putting efforts to pull it off had helped the company exceptionally. It made them stay ahead of their competitors and deliver customer satisfaction. That is why McDonald’s is always changing its products and services as per customer feedback, making them an example to follow by other chains. They know how to deal with customer feedback and drive their business around the data received.
To build a truly customer-focused culture, you need to understand and realize the needs of your customers. Here are the quick tips on how you can put your business into a similar action:
- Listen to your customers – customers know best, to drive sales and build success, it is vital to listen to what your customers need and change with them.
- Make space for ideas – By having an open mind, you can actually transform your company’s culture to a customer-focused culture. Build the space for new ideas, and try your best to turn those ideas into realities.
- Put down internal barriers – Your mind can either be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Put down those internal barriers blocking you from taking the next step. Work on your thinking process, your perceptions of people, and your attitude towards people. This will help you achieve great success with customers in the long run.
- Hire a customer-focused executive – An executive whose main skill is focusing on customer needs and requirements can help your business transform. Hire a customer-focused executive that will help your business listen to your customers efficiently and innovate your company with the data found.
To say the least, the culture of prioritizing customer focus is an excellent approach for businesses and companies.
