How to Focus On Customer’s Need To Help Them
Do right by your customer
Have you ever had to choose between doing the ‘correct thing’ and doing the ‘right thing’, when working on a customer situation?
Confused? I am talking about finding and applying the correct technical solution to a problem versus doing the right thing by your customer.
In the context of problem-solving, what does taking the correct action mean?
- You look for the cause
- Search for an immediate solution
- Apply the fix
- Prepare a root cause analysis
- Plan for a long term solution
- Take other corrective actions to prevent a recurrence of the problem
What does taking the right action mean? It is the intense focus on the customer’s business and working with a burning, single track desire to get them back online immediately.
Salesforce defines customer focus as that which “involves concentrating on how every interaction helps the customer”. Getting the customer’s business back online is a supercritical part of that interaction.
In my career, I have seen these types of situations develop many times and the dilemma the service provider runs into each time. I will use one example, as it stood out, to delineate the issues we faced, and the approaches we took.
An approach to solving any issue
In analyzing any problem, a methodology that can be used is the ‘Six Thinking Hats’, developed by Dr. Edward De Bono.
- White Hat — Focus on the available data. Fill in the gaps or take them into account.
- Red Hat — Use your intuition and emotion to look at the problem.
- Black Hat — Look at the plan’s potential negative outcomes and get prepared.
- Yellow Hat — Look at the plan’s positive outcomes.
- Green Hat — Develop creative solutions.
- Blue Hat — Process control, Management.
Many organizations tend to use Step 6 right after Step 1, and then use it again at the end. This approach is critical in our particular study.
Instead of waiting until the end, you need to determine upfront the goal that is sought. The solution then gets fixed and its disadvantages and advantages can be analyzed. The process control step used at the beginning helps you decide between the two approaches — correct vs right.
The crisis
In our example, a technological glitch with a large database had started the problem. What seemed to be a simple situation at first, became larger than anticipated and therefore, was longer and impactful. A performance problem was noticed by the end-users, an investigation showed that an error was thrown and it was assumed that there was a bug fix that needed to be identified and applied.
As it turned out, it was not that simple. The environment was complex with multiple levels of technology.
This was further complicated by the fact that there were several parties involved such as the customer, the IT department serving the customer, the IT integrator (us), the application developers who also managed the databases, their parent company, and the database vendor.
When this happens, each party tends to bring their biases and controls into the situation.
The first approach taken by everyone was to solve the technical issue. This was acceptable at first, but when the problem persisted for days, it was clear that we had to look at it differently. However, for those who were struggling it with from the beginning, it was not easy to let go of what they were already doing.
This is something that happens to the best of us. Even under dire situations, whether in a profession or in personal relationships, we are reluctant to sacrifice the efforts we have put into a particular approach and take up an alternate method. This happens because we are invested too much into the effort placed and not as much into the goal.
Executive buy-in
When I joined the group to try and solve the problem, a week had been lost already and the customer, a large insurance company, had lost a significant amount of revenue. Emotions were running high.
I walked into the CEO’s office shortly after, as the lead person to resolve the problem. His question was simple: “My business is suffering. What is your plan to fix this immediately?”
My question back to him was “Do you want me to solve your technical problem or bring your business back online?”
In most cases, these options are the same. The ability to see when it is different is critical.
I knew my answer. I needed to hear his.
His reply matched mine: “Bring the business back online”. Fortunately, he was able to see the difference as well.
I asked him if his organization would follow exactly what I told them to do. Not only did he agree, but he also assigned his senior IT director to work with me directly.
This changed our approach completely. Not only did we have customer buy-in, we had their support as well to make it happen.
With this, you can go back to the drawing board and come up with a new strategy. Your initial data would not have changed, so the white hat information will remain valid. But your mindset would have changed and you can start steps 2, 3, and 4 with a new outcome in mind.
Get the team on board
The next step is to get the team to agree to the new strategy. Typically, the people involved in attacking an issue are also of many types. In our case, we had hands-on engineers, service line managers, senior technology resources, executive management, and the customer.
When you have many parties involved, it is no easy task. Especially if they are vested in a particular approach or solution. In our case, it was solved by the CEO’s buy-in. So, an executive sponsor is critical in getting the team on board with the new strategy.
I presented my preliminary solution to the problem we faced. The IT director, a veteran of the customer company, knew far more than I did about his application and users. He made critical suggestions and helped adjust the strategy. Working together late into the night, we came up with a plan that would bring the customer’s business online the next morning.
We worked with the team next. Once they were engaged, further adjustments were made and the plan was rolled out. It worked and thousands of new policies that had been put on hold were cleared the next day.
Avoid the blame game
In a highly volatile situation, it is easy to start looking at who to blame rather than solving the problem at hand. This has to be avoided at all costs.
Not only is it harmful to the common goal, but it also makes people hide critical information or step up with an admission. This can lead to a prolonging of the situation.
Keep the focus fully on the customer’s needs.
Focused action gets you the freedom to do other things
Here is an interesting benefit. Contrary to what some may think, the single-track focus to get the business online actually gives you the freedom to work on other things, including finding a technical solution. It also allows you to work in a less stressful environment which helps you become more creative.
In our example, it freed us up from the pressure of mounting revenue losses and the stress that it brought. The result was, that within the next 24 hours, we were able to identify the source of the problem and create a permanent fix, test, and roll it out.
Making the right decision
Would we have been better off making this decision on the approach right off the bat?
This would be true only if the two approaches are distinctly separate. In many, if not most, the two are either identical or are very close. Then, the decision of fixing the issue is almost the same as the one of bringing the business back online.
In some cases, the distinction is very obvious. As an example, aged hardware that is out of support may have gone down. There is very little chance of fixing the technical issue and you are better off going after an alternate approach immediately.
In some cases, like ours, it is not so obvious in the beginning. Here, you would likely start by working on the technical solution. This is acceptable. But, once it is clear that it is not going to work, you have to change tacks fast. This has to be decisive. An executive sponsor is critical in this regard.
How quickly do you decide?
“When people are put in a familiar situation, their decisions are often fast and automatic, based on longtime experience with what works and what doesn’t.” — Psychology Today
A major problem is not likely to be something that you are familiar with. If it is a known problem, then the path is typically well set. Where it is not, your decision making becomes difficult.
“However, when encountering a situation they’ve never been in before, they have to take time to weigh the potential benefits and risks when choosing a course of action. They are more likely to make mistakes and face negative consequences.” — Psychology Today
A focus on your customer should help you not only make the decision but make it as soon as it makes sense.
There is a drawback to abandoning a technical solution too quickly — a hurry to get business on track may mean that technical resolution is lost and more dangerously prevention of recurrence may not be put in place. This has to be weighed when making the decision.
Conclusion
So, what are the steps that you should take?
- Get the right perspective
The best option is to see it from the customer’s perspective. This empathy will go a long way in not only solving the issue but in gaining and retaining the customer’s trust. Your organization’s position must also be factored into this.
- Make the call
Understanding the issue and making the right call at the right time comes only with experience. But when you see the need for it, be decisive.
- Assemble the team
Assembling the right team is important. It is not just technical savvy or business suave — the team has to have an understanding of both and strike the right balance. Avoid placing blame on anyone.
- Find a leader
Find a person who can lead the new approach without the baggage of the previous one. This is best done by bringing someone from the outside, but in some cases, you can find someone internal who can do that.
- Execute
This is not as easy as it sounds. Other then bruised egos, you have to deal with financial implications, second-guessing, pressure from different parties, and so on. You have to be decisive and ruthless, by keeping only the end in sight.
With the right mindset, sponsor and team, the right approach becomes easy to take and helps get your customer’s business and therefore yours back online quickly.