Million Signatures

Archive for March 4th, 2010

The idea of being customer service and customer satisfaction oriented is not a new paradigm in the business world.  Even in businesses that are not directly working with the public, the idea of structuring the company to satisfy the needs of the people that make it possible for the company to stay in business – it’s customers – is a core value for a large percentage of businesses, especially those that are successful.

But there are segments of every business that have no contact with customers so it is difficult for them to develop a customer service mentality.  And if the business itself is not structured to deal with the public or have conventional “customers”, that approach to the business world can be lacking in the workplace.  That is why a big business trend in all type of business settings is to change the work ethic internally so that workers view those who use their work as customers.

When properly implemented, each employee actually begins to view each other, their bosses and especially people who rely on their work in other departments as customers or clients. In theory, this approach has as its objective to build that customer service mentality even in workers for whom the outcome of their work is only for internal

departments or other workers in the company.

Its an innovate approach to changing the corporate culture of any business.  By altering the mindset especially of an office worker to that of someone who comes to work with that entrepreneurial or retail oriented outlook, the employee is freed to become more creative, more aggressive about completing quality work for their “customers” and get a greater feeling of satisfaction from satisfying their internal customers.

It’s a noble effort to try to alter the traditional culture of an office based business setting.  The traditional culture of a “cubicle farm” type of office setting often resembles the comic strip Dilbert.   That strip can be painful to read if you are a manager trying to keep a creative and proactive team moving forward in a business setting.  But Dilbert does point out some of the communication problems that are common in an office setting.  The distrust of management, the tendency by employees to drift toward unproductive attitudes and behavior and the low morale of many office settings is lampooned by the strip.

The client coworker business concept attempts to empower the employee to strive to perform to his or her best even when only performing duties for the department or another department internal to the company.  The client customer model calls for viewing that other department as a customer and providing customer service to that internal relationship with the same “eager to please” attitude that is necessary when serving external customers whose revenue drives the company.

There are some real values to be had by introducing a customer service attitude even to internal support functions within the company.  When combined with other empowering techniques such as process improvement and open communications with all levels of management, it can unify an office and put some real life into your staff.

However, the negatives of the client customer model have to be avoided.  This approach can create animosity between coworkers and hard feelings when one employee feels that he or she is not being treated like a customer by another.  The client customer model can create distance between peer employees and reduce comradery which has a great deal of value in a team oriented corporate culture.  But a wise manager can implement the client customer model to a business setting and harvest from it the productivity gains while skillfully avoiding the pitfalls.

Much has been said and written about the globalization of the marketplace in the new century. More and more, business no longer sees their markets as limited to their community, state or even this country. To be successful in the new world economies, we have to see our markets as international if for no other reason than that our competition and our customers are seeing these markets.

The press likes to make a fuss about the effect of international trade on the national workforce. While that is a concern, the old axiom that every problem represents an opportunity applies well to this business paradigm. If we as business people begin to see the international business community as our opportunity to tap into markets and revenue streams otherwise unimaginable in another market environment, we can capture a new profitability that can come with success in those markets.

However, doing business in foreign markets demands some changes to how we go about structuring our contracts and sales and distribution networks. One of the most explosive markets that is just beginning to become available to western businesses are the wealthy cultures of the Middle East. With the explosion of the Dubai projects and the westernization of many of the Middle East cultures, it is becoming possible to “go retail in Riyadh” if we are willing to learn the culture and how to approach those markets. To do so, the following constraints should be taking into consideration.

§ Middle East markets are self protecting. Many Middle East countries restrict commerce to occur only between business entities within the country. This can be worked around utilizing partnerships with local businesses who can bring in your product and create a local franchise. The business is still yours, as are the profits, but the localization of your presence in a Middle East economy is set up to honor these restrictions.

§ Middle East markets work under Islamic Law. There will be interruptions for daily prayer and for Islamic holidays that you will be expected to honor. So be prepared to be respectful of these customs. Also be sensitive that nothing in your product offerings makes reference to other religious viewpoints. This is not being timid about our own culture. It is just being savvy about how to work profitably in an Islamic culture.

§ Distribution and management must be internationalized. You probably will not be able to set up a warehouse in the middle of Saudi Arabia with your company name on it. Because of the local bias of the states where you want to do business, take advantage of any existing distribution channels that go through Europe or other surrounding countries to route your product to the Middle East and turn over ownership, management and distribution of the product within the Middle East to your Arabic partners before the product enters the country. This careful set up of your network will pay off in the long run.

§ There are friends and enemies in the Middle East. Many fear doing business in the Middle East because of dangers due to recent conflicts. Just be aware that the west has many allies in these countries and there is a desire to partner with us within the more sophisticated economies in the Middle East. By taking care as you forge your relationships and using local wisdom to craft your business dealings, you can do business in the Middle East safely and profitably.

These are significant issues when considering whether it is time for your company to start offering your products and services to the wealthy nations of the Middle East. But if the time has come that your business is ready to start building those international commerce channels, the results can be tremendously profitable for your bottom line. The investment is worth the effort if the business structures are developed wisely.