February 9, 2010

Do you speak ‘Customerese’?

When it comes to deciding whether or not your organization is REALLY customer-focused, obsessed, intimate, centric, or whatever other description you wish to use, you simply need to listen to your internal language.

Do the people in the organization speak Customerese? Does the customer vocabulary reflect the customer-serving philosophy of a BE DiFFERENT culture?

When it comes to truly existing for the customer, language speaks to intent and behavior and makes a difference; in the BE DiFFERENT garden, a rose is NOT a rose by any other name.

Off the top, i can think of a number of customer-intended words that are used in a variety of businesses. Do any of them resonate with you?

Passengers… readers… donors… callers… golfers… players… patients… calls… transactions… students.. cruisers… skiers… riders… pensioners… retirees… are common references made to the entity that generates revenue for your organization, be it for-profit or not-for-profit.

Question is, do these references shout out reverence for these wonderful people that create meaningful work for us? I don’t think so. They appear in most cases to be labels that talk to the activity that they engaged in rather that a unique person who has needs, wants, and desires that should be served. In fact this vocabulary actually gets in the way - it side-tracks us - from our behavior to serve and create dazzling experiences for people who return the favor with their continued loyalty.

Referring to a customer as a ‘call to be processed’, for example, suggests that the right behavior is to deal with what the person wants and then get rid of them as quickly as possible. A ‘student’ is there to learn what you teach them; a ‘patient’ receives the medical treatment decided by the medical practioner and the donor gives money to the charity asking for it.

All of this customer slang language describes the customer on the receiving end of organizational behavior rather than on the front end shaping what the behavior should be.

BE DiFFERENT organizations put the customer in the control position and exist to serve them in a way that respects their individuality, delights them with the service experience provided to them and honors them for deciding to do business with them as opposed to the other choices they have.

There will be some that say it really doesn’t matter what you call them and that it is merely semantics. Ask a student if they feel like a customer to the education system and is able to get a personalized approach to learning; ask a patient if their Doctor makes them feel special with a dazzling bed-side manner or ask a passenger on an airliner if the service staff ‘exists’ for them. I rest my case.

Customerese will not on its own create a customer-inspired organization, but it is a step in the right direction.

Remove any industry-speak language in you vocabulary and start referring to the objects of your affection as CUSTOMERS. Tell your employees why you are making the shift; explain the BE DiFFERENT cultural drivers behind your actionsand use the change as an opportunity to declare the customer-sering behaviors you expect to see.

Oh, one other thing, be ready for intense push-back. Some Doctors, for example, like ‘patients’ because it sustains their superior position. Be tenacious, hoever, and don’t relent. This is the right thing to do and your customers will thank you for it.

Cheers, Roy

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Posted 2.9.10 at 12:30 pm by Roy Osing | Read Comments (0) | Leave a Comment