What if you thought about your colleagues … as customers?

Jody has been providing monthly data reports to top executives for years. But as the company grew, the reports contained far more data, and the executives would occasionally hint that they were less helpful than before.

Yesterday, Jody sent the longest report ever, and this morning, she got three emails. “Too much information,” one executive wrote. “Data needs to tell a story!” wrote another. “You need to do something, Jody. I can’t process your reports anymore.”

Jody is annoyed. She thinks, “I’m doing what I was asked to do – create accurate reports and deliver them on time. What do these people want, anyway?”

‘Customer-centric’

Perhaps you’ve heard the maxim: “People don’t want quarter-inch drill bits. They want to make quarter-inch holes.” In other words, they don’t want tools; they want what tools can do for them.

That’s what Jody needs to understand. The executives don’t just want data. They want insights that can improve their decision-making. As the data report ballooned, that became difficult.

So what can Jody do? It would help if she developed a “customer-centric” mindset. A customer isn’t just an outside person who buys goods or services. It’s anyone who uses what you produce. The executives who receive her data are internal customers – and Jody needs to give them insightful data reports.

Factors of satisfaction

Let’s look at some research that provides a framework for customer centricity. In the study, marketing professors at Texas Christian, Texas/Arlington, and South Florida universities surveyed 100+ “internal customers” of a purchasing department at a large manufacturing company. Their goal was to isolate the key factors that drove satisfaction.

Here’s what they came up with:

• Friendliness and courtesy
• Promptness and thoroughness
• Conscientiousness
• Value delivered
• Ability to solve problems

How might we evaluate Jody on each of these factors?

A lack of value

For the first three factors, she’d score high. Her disposition is always positive. She never misses deadlines. And deeply cares about doing a good job.

But what about value delivered? The executives, her internal customers, would give a low score because her data reports have become less valuable to them over time.

How about ability to solve problems? The executives would score her lowest here. Not only did she fail to solve the data overload problem, she seemed unaware it even existed.

Action steps

Here’s a roadmap for becoming customer-centric:

Shift your mindset

Recognize that people who use what you produce are customers and need to be treated that way. In Jody’s case, she needed to understand that her internal customers were interested in the insights the data report gave them, not the report itself.

Be a problem solver

Customers can’t always articulate their needs. Even if they could, they might not be able to explain exactly how you can meet them. Jody could add value by collaborating with executives who received her reports, combining their expertise with her own, and redesigning her reports so they’d deliver the insights the executives are looking for.

Seek ongoing feedback

Ask customers, “Are you getting what you need for me right now?” And “In the future, is there anything I can do to better to meet your needs?”

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With a customer-centric mindset, you’ll be perceived as a valued collaborator and trusted advisor by your internal customers. Your relationships — and your value to the organization — will grow.

This blog entry is adapted from the BTS Total Access micro video “How a Customer-Centric Mindset Makes You a High-Value Co-worker.”  If you’re a Total Access customer, you can watch the video here. If you’re not, but would like to see this video (or any of our other programs), request a demo and we’ll get you access.

The blog post and BTS Total Access micro video are based on the following academic research study: Marshall, G.W. et al. (1998) Exploring internal customer service quality. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 13(4/5), 381-392.