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Do You Have a Chief Serving Officer?

Guest post by: Roy Osing

Article Overview: If Serving Customers is so critical to creating customer loyalty (and it is) why is the chair vacant at the executive table?

Do You Have a Chief Serving Officer?

It seems that the 'Chief' designation is well used in organizations these days: Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Marketing Officer are but a few positions that carry this prestigious Tag.

The Serving side of a business (some call it the Service side) gets short shrift however. Very few companies have established a Chief of this side of the business. The CSO, Chief Serving Officer, must in my view be established in any organization who has a strategy to acquire and retain loyal customers. This is a huge mistake! If Serving is a critical component of your strategy you need single finger accountability to a senior executive for the flawless delivery of Core Service and the creation of Dazzling Customer Experiences.

Diluting the responsibility across the organization will simply not work. It won't get the attention required. Nor the Focus. It requires a Champion who can sit in Executive Team Meetings and hammer the table when actions in the organization are preventing Raving Customer Fans from being secured.

Here's the CSO Position Description:

> Create a Service Strategy for the organization.

> EXECUTE the Service Strategy.

> Be accountable for the results of the Service Strategy.

> Define Core Service for the firm and put in place the necessary tactics and program to deliver it at a satisfactory level 24X7.

> Re-engineer customer serving processes from the customer's point of view.

> Strike the Dazzling Serving Recovery Strategy for your company. Recovering from your Serving Blunders builds loyalty. Its a critical piece of Strategy.

> Develop the ABSOLUTELY-MUST-HAVE-WILL-TAKE-NOTHING-LESS competencies of Frontline positions.

> Define the recruitment process to be used in bringing on Customer Servers.

> Empower the Frontline to bed the rules on the customer's behalf.

> Insist that all leaders in the Serving Organization participate in 360 Degree Performance Feedback.

> Get the value of the Frontline Leader position re-valued in the organization to be THE MOST STRATEGIC POSITION EVER.

> Be the ultimate guardian of MOMENTS OF TRUTH with customers. Watch them. Evaluate them. Improve them. Coach. Coach. Coach.

> KILL DUMB RULES. The internal rules and policies that infuriate customers.

> Set up Dumb Rules Committees throughout the organization to seek out and cleanse the internal environment of stuff that makes no sense to customers.

> Be THE Advocate for the Frontline. Protect them. Nurture them. Celebrate with them. Help them. Be the Do-whatever-it-takes person to make sure they can delight customers.

> Set up Customer Feedback Panels to hear the truth about how you serve them. Get the CEO involved as well. The entire Executive Team. Leaders need to hear how your Serving is perceived.

> MEASURE. MEASURE. MEASURE. Analyze service results monthly. Take improvement action on shortfalls from objectives. Celebrate success. Honor people.

> Post Serving Results all over the place.

> Assume the role of Chief Storytelling Officer. Get out in front of people with stories that breathe life in the Service Strategy.

> Pay homage to Service Heroes. Know who they are and the names of their kids.

> Establish an Internal Serving Measurement System. Measure the quality of Serving provided among internal suppliers and customers.

These are STRATEGIC Acts that must be performed to BE DiFFERENT in Serving Customers and dominating your competition. Put a CSO in place to make it happen.

Cheers, Roy

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Article Tags: customer service, leadership, serving customers
Referred by: http://www.starrbizz.com



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