Hands down there is nothing more frustrating than to have manufacturing or operations make a mistake on the very first customer order or interaction. Despite the effort and investment to attract a new client, it only takes a minor error to completely destroy the customers experience and erase and positive impressions they might have had.
In business, individuals in marketing or selling have an outward focus placed on identifying and capitalizing on that which the customer values. Those in operations or manufacturing however have an inward focus centered on productivity and efficiency. Explained another way, the responsibility of Sales is to attract and close new customers while Operations delivers the customer’s product or service as fast and efficiently as possible, minimizing costs along the way. These opposing viewpoints result in what I call the Customer Value Disconnect, or C.V.D. for short.
Fortunately to close the C.V.D. gap is not as difficult as you might think and is somewhat counterintuitive to conventional thinking. The key is in shifting Operational perspectives around what it is that customers value.
There are a few critical questions that can support diminishing C.V.D. and bring about a broader perspective on what it means to satisfy customers. Here are the three most critical:
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