The 3 benefits of connecting customers at a value level

We need to connect with our customers, our communities if we are public entities and with our business partners at a values level. When we nail this connection, we profit as organisations more than we ever dreamt of.

This is true for regional authorities as it is for any business. After all, that is why the investment in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, capturing knowledge and data and developing Customer Strategy (CX) right?

Remember we have to send our communities or our customers messages that resonate with them. So what do you value as an organisation? What do you stand for? What difference are you hoping to make in the world or in your world as an organisation? When we communicate these things in what we say and do, it resonates consciously and subconsciously with our partners, customers and the community. Getting that message wrong will cost us today and this is how…

According to the experts on customer satisfaction, we want long-term clients, partners or an engaged community. The way to get customers of value for life or engaged communities is to have folks become advocates of what you do. Why you do what you do, communicated clearly in all that you do has an impact. Simon Sinek in his famous Ted Talk about “Why?” is a good starting point to begin examining that message. Exceeding community or customer expectations will greatly impact your audience or community. However, your message is then a clear “value message” about you or what your organisation stands for. 

The key is that if you say it somewhere, such as your website or other, then you must deliver upon it. When you don’t have an aligned values set and then continue to deliver a service or product that you think matches your community or customer expectations, then get ready. That disparity will be known and broadcast somewhere. The communities we live in they will let us know on social media very quickly that you or your organisation “don’t line up” and ouch, that hurts!

What we are looking for in all of this value messaging is to find those customers that get value from what you do. That is the sweet spot for them and you and where we should focus all of our time working. That is the space where we are delivering value to them.

This is what all our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) investments are for – to enable a “customer strategy” or the Customer Experience (CX) Strategy. ERP delivers insights, data that can be examined and services can be redesigned or other to meet identified needs for goods or services that the engaged or disengaged customers or communities are wanting. 

When customers get the value you provide, they will respond with higher levels of retention, begin repurchasing from you and advocate for your services, your council, your organisation or your product. If you are a council or a regional authority then that means less pain in the community and less front page articles on where you are failing. Advocates, rather than satisfied users of your services or recipients of your goods, have in fact made the shift from being completely satisfied with you and your organisation. They move over in their mind to completely satisfied and the thought “hey this person or this organisation lines up” is something they begin to say. They  begin advocating or letting everyone they know how well you are delivering value to them from this point on, and that is what we want!

When the value exchange is in balance, the payoff is that you may not need to advertise for new business anymore or spend time remediating or engaging in efforts to help or restore your image. The resonating messages of what you value, what you stand for and the difference you can make has cut through the ether. Customers and communities come looking for those types of interactions with those sorts of organisations and when they get it, they talk only good about it – to everyone.

1. Benefit: your marketing team can now retire. 

2. Benefit: The advocate effect has cut in which effects the bottom line and community sentiment is positive. 

3. Benefit: More budget, profit or less drama in the press or spend fixing up broken projects or bad images, and that leads us all to better employment outcomes.