What works for one company may not for another.

WE ALL KNOW too well that one style of leadership is not appropriate for all employees nor for all situations. Paul Hersey writes a lot about this in his book, The Situational Leader. Customers are the same way. Each has their own needs and desires and thus require a unique approach. Companies that have just one customer service approach delight some of their customers and frustrate many others.

My good friends at Z’Onion Creative Group, who happen to be our external marketing department at Mission Facilitators International, inspired the follow exercise that aligns the employee, to the team to the customer:

1. Identify your customer groups, or audiences. For us, we chose four: The CEO, HR Leader, Team Leader and the general public.
2. What are the core beliefs, desires and frustrations for each audience?
3. If time and money were no object, what promise would you love to deliver on for each of your audiences?
4. What kind of a team or company do you need to be in order to fulfill on that promise; specifically broken down into: mindset, skills and commitments?
5. Lastly, what kind of person do you need to be in order to be a highly effect member of the team or company you belong to?

While this exercise is best done with a skilled facilitator the questions might help you and your team provide the right kind of service based on the unique desires and needs of your customers.