There is a lot of talk in business about customer service. And don’t get me wrong, customer service is very important. In fact I think customer service is so important it should be under the purvey of marketing. After all, who knows how to take care of people better than marketing? Just kidding sales people.
However I do feel that there is a huge disconnect. While I know most companies really want to take care of customers I think customer service should be expanded to stakeholder service.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with stakeholders: a stakeholder is anybody who has anything to do with your company. Stockholders, owners, employees, suppliers and of course customers are all stakeholders.
Stakeholders surround and control the brand. That’s why they are all influential when it comes to brand management.
The goal of stakeholder service is simple. Happy motivated employees, happy suppliers, happy owners, happy customers; basically making people happy is the end result of stakeholder service.
So why should you waste money stakeholder service?
- It is the right thing to do
- Having enemies in his always more expensive than having friends
- And most importantly because happy people make a better brand
So why don’t companies already focus on stakeholders and instead of customers? A lot has to do with being penny wise and pound foolish. This is a false saving… you are only the saving in the short run.
For example….
Don’t try to screw suppliers out of every nickel. Often there is such an adversarial relationship between a vendor and the company using their services.
Why is that?
If you try to suck everything you can out of a vendor you win in the short term, but what does that do to the partnership? Also what does it do to your reputation in the marketplace? It makes brand management a lot more difficult.
Don’t try to screw employees to the wall. Companies often try to do this when they think an employee has nowhere else to go. For instance, during an economic downturn.
Employees have very long memories and will recall how you treated them, being more prone to leave you when an opportunity arises. And they won’t be quiet about you when they leave. Check out glass door and see what people have to say about your company.
Don’t try to screw your coworkers or colleagues in another department. Although your peers may not have actual power over you, it’s never a good idea to antagonize them. Especially if they work in IT or human resources
You need to build reservoirs of goodwill: you never know where you might need a favor. And remember everyone that has a relationship with the company controls the brand in some way.
I think customer service is obviously very important but there have been tons of articles written about that so I will leave that one.
I hope this convinces you to focus on stakeholder service vs only customer service. Want to learn more about stakeholder service and how it influences brand management? Contact 366 marketing for a free one hour consultation.