Are customers getting too powerful? Has social media damaged the relationship between seller and customer? Are companies paying too much attention to their customers, and not enough attention to other stakeholders, such as employees? And should businesses reject the old maxim of “the customer is always right"?
I recently spotted an excellent article on this very subject written by Dr Brendan Canavan, Assistant Professor in Marketing at the University of Nottingham. I have reproduced his article below, with permission under Creative Commons licence.
Speaking as a Marketing expert myself
(with a Masters Degree thesis on the subject of customer loyalty) I have to admit
that I don’t agree with everything Dr Canavan says in this article. But I
do think he puts forward a very interesting argument for a more balanced approach to
customer relationships. I’m especially interested in his argument that the
rapid expansion of social media has given more power to consumers, generated unrealistic expectations,
and created an unhealthy relationship between seller and customer.
What do you think? Have a read of
the article below and then get in touch with The Customer Service Blog to
give your views.
Darren Bugg
Editor, The Customer Service Blog
'The customer is rarely right, often
self-obsessed and may be best ignored' - by Brendan Canavan
Customer focus is an enduring and
fundamental principle of business. The logic goes that success will follow if
you identify and solve customer problems, use them to build new products or
services, and create strong relationships. But the truth is that customers can
be a dreadful guide, and new technology means it is an idea that may have had
its day.
There are a number of aspects to this.
Customer-centrism can have negative implications for creativity. An
over-obsession with customer feedback is time consuming, and can stifle
innovation in search of consensus. For example, brands that pay too much
attention to focus groups are often criticised by automotive journalists for
producing bland cars. And it’s not restricted to the corporate world: former
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was reported to have been racked with
indecision brought on by his following of public opinion polls.
Prioritising customers also risks
overlooking potentially valuable input from the shop floor or supply chain.
Employees can become demotivated by perceived imbalance. The large number of us
who do or have worked in retail will almost certainly have horror stories to
share of arrogant and aggressive customers who make already difficult jobs that
much less pleasant.
All too often the modern service
economy treats (and pays) the employee as if they are a downstairs domestic,
with the customer cast as the dowager duchess. Lost enthusiasm, missed ideas
and even resistance strategies may emerge. Residents for example, who tired of hosting
tourists, hassle, treat rudely and even lobby for their departure. Research has
long noted the varied ways in which local populations can react to and
undermine tourism. Ironically these impacts undermine the customer experience,
as they disrupt wider business strategy.
Attention-seeking
Perhaps the biggest challenge is to
the well-being of customers themselves. Overly entitled customers can actually
become more difficult to satisfy. The increase in narcissistic traits among
individuals since the turn of the millennium has been highlighted by a number
of researchers. The self-absorption, attention seeking and superiority
complexes make these unpleasant people to be around. Pity the supermarket checkout
staff or hotel receptionist who has to deal with them.
The trouble is, no amount of
obsequious indulgence is likely to make them happy. On the contrary, the
narcissist must indulge in ever more grandiose behaviour to make up for their
fundamental lack of self-worth and loneliness. Freud linked consumption to ego
building, and it is easy to see how shopping can be used to reinforce
narcissistic narratives: displaying success, wealth and power through luxury
brands.
By overly prioritising the individual
customer and flattering their ego in pursuit of a relationship, we risk
fostering this unhealthy client narcissism. Rather than being told they are
extraordinary, what most people really want is a sense of community and
belonging. Community is of course rooted in healthy relationships and
exchanges, and fragmented by inequality and superficiality: as the 2013 Gini
report for the UK reveals in detail on a national level.
A rebalancing of customer
relationships, and their inclusion in a wider pool of feedback from all those
with a stake in a business, brand or product, would appear to offer benefits to
all concerned. We would end up with less slavish business marketing, increased
employee satisfaction, customers with more realistic expectations. An excellent
response by a York teahouse to a negative customer review made online,
explaining in depth their need to charge £2 for a glass of water, illustrates
how a two, rather than one way dynamic, benefits all.
It sounds simple, but in the last
decade, managers have instead been scrambling to understand another dramatic
assault on business-customer relationships: social media.
Trend followers
Twitter, Facebook and others have
revolutionised how the two sides interact. It is now a genuine two-way,
participatory and co-created process. Whereas previously only the most
dedicated, time rich or cranky might bother to write into a postal address
located in the small print on the back of a carton, now anybody can make their
voice heard at the click of a button. Meanwhile, rating websites such as Yelp
and TripAdvisor provide a platform for peer review and hold significant
influence over consumer decision making.
Many more people are now involved far
more easily. While this has obvious advantages for business in terms of
generating research data and establishing relationships, the expansion of
social media has handed much power to the consumer and they are not afraid to
use it.
Brands live in a state of nervous
tension; trying to anticipate any potential misunderstandings that might have
them trending up the Facebook sidebar in the latest PR disaster nightmare.
Remember US Airways’ accidental pornographic tweet and shudder.
Social media may be linked to that
idea of a self-obsessed generation. And it certainly helps to generate
unrealistic expectations, which even the most careful customer service is
unlikely to satisfy. It then also provides a platform for venting those
disappointments. By consistently telling customers they are special, brands
have likely added fuel to this unhealthy normalisation of narcissism and are
now exposed, along with their frontline employees, to the capriciousness of
modern consumers.
Nobody benefits from being in a
dysfunctional relationship, and customer-centrism looks like an unproductive
business model for everyone. A better balance is struck by mutual respect and
responsibility, rather than subservience; equal consideration of all
stakeholders rather than prioritisation of some over others. At its core this
requires an acknowledgement that the customer isn’t always right. It is a
stronger business which accepts this and a healthier consumer who is confronted
by it. But it will be a brave brand which stakes out this position in the
brutal social media landscape.
Brendan Canavan
Assistant Professor in Marketing, University of Nottingham
(This article was originally published in The Conversation and is reproduced under Commons Creative license)
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