26 Sept 2019
Focus on the satisfaction of all company stakeholders, not just customers. Ensuring that employees, partners, and suppliers are happy leads to a better overall business and ultimately enhances the customer experience.
Besides customer satisfaction, regularly check the satisfaction of other company stakeholders and look for opportunities to improve it. This will ultimately lead to an excellent customer purchasing experience.
We have written a lot about the importance of customer satisfaction. Of course, customers are those you need to keep satisfied, but you must not forget about other stakeholders of your company. You need to maintain the satisfaction of all company stakeholders to establish a system that is "doomed" to succeed.
Your company has many stakeholders. As a sole proprietor, you have customers who use your products or services, and likely suppliers and business partners with whom you collaborate in one way or another. In larger companies, you also have employees who invest their work and time in the company's success. "External" customers are your buyers, who see you as someone who fulfills their desires and needs. "Internal" customers are your business partners, suppliers, and employees, for whom your company is a source of livelihood.
Without customers, your company would have no revenue and no reason to operate. Your products or services exist solely to meet customer needs. Therefore, you are interested in their opinions and regularly check their satisfaction through formal research or informal conversations. You understand that "the customer is always right" and take their opinions into account when developing products and services. In case of a negative experience, a customer would spread negative word-of-mouth about your company. When they are satisfied, they will reward you with new purchases, and if they have had an excellent purchasing experience, they will tell their friends and acquaintances about you.
Every company must maintain the satisfaction of other stakeholders besides the customer. Satisfied suppliers might offer you better terms of cooperation, and satisfied business partners will make a greater effort for the collaboration to yield excellent results. Otherwise, they will only do what is contractually necessary and will not go the extra mile when you truly need it. As a company that is also an employer, you must not make the mistake of focusing solely on company customers. In this case, your employees will have no reason to work other than being paid for it. In such a work environment, they will only strive enough to keep their jobs. Instead, ensure a work environment and company culture that will provide satisfaction to your employees. When employees are satisfied with their work environment, they work with drive, positivity, and the effort to do their job as well as possible.
Your employees are the face of your company. They are in contact with customers and are the ones who most significantly influence customer satisfaction with the purchasing experience. Satisfied employees represent the company with integrity, enthusiasm, and belonging. Their job satisfaction directly translates into their relationship with your customers. Employees who value their work will be more diligent than those who come just for the salary. They will produce better products, provide higher quality services, and genuinely strive for an excellent customer purchasing experience.
Customers who interact with friendly and satisfied employees will be more satisfied than those who deal with employees complaining about their work.
For true company success, all company stakeholders must be satisfied. Regularly check and measure their satisfaction and look for opportunities to improve it further. Ask yourself (and check) if your suppliers and business partners are satisfied with the cooperation, and if your employees are satisfied with the work environment. If the answer is yes, your customers will very likely be satisfied with their purchasing experience as well.