Aligning key success factors with customer needs
Dennis Gilham on aligning key success factors for the postal sector with the needs of customers. Part four of six.
In previous parts we looked at the importance of customer insight, its relevance to developing a strong business strategy, and to cost cutting and putting customers at the centre of operations. Now we consider aligning key success factors for the postal sector with the needs of customers.
Key success factors are quality of service (including security), performance and total customer experience. Service bandwidth must increase and adapt according to changes in the needs of customers to stay relevant and valued. Mail has unique attributes for business of all types and sizes as well as consumers young and old. However, the product offer must align with changing needs. Companies rely on digital processes and professional mailers need the services and tools to achieve improved efficiency, visibility and control for their businesses. Consumers are mobile and like social networks.
Many postal products don’t integrate well with modern day business processes and as such have shortcomings and create efficiency problems for mailers. Consequently these products become more vulnerable to substitution – the big threat that the industry is concerned about. The postal network offers physical delivery and payment management. It now needs to complement these two layers with an information layer that can work with digital processes, mobile communications and social networks.
Probably the two most important factors to succeed are having the means to digitally connect with every item of mail that passes through the network (some posts have started) and an open specification that allows partners to innovate the many new applications desired by existing and future customer groups; reference, for example, the iPod and iPad open apps success model.
With considerable investment going in to modernise the postal sector, only targeting performance/cost savings risks failure. Network process excellence on its own will not be enough. Unless new value propositions emerge that meet the needs and wants of customers, competition will ultimately win. Things cannot continue as before and sitting back in hope is not the way. Building a future on customer insight specific to the organisation is a better way.
Next time we look at five essential management tools for improving customer focus.
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In a nutshell |
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Dennis Gilham: Biography
A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing with over 30 years experience of delivering customer facing solutions in the postal sector. Dennis has held senior industry roles as Head of Corporate Partnerships, Group Business Line Director, Group Director of Product Marketing and Director of Research & Development. He has built a unique set of skills and knowledge in promoting new solutions for business customers of all sizes in mail, express and parcels.
Having worked with Posts worldwide, contributing to their business development through customer insight, marketing strategy and innovative solutions, Dennis now has the opportunity to help postal management in his capacity as Independent Strategy Advisor.
+44 (0)79 74 97 50 00
