internal customers are not customers at all

7/29/2019 Internal Customers Are Not Customers at All

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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 1

Internal Customers arenot Customers at all

by Curtis N. Bingham


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Internal Customers are not Customers at all

Curtis N. BinghamFounder and Executive DirectorChief Customer Officer Council

CurtisBinghamistherecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethisroleasacatalyst

forcompetitiveadvantage.HeisthecreatoroftheCCORoadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+critical

strategiesessentialforcustomercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisispassionate

aboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,andloyalty.

Irecentlyhadaconversationwithanexecutivewhereinhesuggestedthatalargepartofhisfocuswas

inhelpingemployeesbetterservetheirinternalcustomers.Buttheconceptofinternalcustomersis

alogicalfallacythatfocusesattention inwardsonpolicyandprocedure,createsfalsesuccessmetrics,

andderailsstrategyinthecreationofcustomervalue.Leftunchecked,itcanbefatal.

TheconceptofinternalcustomersaroseduringtheeraofTotalQualityManagementasameansof

distinguishingtheconsumersofoutputandhasbeentransformedintoamisguidedattemptbyHRand

otherstoeducateemployeesonbasichumaninteractioninanefforttomakepeopleplaynice.

AcustomercanONLYbesomeonewhosenameorcompanynameappearsonacheck.Realcustomers

payforgoodsorservices.Customersaretheultimatedecision-makerindeterminingwhichgoodsandservicesareproduced.Theydefineyourbusinessfuture.Employeesarenotcustomers.Employeeshave

no future in a businesswithout customers, yet a business can still deliver customer value without

employees (albeitinalimited fashion).AsPeterDruckersaid,Thepurposeofa businessis tocreate

andkeepacustomer.

Aninternalcustomerapproachoremployeesfirstculturestatementderailsstrategyandtacticsand

createsadamaging,falsesenseofcustomercentricityaswellasasenseofemployeeentitlement.Ifcall

center managers argue over whose needs are primary the business units they support or the

customers calling the center the paying customers lose simply by virtue of the distraction of the

argument.Focusingoninternalcustomersresultsinamyopicviewofpolicies,procedures,andmetrics,

oftenattheexpenseofcustomerserviceandcustomervalue.ITdepartmentsworldwidearenotorious

forfocusingoninternalcustomers.Theyminimizeriskandexpenseandhamper salesormarketingsability to serve real customers. Consequently, the marketing discipline is now on the verge of

systemicallyco-optingITdepartmentsinordertocorrectthisdamagingimbalance.


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Forexample,alargeCanadatelecomcompanyreducedITstaffinginordertocutcosts.Unanticipated

consequenceswerelegion,nottheleastofwhichwasoneinstancewherealeadsalespersonwaslocked

outofcustomeraccountdatabasesfor5daysandunabletogeneratequarterlyrevenue.Sooneofthe

companys customer-focused executives then recast theITmission toenablecompanyemployees to

deliver outstanding value to customers. This simple shift energized and focused IT employees and

insulatedthedepartmentfromfuturecost-cuttingefforts.

Asimilarmistakeistofocusondistributorsascustomers.Thisalsodistractsfromrealcustomerneeds

andcanleadtoproductorserviceobsolescence.

Intheemployeesfirstmodel, internalcustomersplacethemselvesonequalfootingwithexternal

customers,jockeyingforposition,resources,andstatusthatmaydamagethecompanysabilitytoserve

payingcustomers.Employeeexpectationsofqualityandservicecannottrumpthemandateofexternal

customerfocus.

Ifcustomersareourbusinessesraisondetre,employeesexistencemustbepredicatedupondelivering

outstandingandprofitablecustomervalue.Everyemployeespurposemustbetiedtosomecustomer

outcome.Otherwise,whatrealvaluedoesthatemployeeserve?Theymustbetaskedinsuchawaythat

theyarepartnersindeliveringcustomervalue.

Thereareandshouldbedifferentmechanismswherebyemployeesareengaged,educated,andinspired

toproductivebehaviors.Gallupandothershaveprovenrepeatedly thevalueofengagedemployees

whoknowwhatisexpectedofthem,havethetoolstosucceed,havetheopportunitytoexcel,andare

recognized for their excellence.Employeesmust initially be selected (inpart) for theirwillingnessto

engageandthenbeshowntheirindividualimpactoncustomers,begivenclearcustomerpriorities,and

begivenclearperformanceexpectationsthatalignwithmeetingcustomerneeds.

Employee first cultures have no place in business. Executives need to create a singular focus onprofitablydeliveringincreasingcustomervalueandtheymustengageemployeesascriticalpartnersin

thatdelivery.Thecorrelationbetweenengagedemployeesandsatisfiedcustomers/increasedrevenueis

wellestablished.Buttheirpriorityordermustremain:customersfirst.*

*Copyright Notice:All content contained in this article is copyright protected material. Reproduction, in whole or in

part, in any form or medium, without the express written permission of the Chief Customer Officer Council is strictlyprohibited.


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About CURTIS N. BINGHAMAsExecutiveDirectoroftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncil,CurtisBinghamis

therecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethis

role as a catalyst for competitive advantage. He is the creator of the CCO

Roadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+criticalstrategiesessentialfor

customercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisis

passionateaboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,

andloyalty.

About THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILTheCCOCouncilisapowerfulandintimategatheringoftheworlds

leading customer executives from widely diverse industries.The

Councilhelpsexecutivesachieveobjectivesfasterandmoreeasilyby

leveragingbest practices. Ithelps validateandrefine strategiesand

initiativestoavoidexperimentingatcustomerexpense.Membership

isby invitationonly,andpurposefullycross-pollinatedwiththemost

forward-thinkingcompanies, largeandsmall,so astohelpcustomer

executivesdeliversolid,customer-centric business results. Formore

information,[email protected].

Jointheconversation

www.ccocouncil.org

EightImperativesfortheChiefCustomerOfficer ThisBinghamAdvisorylays

outindetailnumerousstrategiesthatenablecustomerexecutivestobe

successfulindrivingcustomercentricitythroughouttheirbusinessesandin

creatingsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,including:sixkeychallengesto

CCOsuccessandthemeanstoovercomethem,ninemetricsthatneedtobe

consideredfortheCCOdashboard,sevencriticalsuccessfactorsforCCOs,three

necessarycharacteristicsforCCOs,andsevenstrategiestosupportcustomer

centricchange.

Downloadyourfreecopytodayatwww.ccocouncil.org/thebinghamadvisory/

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internal customers are not customers at all

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