Culture Check - A Marketing Strategy

Have you ever noticed a small business operation where everyone in the business marches to the same drummer? Conversely, have you ever noticed a business where operations seem to be completely disjointed?

Every business, intended or not, has a culture. The culture of a business is simply the way a business behaves. And, the behavior of a business is simply the reflection of the sum total of its people.

As an example, I have purchased my last five vehicles from the same automobile dealership. The primary reason for my loyalty is the customer service. On one occasion, I stopped to visit my favorite salesman. A fellow salesman informed me that my guy was out of the dealership for a couple hours and asked if he could be of help until my guy returned. I said I had planned to look at a particular vehicle. The fill-in salesman quickly found the keys, the dealership plate, and fueled the vehicle for me to test drive. And he continued to be attentive until my salesman returned.

In addition, every department within the dealership treats me like a long-lost family member. The service department carefully explains every procedure of any repair job and provides a loaner vehicle if the repair will be time-consuming. Everyone in the business smiles at me and calls me by name. This is the culture of the business: friendly, attentive, thorough, customer-pleasing.

Developing a culture within a business doesn’t come easy. Left to its own accords, a business will develop a culture of some kind. It might be wonderful, as with my auto dealership, but it will most likely be bland, or even negative. A negative culture reflects employees who think mostly of themselves with very little regard for customers.

Developing a positive, customer-service culture begins at the top. The owners of a small business must make the decision that the competitive advantage of this business will be the best customer service possible within the trade area. The owners must then instill such a mission into every last employee within the company. This is easier said than done. There are employees who sincerely care about the success of their employers and about the experience of their customers, and there are employees who are simply waiting for their next paycheck.

Once the decision has been made to bring a positive culture to the forefront, the owners must begin defining precisely what the culture will embrace. A set of values and behaviors needs to be developed, that can reasonably be expected and achieved. Such values might include friendliness to other employees, to customers, and to suppliers. It could include a willingness to accept and promote change within the business, a desire for success, and for profitability of the company. All values need to be listed and defined.

Not all existing employees will necessarily buy into a ramped-up customer service culture. The owners therefore need to develop a strategic plan for building an organization that employs people who share the values needed to build an exemplary culture of customer service.

Once the values of the culture are defined, job descriptions can be designed that include the necessary personality traits of new hires. As one small business owner explained, the hiring process can be divided into two elements. One element encompasses the skills needed to perform a specific set of tasks for the company. The other element encompasses a person’s personality traits and values needed to enhance the company culture. In other words is this person a good fit? That owner added, “The skill set can often times be taught to a prospective employee, but a person’s value system in ingrained.”

Once a culture of exemplary customer service is attained, such a culture becomes a company’s brand. A brand is a promise to the customer that he can expect royal treatment each and every time he does business with that organization. Employees that exude natural tendencies for helping other people will fit into a customer service company culture with ease.

Building a customer service culture can be the very root, or mission, of an overall marketing strategy. Every facet of the marketing strategy can support and enhance such a culture.

Many clients of the Small Business Development Center are looking to build an effective marketing program. These clients are urged to think of building a culture of customer service as a foundation. Small business owners who are in need of any type of business management assistance are invited to contact the SBDC at (319) 236-8123 to arrange an appointment. Business counseling and guidance services are available at no cost.  The Small Business Development Center is an outreach program of the University of Northern Iowa and the U.S. Small Business Administration.