Can Your Customers Get Access to Your Leaders?
Many of you, when you respond to the Burning Question, or just want to say hi, are surprised when I reply to your emails personally.
"Oh, I assumed someone else handled your email" is something I hear a lot.
Nope. It's me. Always me. It's always been me, for 30+ years.
When you put a barrier between yourself and your customers, you fumble away the opportunity to build trust bonds and learn nuances that matter.
Sterling Ball
My friend Sterling Ball
runs a musical instruments company, and a BBQ supplies company. For each, he has a thriving online community where enthusiasts ask questions and discuss issues. And Sterling himself is constantly in there providing answers and guiding people toward the next rung of success.
Does he have so much free time that he can just hang out in forums all day? Not at all. But he MAKES the time, because he knows that direct customer interaction is oxygen for smart business leaders.
As Sterling says: "You have to keep your customers so close, you can smell them."
AND, when you make it clear to customers that leadership is listening (and reachable) it sends a powerful message about the primacy of customer attitudes on the business' values and
trajectory.
Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Bank, headquartered in Portland, was one of America's 50 largest retail banks, before merging in 2021.
A focus on customer experience and making leadership accessible was a big part of their growth formula.