What distinguishes good from bad services? Is it the time the customer spends to get their job done or how easy it is to use this new payment app? Maybe it’s the smiling front desk employee and their adequate answers and instructions or the barely visible signs for the shortcuts at IKEA?
At first glance, we’d accept all of these valid answers. In fact, they are as true as they are wrong and the only way to prove or disprove them is to question them.
The most powerful question one should ask when it comes to services is “who is this service for?” This is where customer centricity steps in. It teaches us to ask the right questions about our customers and to reach deeper insights. With them we can design a differentiated service that doesn’t feel like one size fits all, but delights all and brings measurable business value.
Our job to be done as mindset redesigners at launchlabs Sofia is to teach customer centricity. Customer centricity is a mindset that puts customers at the center of the business. When an organization has a customer-centric culture, the customer experience is intentionally designed to stand out from other products and services on the market.
Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, companies don’t become customer centric overnight. Even if they chose it as a strategic goal, old ways of thinking, siloed functions and waterfall processes come in the way. That’s why we are here - to help with the first and next steps.
What does customer-centricity training look like?
Here are our key tools and methodologies:
Format:
/ 80% doing and 20% learning-by-doing;
/ Hands-on activities;
/ No lengthy lectures, no classroom presentations;
/ Only practical activities followed by reflections and discussions;
/ In person or remotely, we deliver all our programs with equal levels of interactivity.
Concepts covered:
/ customer research & testing
/ journey mapping
/ brand alignment
/ problem reframing
/ prototyping services
/ people, process & data alignment.
Methodologies & tools:
/ Service design as core methodology
/ Brand design
/ Design thinking
/ Business modelling
/ Storytelling
Is my team fit to go through a customer centricity training?
Yes, it is. No matter customer-facing or not, a customer-centric company involves every person and process within the entire organization in the design of new products and services or the improvement of existing ones.
Based on the experience of the participants our customer-centricity trainings have 3 progressive levels:
Introduction level
An interactive hands-on introduction to customer centricity, fully customized with case studies and examples of interest to the team. Typically 2-days with shorter, more intense versions available for leadership.
The introduction level trainings could easily be integrated into learning & development programs, team building events or stand-alone.
Who is it for:
/ Leadership
/ Sales representatives & customer facing staff
/ Learning and development experts
/ Marketing & communication experts
After the introduction workshop the participants will:
/ Build customer-centricity understanding and skills;
/ Understand the different phases from the key methodologies;
/ Learn practical tools;
/ Be inspired and job ready to join a sprint as a practitioner.
Practitioner level
Our experience shows that building durable habits in customer-centricity requires practical application of what was learnt during the introduction module. This is why at this level we provide a 100% hands-on module based on a real project. The team has a dedicated coach throughout the project duration, who facilitates them through a series of workshops aimed at delivering a more innovative result on the project. Typically once a week for 4 to 12 weeks.
Who is it for:
/ Product owners, project managers and product development teams;
/ Retail directors, Customer experience directors, Digital strategy manager;
/ Customer experience teams.
The practitioner level is meant to:
/ Build on the skills and tools from Introduction level and turn them into habits;
/ Align newly formed customer-centricity teams;
/ Create a safe environment for real projects;
/ Introduce new expert tools from key methodologies;
/ Get the participants ready to build internal capacity for innovation - advanced level.
Leadership level
Aimed at building lasting capabilities for running internal projects and trainings. Three focus areas - creating internal facilitators, trainers and ambassadors. Typically 2 to 4 days.
The leadership level workshops allow the organization to scale and sustain its investment in building a culture and capabilities not only for customer centricity, but also for agility and sustainable innovation. The purpose of this module is to further develop the skills of some practitioners, who are suitable and willing to take on a bigger role within the organization.
Who is it for:
/ Managers ready to take the path to creative and servant leadership;
/ Corporate training experts;
/ Agile coaches, scrum masters or other internal facilitators and change-makers.
Depending on the focus after this level the participants will be able to:
/ Design and deliver learning experiences;
/ Plan and facilitate sprints and workshops;
/ Act as ambassadors of customer-centricity in and out of the organization.
Examples of customer centricity trainings we’ve done
A story from our early days - customer centricity training for tech teams at VmWare. And а couple of stories, after the lockdown where we did it remotely for RaiffeisenBank and in a hybrid setting for DSK bank.
How to run the training remotely?
By using interactive and efficient digital collaboration tools like interactive whiteboards and break-out sessions for work in multiple groups, shifting to remote learning is easy.
We’ve tested more than 20 different online platforms, and combinations thereof, in order to create the closest possible scenario to an effective and meaningful live interaction. We’ve run internal tests, and tests with clients willing to be a step ahead and redesigned our portfolio for remote work and facilitation. Our selected credentials include Accenture Global, Deutsche Telecom, Telenor, Roche, Raiffeisen Bank and many others.
How do we customize a training to fit the unique needs of the team?
As business redesigners, we know that each industry has its unique challenges and needs and a one-size-fits-all approach is hardly ever the answer. That’s why when planning a training, we always co-create. In other words, we go through the training design together with our clients, to define and pre-design the program so it works to solve the specific task at hand considering the company’s DNA, processes and workflow.
Customer centricity is the shortcut to agility, but if you want to pay special attention to turning your company into a swift and democratic organism, check out how we redesign mindsets for agility. Our creativity and innovation training program will answer how to mobilize talent to innovate.
Not sure if the customer centricity training will be the right choice for you? You can start by trying the Pre-design Workshop first. It’s a 1-hour workshop that reflects the needs and desired outcomes from a learning experience. Now, let’s start redesigning our minds! To request a presentation or book a free 1-hour one-one session drop us a line at hello@launchlabs.bg.