7 Tips for Reaping the Benefits of a “Guest-Centric” Culture

Having a “guest-centric” strategy in place drives profits and creates a positive experience and customer journey.

Has your organization or business implemented a guest-centric culture among management and employees? If not, you’re missing out on increase revenue and customer satisfaction.

So, what is a guest-centric company culture?

“Customer-centricity is a business approach where you prioritize your customer and place them at the heart of your business operations,” according to hospitality and business management resource EHL Group. “The goal is to offer positive experiences and build life-long relationships.”

Guest centricity is born from a culture of operations with a strategy to create an exceptional experience for the customer both before and after the sale, which drives profit and gains a competitive advantage, according to customer experience technology provider Hiver.

An organization with a culture of customer centricity has specific ideas, beliefs and values that place the customer “at the center of everything an organization does,” says Hiver. That way, the brand’s employees can carry out its vision for providing a superior customer experience.

“It is [the] employees who interact with customers, hear their concerns first, and observe what delights them before these signals ever form an identifiable, trackable data pattern in a company’s systems, says business strategy resource McKinsey & Company. “A healthy organizational environment for employees thus directly affects customers.”

If you’re ready to begin creating a guest-centric culture or enhance the one already in place at your brand, here are X benefits of having a guest-centric culture, according to EHL.

1. Create a leadership structure that reports to the CEO

Make the customer journey “an executive priority,” recommends EHL:

“In other words, the top honchos (such as Chief Customer Officer and Chief Executive Officer) need to own the customer experience for the culture to trickle down to the lowest ranks.”

2. Understand your customers

‘Your organization can’t tailor an experience unless you know your customer inside-out, says EHL: “Combine customer usage and behavior data with external information. The external details in a customer’s background offer powerful insights into their spending behavior.”

Then make sure that everyone at your brand is on the same page and carries out the organization’s guest-centric strategies.

3. Aim for an excellent first impression

First impressions matter, says EHL. In other words, what the customer experiences and senses about your brand right off the bat shapes the way they perceive your organization and whether they wish to continue their customer journey.

“For example, when shopping for a phone, the customer will form their impression of the device based on multiple interactions with your business,” says EHL. “After journeying through your business, their ultimate irritation or satisfaction comes from an overall impression.”

4. Ensure that management’s actions reinforce your guest-centric strategies

EHL recommends that top management model guest-centric behaviors to demonstrate strategies to employees. Then recognize and reward employees who follow through on the desired behaviors.

“Let everyone understand the impact of customer experience on the bottom line,” says EHL.  “Allow [top managers] to perform interviews with customers to identify issues that they can work on to make everyone happy.”

5. Empower frontline employees

Empower employees who are frontline points of customer contact first, suggests EHL:

“First, show them how important they are in the company. Then empower these individuals to make decisions and appreciate their efforts and feedback. Remember to walk the talk and show them how to treat customers.”

6. Involve everyone in the organization

Guest-centricity must be “the whole organization’s beating heart,” says EHL. Make sure guest-centric values and strategies are understood and carried out by everyone from  customer service teams to people working in back offices.

7. Utilize customer metrics

To monitor and improve your guest-centric culture, pay close attention to customer metrics for constant insights and appropriate responses, says EHL. Then align those metrics with your guest-centric strategies and the customer journey.