Why medium enterprises should rethink strategy
Medium enterprises need to rethink their customer experience and become proactive. If they don’t, they would be hurting many customers and risk losing them altogether. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Many medium enterprises, however, still wrestle with the need to be strategic in their customer service approach. Many have left it to chance.
- I took a trip to Nairobi’s central business district. On Kenyatta Avenue I visited Office Mart and Seal Honey, which are adjacent to each other and which I consider medium enterprises. To my surprise there was no evidence of intentional customer service. The staff were either busy chatting or re-arranging the shelves.
- Save for the stench, the City Market meat dealers would beat these medium enterprises hands down and so would traders in the small stores often referred to as exhibition stalls across the city.
Over 50 years ago, talks about strategy started gathering steam.
Many organisations have gone through strategic planning cycles and others have strategic management in action guiding their everyday course.
The benefits of having a strategy have been applauded by many managers.
In Kenya, strategies have informed overall corporate direction as well as the customer service courses of action in leading organisations.
This has been most evident in the last decade and is considered by many as a source of competitive advantage.
Many medium enterprises, however, still wrestle with the need to be strategic in their customer service approach.
Many have left it to chance. And although a few have succeeded, many may struggle with customer retention and attraction into the future.
MYSTERY SHOPPER
Being strategic is different things to different people but at the core of strategic customer service are better customer experiences and happier customers.
This not only gives an organisation a competitive edge but it also guarantees long-term survival through a good word of mouth.
On the contrary, I believe that organisations that fail to strategise on their customer experience may struggle to retain their customers and some may have to deal with unhappy customers occasionally.
The key questions however are: Why do many medium enterprises fail to define their desired strategic direction? And Why do many leave their customer experience to chance? Is it because they lack capacity to strategise or is it out of sheer ignorance?
I took a trip to Nairobi’s central business district. On Kenyatta Avenue I visited Office Mart and Seal Honey, which are adjacent to each other and which I consider medium enterprises. To my surprise there was no evidence of intentional customer service. The staff were either busy chatting or re-arranging the shelves.
At Office Mart, I requested a staff for assistance and he in turn asked a colleague to assist me only for her to ignore him outright. If she knew that I was mystery-shopping, she would have possibly portrayed herself better.
SMALL STALLS
At Seal Honey, the request for assistance was more welcome though I was later informed that I had to wait for 15 minutes if I chose to use their paybill number to make payments. The cashier indicated that the paybill was a third party. I did not have to wait.
My next stop was Biashara Street. I walked in and out of a home accessories shop without catching anyone’s eye. At a shop next door, I asked, Where is the price list?
I was countered with another question Unataka gani? (Which one do you want?) These retail experiences left me wondering what many Kenyans go through every day.
Save for the stench, the City Market meat dealers would beat these medium enterprises hands down and so would traders in the small stores often referred to as exhibition stalls across the city.
What must the likes of Seal Honey, Office Mart, Dong Fang Curtains and other medium enterprises do differently?
They need to rethink their customer experience and become proactive. If they don’t, they would be hurting many customers.
