How To Be A Customer-Obsessed Company

“A customer-obsessed organization starts with knowing what the customer wants.” That’s the message from Jeffrey Mezger, chairman, CEO and president of KB Home, a homebuilding company founded in 1957. Mezger joined the company in 2006 and has the lofty goal of being the most customer-obsessed homebuilder on the planet. I had the opportunity to interview him for Amazing Business Radio, and he shared some of his business philosophy—and his obsession—about customer service and experience. While Mezger is in the home-building business, everything he shared in the interview applies to virtually every business. Here are a few of the highlights with some of my commentary:

The Big Question: Mezger refers to his passion for being customer-obsessed as his mantra. He has one sentence, actually, a question, that keeps people in alignment with his goal for the customer experience. When interacting with a customer, the team should ask themselves, “What would the most customer-obsessed company in the world do?” That question is what keeps KB Home employees in alignment with Mezger’s customer-obsessed goal.

The Winning Combination: It starts with building a product you know your customers want, desire and prefer. But you don’t stop there. For a major purchase like a home, you must partner with your customers to achieve their goals. That’s the winning combination.

How to Stay at the Top of Your Game: It’s not as much about staying where you are on top but, as Mezger says, “Never stop raising the bar.” His advice is to listen to your customers along the way. They’ll tell you what you need to do if you want to stay on top yet keep moving upward. “Raising the bar” means never getting completely comfortable with where you are. As soon as you stop improving, a competitor that wants to improve will surely pass you by.

How to Handle Bad News: In the homebuilding industry, as in many industries today, there are supply chain issues disrupting the customer experience. Telling customers that the home they thought would be ready on a certain date is delayed for several months can be difficult news to share. Mezger believes the way to handle the bad news is to do so quickly, proactively, with transparency and to over-communicate every step of the way. He says, “No news is bad news. Bad news is good news. Even if it’s something that is unpleasant, you have to talk to your customers. Giving customers information is much more impactful and beneficial than saying nothing.” More knowledge gives customers a sense of control over the situation. They can make decisions based on the information. This is good advice for any company that has to share negative news with a customer.

Train Every Employee: You’re only as good as the people who interact with your customers. Each and every employee is a representation of your brand. A company can’t afford to not properly train employees and equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to deliver an experience they want their customers to have.

Get Feedback: Mezger likes to collect feedback throughout the entire process, from the sale through the building of the home and beyond. Even after the warranty expires. Every piece of feedback is a history lesson on how well you’re doing, how you can improve and more. Mezger says, “It doesn’t stop when you close the sale. They (the customers) are your partners for life.”

The Cost of Customer Satisfaction: The perfect way to wrap up this article is with Mezger’s philosophy on investing in and taking care of customers. In his words, “Customer satisfaction helps your business. It doesn’t cost you money, it makes you money.”