Table Of ContentSense and Respond
The Journey to
Customer Purpose
Susan Barlow, Stephen Parry
and Mike Faulkner
‘Sense and Respond is a radical departure for the entire service sector,
a dramatic shift in thinking that could revolutionise services in the same
way as Six-Sigma and TQM transformed the world of production.
Congratulations on this brilliant contribution – we will all benefit immea-
surably.’ – Roger Camrass, Director, Business Transformation Group,
Fujitsu. Senior Associate,Judge Institute,Cambridge University. Co-author
of ‘Atomic: Reforming the Business Landscape into the New Structures of
Tomorrow’
‘Inside the service industry is a growing revolution in the thinking behind
the operational design and practice of serving customers. Striving towards
“perfection-in-purpose”, businesses can generate radical and effective
change to deliver sustained business results. Lean service has now arrived.’–
David Clift, Chief Business Architect, Efficiency & Transformation, BT
Wholesale Operations
‘Refreshing,practical,and a huge step forward in understanding customer-
based business growth!’ – Derek Williams, Chief Executive, Society of
Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP) Europe and founder of the WOW!
Awards
‘A fascinating and important extension of lean concepts into the realm of
services.’– Nick Oliver,Professor of Management Studies,Judge Institute
of Management,University of Cambridge
‘In reality, this is a culture change on a massive scale in which learning is
seen as central to business success. This approach transforms thinking
behind the delivery of service,knowledge and innovation in organisations.’–
Dr Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Senior Research Scientist, MIT Sloan
School of Management, and Executive Director, MIT Engineering Systems
Learning Center. Co-author of ‘Valuable Disconnects in Organisational
Learning Systems’
‘This book will provide managers with a set of new perspectives,which are
critical for today’s challenging business environment. Managers will learn
how to leverage their intangible resources in order to continually innovate
and differentiate – activities that are the essential drivers for a sustainable
competitive advantage.’ – Bernard Marr, Research Fellow, Cranfield
School of Management. Visiting Professor of Organisational Performance,
University of Basilicata
‘In order to survive,nothing less than the engagement of the whole organi-
sation with the process of understanding and responding to customers is
required. The concepts outlined in the journey to customer purpose will
enable leaders and managers to rethink their roles and to view employees
and customers from a new perspective. Nothing less will do in a world
where economic power and markets are constantly shifting.’ – Professor
William Carney, Professor of International Marketing, Instituto de
Empresa, Madrid. Formerly Visiting Assistant Professor at George
Washington University,Washington,DC
‘The authors provide a pathway to creating highly responsive organisations.
The practical application of this approach establishes highly skilled,highly
autonomous employees capable of capturing customer intelligence and
seeking new ways to create value.’– Gary Fisher, MA, CIPD, Innovation
Fellow,The Business Partnership Unit,Aston University
S e n s e a n d R e s p o n d
The Journey to
Customer Purpose
Susan Barlow,
Stephen Parry
and
Mike Faulkner
© Susan Barlow,Stephen Parry and Mike Faulkner 2005
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-1-4039-4573-0
All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified
as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2005 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
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Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom
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ISBN 978-1-349-52319-1 ISBN 978-0-230-50814-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230508149
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managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barlow,Sue,1972–
Sense and respond :the journey to customer purpose / Sue Barlow,Stephen
Parry,and Mike Faulkner.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.Customer services—Management.2.Customer relations—Management.
3.Consumer satisfaction.I.Parry,Stephen.II.Faulkner,Mike.III.Title.
HF5415.5.B377 2005
658.8(cid:2)12—dc22 2005046467
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
To our contributors,family and friends and especially our partners,Rhonda,
Jacqui and Rob for their endless support and understanding.
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C
ONTENTS
List of figures and tables x
Acknowledgements xii
Foreword DrJoel Cutcher-Gershenfeld xv
Part I Putting the customerfirst 1
Chapter 1 The Journey to Customer Purpose:optimising business
effectiveness 3
Meeting the customer’s needs 3
The Journey to Customer Purpose:customer service at the
heart of the organisation 4
Mass production vs.Customer Value Principles 9
The soft stuff is the hard stuff – and it’s the onlystuff 15
Chapter 2 Focusing on the customer:a paradigm shift 19
‘Old world’and ‘new world’thinking 19
Transform or mutate? 25
Creating customer success 28
Organisational waste 30
The ghost of mass production past 30
The Theory-to-Performance Model 32
Sustained focus on customer purpose 33
Part II The Journey to Customer Purpose:Re-View 37
Introduction Professor Daniel T.Jones 37
Chapter 3 Re-View:changing the point of view 39
Sensing what’s important to customers 39
Seeing the organisation as a system 42
A business system model 42
Investigating the system 45
Customer purpose defines customer value 47
Demand classification 50
Chapter 4 Re-View:end-to-end effectiveness 57
Seeing the organisation end-to-end 57
Measuring variation in performance 60
Investigation and analysis 63
Investigating an organisation:the experience of staff 64
vii
viii Contents
Part III The Journey to Customer Purpose:Re-Mind 67
Introduction Bernard Marr 67
Chapter 5 Re-Mind:changing mental habits 69
Changing mindsets 69
Paradigms and customer intelligence 70
Understanding the system 72
Reacting to customer purpose 75
Changing organisational thinking 75
What to measure in a Customer Value Enterprise® 77
Chapter 6 Re-Mind:a new way of thinking 83
Moving towards Customer Value Principles 83
Operating principles for customer value 85
Empowering frontline staff 86
Creating the flow of value 86
Keeping the organisation honest 90
Unlearning the past,responding into the future 94
Living through the change:the experiences of staff 95
Part IV The Journey to Customer Purpose:Re-Inspire 99
Introduction Professor William Carney 99
Chapter 7 Re-Inspire:the nature of leadership 101
Creating a Customer Leadership Culture 101
Barriers to change:organisational constraints 104
Barriers to change:staff resistance 104
Chapter 8 Re-Inspire:leading transformation 115
Customer leadership 115
Leadership at all levels 117
Finding common purpose 120
Sustaining change 121
The Transformational Leader 124
Part V The Journey to Customer Purpose:Re-Create 127
Introduction Gary Fisher,MA,CIPD 127
Chapter 9 Re-Create:an organisation that self-develops 129
Focusing on customers 129
Developing the people 131
Developing sales and marketing 134
Contents ix
Performance management 136
Customer management 139
Chapter 10 Re-Create:customer-centric management 147
Infrastructure 147
Customer-centric operational strategy 150
Financial and commercial practices 154
Process management 156
Part VI Providing customer value 159
Chapter 11 Customer Value Enterprise® 161
Implementing a Customer Value Enterprise® strategy 161
Achieving an end-to-end Customer Value Enterprise® 165
Chapter 12 Abridged case study 1:Office Products Direct Europe 167
The case for change:a European company 167
Transformation to a Customer Value Enterprise® 169
Re-View 170
Re-Mind 174
Re-Inspire 175
Re-Create 175
Performance management 175
Job roles and structures 176
The results 179
Chapter 13 Abridged case study 2:Fujitsu Services Ltd 181
The case for change:a global company 181
Transformation 182
Implementation 184
The results 186
Making the transformational journey 188
Chapter 14 Customer purpose at the heart of the organisation 191
The journey of transformation 191
Characteristics of a true Customer Value Enterprise® 194
References 196
Further reading 198
Index 202
