Whatever our initial training, skills, qualifications, life situation, we have already done a work, performed a function within an organization or had a role within a community. Whether it is a company or an association, whether this task was carried out in a more organized setting or in “freestyle”, whether the activity is declared or paid, say, “hand in hand” – for those who have frequented the particularity of selling on local markets – a common denominator appears: The creation of wealth is the essence of our society. In other words, without creating wealth, our society of well-being (free school, medical care, solidarity financing of pensions, etc.) couldn’t exist.
Therefore, the success of a company depends on its capacity to create, to innovate. It also depends on the quality of its production, on the marketing and commercialization, in a reliable time, of solutions (goods or services), which meet identified market needs. A friend, Stéphane, with whom I worked, liked to ask a question that was both magical and provocative, in order to remind about the essential to certain dizzy spirits (or more inclined to join a pyramid organization): “By the way, who pays you?” Take a moment and think carefully about this question, far from being trivial (answer in a few lines…).
The lockdown period is forcing us to question ourself, not only individually but also collectively. The main objectives of our organizations are affected, many of them have sometimes forget the essential. A certain comfort zone existed and is being questioned. The answer is in the problem.
So, who’s paying you? You answer: Your boss! Well, you’re not literally wrong. On your pay slip, it is the name of his company. That being said, aside from flattering his ego, or yours, if you are the “boss” and think it’s important to keep ascendant on your employees (old world reflex), that’s not quite right.
As an official, you answer: the state. Here again the purists may agree with you. However, there is one important nuance to be made. Do you work in the humanitarian sector, for an association or receive a pension? It is true that this money collected comes a priori from social organizations, naturally managed by public institutions, and can give the impression of a transfer from a state entity.
That being how the State is financed? Largely after collecting a tax entitled, and this is not a coincidence, “Value Added Tax”. The basis of the financing of our society is mainly that a tax, for each exchange of goods and services, must be paid and duly collected.
If it is assumed that the State finances itself largely through the contribution of companies, how firms do earn money?
And here comes the answer to the question asked by my friend. So, who pays you? Ultimately… the customer.
It would be good to keep this in mind when some sales representatives, whose core business is to take care of the customer relationship, who have the pressure to provide a quick response, ask for your help on this topic. They know that a customer is both volatile and loyal, that the random reactivity of the world from before is no longer acceptable today. The customer decides to trust a person, who works for a company that has successfully marketed a product or service and that the latter is acceptable for the customer who agrees to test it. Only his level of satisfaction will allow to gain the customer loyalty, and will encourage him to reorder or to recommend us (e.g.: during a successful service delivery).
In both cases the bet is won, on the condition you maintain your level of satisfaction and evolve the product or service’s adaptability over time, your client becomes a partner and an ally. The reciprocal is true and the win/win relationship takes its full meaning.
To conclude, whatever the core business of our companies, or the core business we choose to practice, let us take advantage of this new start to return to the essential. Do our job, fulfill our function, be professional in the department in which we work. Let’s keep in mind that at the end of the chain, on the market, there will be a customer/consumer who will buy your products and/or services. If he is satisfied, you will be rewarded by his satisfaction, and in any case, which is already a lot, you will have at least the satisfaction of the duty done.
For Sales representatives: keep making valuable market information available to your manager, be proactive, you need to stay focused. For managers: in this period of turbulence, listen more than ever to the opinion of your customers through the reported information of your teams. For financial officers: the customer is your main asset, take care of it. In the production department, if you notice a failure in the quality of a product, remove it, report it. Future customer satisfaction depends above all on your expert eye. In the marketing department, the customer needs you to provide him as soon as possible the last fruit of your reflections. People in other departments (Purchasing, Research and Development, etc.), whether in a B2B or B2C relationship, your work is crucial: “our customers’ customers are also our customers”.
In short, we all have power of influence at our level. Therefore, at our scale, let’s do our best for our customers, let’s make it professional and try to give them a maximum of attention. If you do not want to make this effort for them, do it for your families, because it is ultimately these same customers who guarantee you a large part of the income from the fruit of your work.
Enjoy the way…
Mickaël Garin (translated by Florence, member of Actus Via team)