By Carlênio Castelo Branco, CEO of Senior
Just listening to the customer doesn't necessarily differentiate us from the competition, if we don't have the ability to translate what he tells us. Knowing what the customer wants doesn't mean delivering what he really needs. That's why I believe that when suppliers and customers go hand in hand, aligned planning contributes to everyone's growth.
This is how the customer focus concept works: instead of positioning ourselves face to face with the customer – which allows us to see only what is behind them, keeping what the customer sees behind our backs – we are by their side. This posture gives us the same perspective as the customer and allows us to look in the same direction. Carlênio Castelo Branco*
Each of us has a way of being and collects peculiarities and preferences that distinguish us and differentiate us from other people. In the corporate world it is similar: each enterprise has its own characteristics that are either guided by the economy or by the values of each corporation. The sum of these details is what makes each business unique and the task of perpetuating this essence involves the efforts of suppliers.
The customer today is a being in constant transformation in a world that offers multiple options. Working in an integrated way with co-creation projects, understanding the customer's business, customizing solutions, passing on knowledge are examples of actions that allow a shared journey and the maintenance of meaningful relationships between suppliers and customers.
To think this way is to evolve. At Senior, we are constantly evolving. To start the year, for example, we don't just launch challenges and inform where we want to go. We bring our distribution channels together in a single, integrated event to align how the actions defined in our strategic planning will be carried out during the year. And that means working together, just as we revitalize our systems, through co-creation projects, to serve specific customers.
Hardly a company alone is able to solve all its problems, it takes complementary skills. Competencies that are found in suppliers. When there is involvement and the concern to see with the customer's eyes, a bond of loyalty is created, which makes the customer believe in the supplier's good intentions towards his business and realize that more than selling, the objective is to add value.
Customer focus is future work. It is thinking that the supplier will positively influence the customer because it cooperates with its business, learns from it and allows itself to transmit knowledge as well. Between companies, the bargaining chip becomes more than products or services, it becomes business skills. This is win-win. This is believing, walking side by side, even if each person can only look at the world in their own way, with their own lens. When we unite different perspectives, we broaden our view of the world and, with that, significantly increase the chances of making the right choices and deliveries. This is customer focus.
*Carlênio Castelo Branco is CEO of Senior, a national 100% company and one of the largest management software developers in Brazil.
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