The Hidden Power of Your Customers: Four Keys to Growing Your Business Through Existing Customers

KEY THREE

It all starts here.

Culture: “The attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviors that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it.”1

If you have a business, you have a company culture–regardless of the size of your organization. Applying the definition above, business culture is a set of values and beliefs that convey what your company represents. They provide a sense of identity for employees, customers, and suppliers, as well as the public. The beliefs and values of a company's people compose the core of its culture;2 its leaders bring this value system to life and make it real.

The company culture is an important part of what motivates employees to work for and stay with a business. Managers must nurture it if they want to create a great employee experience—which correlates directly with a great customer experience.

Unfortunately, many companies pay lip service to being “customer-centric” but do little to support that strategy. A strong customer-focused culture starts with a customer-focused leader (often an executive, founder, or CEO) who is able to instill passion and loyalty in employees, inspire other business leaders to serve employees as well as the company, open communications within the company, and measure and reward people in ways that will motivate them to continue to serve clients and protect the culture. When done well, a true ...