The Customer Mambo ….. do you want to dance?

Dancing is universal. It comprises virtually every demographic and global grouping of peoples we could think of. It has meanings up, down, and across our cultures, social circles, traditions, rites of passage, events, moments, fun, status and …… It’s a lot.

Dancing can serve as a metaphor for virtually every process. Yes, process. If that is true, then how well do we dance with our customers? How do our business processes match their needs and timing? What beat are the customers moving with? Do we have a range of customers such that there are different beats and movements they want to dance to? Do they feel that they have a good dance partner?

We all dance with our customer. Our steps and movements have some semblance of beat and synchronicity, albeit it can look like chaos or mistimed steps. We can all recognize bad and good dancing and even pay to see competitions, or turn on the tube for “Dancing with the Stars.” Let’s contrast two dances that we know are currently popular, line dancing and the mambo. These two styles are distinctly different and share several things in common. We can also tell when they are being done well. For now, let’s pretend that they are the only two choices available.

·       Both have music that dancers recognize before they step onto the floor

·       The music sets the pace and timing for each of the dancer’s movement

·       The dancers move together in sync with the music

·       The dancers move in sync with each other

·       Each dance has a series of basic steps that define it

·       Steps can be modified and variations abound

·       The number of people on the floor can grow or shrink at random.

·       Degrees of skill and performance are distinguishable … we can see the bad dancing easily.

·       The styles of each sometimes change depending on who are dancing and where they are dancing.

Changes “on the fly” are possible, but harder for one than the other. Changing while the dance is in play is harder for a group of line dancers than for a mambo pair.

·       Most would agree that the mambo pair is more agile and capable of changing positions, movements, and step alternatives. After all, it’s a pair rather than a group.

·       The success of line dancing depends greatly on tight controls and repetitiveness. Once you see one cycle of movements, the subsequent cycles are identical.

·       The ease of communication is very different. A dance pair has lots of ways to signal changes of all kinds.

·       In fact, the mambo pair can adapt to what competitors are doing in very little time.

Stepping off the dance floor, we can ask:

·       How do we capture the Voice of our Customer?

·       Does the customer want to line dance or mambo? Do they want both?

·       What kind of dances are our current processes?

·       What kind of controls have we set up?  Are they based on line dancing preferences?

·       Do we make the customer dance to our beats and steps?

·       Can we break off line dancers who step into mambo quickly when the music changes?

·       How well do our competitors dance?

I think I hear the music. Do you want to dance?