James P. Lewis in his book Working Together: 12 Principles for Achieving Excellence in Managing Projects, Teams, and Organizations says ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got’. And so it is. What is it that you do, who are your customers, where are you headed and importantly, how will you organise and communicate those messages to achieve your mission and realise your dream?
In my previous article I posed the question, Where Are You Headed? In this article I ask you one simple question—Who Are Your Customers?
It’s worth considering the eternal truism ‘you define the environment or it will define you’. When I first became the Director of the Navy Band it was an entirely different organisation to the one I left ten years later. At that time, the Royal Australian Navy had seven separate bands of differing size that were positioned in six naval bases around Australia. The seven bands came under different Commands and my predecessor, despite being responsible for the wider organisational management of the musicians, had little ability to influence the direction and outcomes of each of the bands. Worryingly, each band was moving in a different direction. There wasn’t a clear focus on what their roles were, who their customers were, or where they were headed. Furthermore, despite the significant differences in size and capability, each band was trying to deliver the same range and style of musical products; even though they didn’t have the skills and resources to do so. Consequently, there was a huge difference in quality across the brand and reputational outcomes were not being advanced. More concerning to me was the fact that the band had lost the ability to deploy musicians to sea, in a meaningful way, and on operational deployments.
With the help of the senior leaders in each band I collated the history of Navy’s musical ambassadors so that we could tell the proud story of ‘where we had been’ and set about redefining ‘who we were’, ‘what we stood for’, and ‘where we were headed’. The seven bands were incorporated into ‘one band’ with a seven detachments (The Royal Australian Navy Band), and output was realigned to better meet the requirements of the Navy. Crucially, this new operating model gave direct ownership of the band's outcomes to its senior leadership team.
A New Customer Model
Before we could reassess ‘where we were headed’ we needed to confirm who our customers were. I asked the musicians. Not surprisingly, almost all responded that our customers were our public audiences. In reality, this was far from being correct. In a traditional sense it was easy to accept that our public audiences were our customers; after all, bands and orchestras play for paying audiences and if they don’t deliver what the audience want then audiences won’t return and support subsequent performances. However, all of the Navy Band’s public performances were free. Furthermore, those public performances formed only a small part of who we played for. For example, the band supported visits to Australia by many Heads of State and also supported many Commonwealth activities each year. It also supported numerous military events throughout the nation every year and played an important role in promoting the image of Navy throughout the community.
After some detailed analysis, we broadened our customer model to incorporate the owner, the stockholder and the stakeholders.The result was the Government as owner, Navy as stockholder, and our people as primary stakeholders. Placing our people as the primary stakeholders highlighted the requirement to balance their professional development needs with the broader Navy requirements. Yes, our public audiences were also important; but they didn't form part of our primary customer base; and we would no longer think of them in that traditional way.
So the band’s new customer model evolved to recognise the needs of the owner, the stockholder, and the stakeholders. After all, the Australia Government was the owner; it invested significant money in the Defence program. Navy—as a key stockholder—had an obligation to ensure that the Australian Government received a satisfactory return on its investment; and Navy demonstrated its support for the band by allocating the necessary financial and human resources for it to contribute towards Navy’s objectives in support of Australian Government objectives.
In this new customer model, members of the band became the primary stakeholders. The band had an obligation to ensure Navy’s needs were met and, to do this effectively, it had to rely on Navy’s support. Importantly though, members of the band needed to have regard for their own unique creative capabilities when deciding how best to serve Navy’s needs. Yes, our public audiences were also important; but they weren’t our primary customer base. This was a radical new way of approaching our business; but is allowed us to reshape the products and services we were providing to each segment of the new customer model. I see a useful application of this type of customer model with my current position in a number of school band programs and also in my small printing business at Minuteman Press Liverpool.
For example, balancing the needs of the school executive team with that of the parent support committee whilst also nurturing the needs of the students can be a challenge. I would argue that each one of these groups is an important part of the customer model—not just the students who I endeavour to motivate with an exciting repertoire, or the parent committee who helps to provide the additional funds to sustain the program of activities, or the school executive who support a music programme at the school. They all form an important part of the customer model, and each has needs that must be met. To focus only on one part of the customer base would result in under-achievement and a sense of frustration and unfulfillment!
In the case of my printing business, I have to consider the needs of the franchisor who provides valuable training and ongoing support to me and my team; particularly, if I want that support to continue and if I also want to reap the benefits of the significant industry and organisational expertise of the Minuteman Press franchise. I also need to stay alert to the needs of the small business community in and around Liverpool as I go about building my relationship with them. Importantly, and this is all too often forgotten when people develop customer models, a happy workplace environment where staff feel challenged, acknowledged and rewarded is the third segment of this customer model. Focussing only on one area would result in failure of my business.
From a strategic point of view, you need to know who your customers are if you wish to grow your business, achieve your mission, and realise your dream?
So, who are your customers?
You can read a more indepth analysis at A Musical Voyage, Royal Australian Navy, 16 January 2012.
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