An introduction to The Customer Balance Sheet
Drivers of Trust Drivers of Service
1. Market research as a business
discipline has complained for years that
it doesn’t get enough airtime at the top
table. One reason for this is that the
language of research jars with the
language of the Top Table.
2. Board meetings are dominated by reports
and discussion on budgets, business
performance, compliance and risk,
operational controls and strategy. Everything
is expressed in numbers or as a binary
yes/no status. By comparison Research is
seen as ambiguous, wordy, inconclusive.
3. By adopting the language of the Board
Research should better fit with the
expectations of executives. Creating a
Customer Balance Sheet could be a way
forward.
4. The Customer Balance Sheet posits that
the relationship between a firm and its
customer base is just that – a relationship.
As such there are roles and responsibilities
on both sides that have to be in place to
make it work.
5. In balance sheet terms, that which is
given by the customer to the firm is a
Liability i.e. something that can be taken
away, and that which is given by the firm to
the customer is an Asset i.e. something it
owns.
6. The customer balance sheet suggests
that what a firm wants from its market is
‘trust’ and what customers want is ‘service’.
These can be argued about for ever, but lets
not. The point is to move on and see if this
works.
7. The Drivers of Trust are taken
wholesale from Concerto Marketing. The
drivers of service are my own and based
on nothing more than experience,
business knowledge and a gut feel.
8. When you line up the six drivers of
trust and the six drivers of service you
get the balance sheet
9. Taking a step back and looking at
these 12 categories raises questions –
how many of them are you monitoring?
Some for sure, but not all. I bet. How
many are balanced? A fiver says none.
10. And a balance sheet suggests
numbers so each of these 12 will have a
number. Fair enough. And some statto
will have fun normalising data to create
a single basis for comparison within and
across companies. The real point
however is to know what you want to
track and get on with it. Refinement will
come in due course, if it is seen as
useful.
11. And there you have it. A way of
presenting in one table the fundamental
non-Financial performance metrics for a
firm allowing the Board to identify areas
for action. And before you throw your
hands up in horror at the apparent
oversimplification of everything
remember this could be worse, it could
be NPS.
12. Can you improve this? Go on, have
a go.
mikeyb.63@hotmail.com
#1 Stability Loyalty, over time
#2 Innovation Early adopter/# of products
#3 Relationship Access/Engagement
#4 Practical value Share of wallet
#5 Vision Feedback
#6 Competence Advocacy
1 – Stability & Loyalty over time
If I provide a constant presence and certain delivery
over time, in return I am looking for your loyalty over
time.
2 – Innovation & Early adopter/# of products
If I innovate, in return I am looking for you to test and
buy these products
3 – Relationship & Access/Engagement
If I set up a relationship model to serve you, in return
you have to give me reasonable access to you to
conduct that relationship
4 – Practical Value & Share of Wallet
If I deliver something that meets a need, in return I’d
like you to spend money on it. How much money
depends on how good I am at the other things on the
list.
5 – Vision & Feedback
If I explain where I am taking this business and how
that will benefit you, in return I want you to tell me
what you want, how its going and what could be
better. In a relationship, we need to talk.
6 – Competence & Advocacy
If I am good at what I do, in return I want you to tell
other people.
© Michael Barnes 2010