A non-commissioned consultant for a better customer orientation…

Customer Culture at the Heart of Advertising Campaigns

But is it really?

Over the past few days, I’ve been paying close attention to several ad campaigns that highlight the importance of customer culture.

Example 1: the CIC campaign about non-commissioned advisors.

When Sales Targets Blur Customer Satisfaction

It’s been clearly demonstrated that when financial or commercial indicators take precedence over customer satisfaction, employees tend to focus primarily on hitting their targets rather than satisfying their customers.

CIC, like several other players in the financial services industry, has chosen to strengthen the customer culture among its teams, and that’s to their credit.

Sales and Customer Satisfaction: Enemies or Allies?

But wait… does this mean that selling and customer satisfaction are two opposing activities?
Do customers not want to buy anything? Have no needs at all? Then… are they really customers?

I’m being deliberately provocative, because I fear we may be sending the wrong message by trying to separate “sales orientation” from “customer focus.”

The Good Salesperson: The One Who Sells Right

Any salesperson can make sales.
A great salesperson makes sales that truly meet the customer’s needs.

So-called “good sales”, those aligned with genuine customer needs, should be valued above “bad sales.”
Trying to decouple sales performance from customer satisfaction seems like a mistake.

Ideally, we should define KPIs that reward the right kind of salespeople, those who sell responsibly, ethically, and with the customer’s best interest in mind.

No, sales is not a dirty word.
And no, sales and customer satisfaction are not mutually exclusive.

Let’s instead bring back the pride of great selling.

Author: Guillaume Antonietti