Our Team

Neil Wilson

Mobile: +44 (0)7714 705597 neil.wilson@customeressential.com

For Neil the secret of getting customer management right is to integrate it into an organisation's strategy – and then get everyone involved, from top to bottom, to deliver that strategy.

The co-lead in developing Customer Essential's Customer Navigator evaluation and implementation tool, he says: "Moving from a product focused, internally focused organisation to a customer led organisation is all about getting the leadership to set the right tone, strategy and goals. They need to articulate the vision and then engage the whole organisation to face the right way - towards their customers. That is a big challenge in some organisations (and leaders), but the really exciting thing is that there is a huge opportunity for those who get it right".

And the full interview...

Neil first spotted the potential of customer management while working for a direct Financial Services firm, which at the time was a way off from realising this potential.

He says: "Much of the way the business was organised was around products and everything was internally focused. Even when the product development team tried to be innovative they did not include the customer in the development process. To him, it was no real surprise that there were difficulties selling the product because customers could not see how it addressed their needs and it was so complex that no one could understand it anyway!”.

For Neil the secret of getting customer management right is to integrate it into an organisation's strategy – and then get the whole organisation engaged and involved, from top to bottom, in delivery to the customer. He says: "Moving from a product focused, internally focused organisation to a customer led organisation is all about getting the leadership to set the right tone, strategy and goals. They need to articulate the vision and then get the whole organisation facing the right way - towards the customers. That is a big challenge in some organisations, but the really exciting thing is there is a huge opportunity for those who get it right".

He says one central challenge is to get all parts of an organisation working together in pursuit of the same goals. "In all organisations there are going to be some bits that are working really well for the “customer” (the definition of which includes internal, end, intermediaries and delivery partners). However, unless they are all joined up, you have the right plan and objectives and unless everyone is pointing in the right direction, you are not going to maximise the potential of the organisation".

Neil points out that getting customer management right is about looking at what you do from the customers’ perspective. "If you do it right for the customer then most of the time you are doing it right for the organisation. It is clearly sensible to focus on understanding who your best customers are, to understand their needs and to develop products and services for them and to try and retain your most valuable customers."

Part of Neil's role within Customer Essential has been to co-develop their Customer Navigator tool, which is used to rapidly evaluate the CM strengths and gaps of a business. The process helps to outline the steps they need to take to define and achieve their customer management goals. He says: "It is a very practical and pragmatic tool for businesses who want to embed CM within their organisation. At CE we are really focused on knowledge transfer so we developed this tool specifically with this in mind. Ultimately, using the Customer Navigator, Clients can help themselves with the actual CM implementation."

He adds: "One of the core elements of Customer Essential is that we want to help the people within the client organisation to shine. We want to inspire them to move forward, to be brave and to take the next step along their customer management journey. We see our job as consultants being to help create a spark and to provide support through our experience, tools and through coaching to help clients make a difference to their business and their customers."

Having lived and worked abroad for several years, Neil is particularly good at acknowledging and working with the different cultures found within different organisations. This is key because successful CM is all about managing the people aspect of change.

Neil says that while some organisations, notably retailers and banks, have started to understand customer management properly, many more have not yet seen the light.  He points out that good customer management requires more than mere lip service from an organisation if it is to achieve goals. He says: "If you look in any company's annual report it will no doubt say that the organisation is very customer focused. But it has got to be more than just words. It has got be backed up by the behaviour, the decisions and the budget allocations made by the top management. They have got to walk the talk."

He adds: "A lot of big organisations have forgotten, because they have got so big, that they are actually a business providing goods and servoces and it is the end customer who pays their salaries. They have become bureaucratic and functionally focused. That is a real challenge for them. They have got to get close to their customers in order to have a better understanding of how to run their business".

What all organisations should be striving for, he says, is customer commitment. Because if a customer trusts a business to deliver what it says it will deliver – and the business does so consistently– then they will not be tempted to go elsewhere.

He says: "Every time a customer touches an organisation there is an opportunity for it to go up or down in their estimation. Organisations that can truly embrace the idea of it being a two way relationship with their customers, who have developed the trust of their customers and can give consistent good delivery, will be the winners."

And there are big rewards for the winners. He says: "Just by understanding who your most valuable customers are and then focusing on retaining say your top 10 per cent, an organisation can see huge improvements in their bottom line. It is not really rocket science, but time and again senior business leaders still for a detailed “business case” even to do some basic customer value analysis! As I said earlier, not everyone has grasped the basics of customer management, so again, there is the opportunity for those who do!”

FACTFILE

Qualifications: BA (Hons) European Business Administration and Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures Européennes de Management from Middlesex business school/Groupe ESC Reims. Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and Chartered Insurer.

Particular skills: CM Strategy, People and Cultural implications of embedding CM, strong influencing and communication skills and the ability to engage with people at all levels.

Neil is a Freelance Consultant