CustomerCulture:
A Better Way
CustomersUnited
(CU)
arose from an idea to establish a fresh approach for customers and corporates to
manage change; to bring greater clarity, fairness and influence for customers across
the social spectrum; and to base our enterprise on a clear set of principles and
aims on which CU
is founded and measured.
The power of the digital-age, now commonly used by large corporates to reach their
customer for selling and marketing, CU harnesses to enable the small customer to reach their corporates, regulators
and government for a single purpose: change.
Based
On Principles & Societal Shift
Each Principle we define, ten in all so far, has arisen from a need
for society to shift away from old thinking: the cause of many of today's problems,
to new thinking and solutions for a better way forward.
Our ten principles are customer-centric and defined for benefiting ordinary people and their families.
But each also benefits corporates, regulators and government.
Ultimately our ten principles benefit society. (See Article: Societal Shift... in
the ImprovementForum) |
Principle 1, 2 and 3, based on customer-culture shifts, are for
CU to achieve for the customer.
Principles 4, 5 and 6 are for corporates to achieve for the customer.
Principles 7, 8 and 9 are societal shifts CU
will promote for the customer. And Principle 10 is for
CU and government to achieve for the customer of democracy.
“You must become the change you wish to see in the world.”
1 Gandhi
“I must create a system or be enslaved by
another man's”
2 William Blake
CustomersUnited
has become the first change. We have created a new system, a Better Way for customers to cause many more.
Stage1, sets out our stall in detail with
the objective to explain our purpose and deliver:
A Call to Action to customers.
A Call to Action to corporates.
A Call to Action to regulators and government. |
Customers Needs
Customers, in our tens of millions,
are the recipients of almost all business change, either directly or indirectly. A single generation
of change, much of it excellent, delivers useful and progressive things for mankind.
But this generation, especially lately, also delivers many
unsatisfactory changes borne of greed, uncaring, profiteering and some are even regressing earlier progress
or bringing new ills.
These failures in our
generation are already delivering their consequences in the world around us: debt and taxes left to the next generation, loss of homes,
jobs, lifestyle, damage to the atmosphere,
the seas, animals and fish, wilderness...planet
earth. And sadly some of these failures are manifesting in the next generation now as: childhood obesity, liver disease, asthma, allergies, diabetes...
History is showing us the consequences of the “old way”.
We should not
be resigned to it nor to leaving such a legacy to
future generations to come.
There is a better way.
The Needs Principle - 1
In whatever ways some corporate developments of products and services
are unsatisfactory, they share one common thread: |
they are not now, and some never were, needed by customers.
Learning from this lesson therefore, it would seem that a better way must be built
upon a
simple guiding principle:
Customers needs must be at the heart of what informs and guides corporate development.
CustomersUnited is founded on this
first principle, The Needs Principle, and is set up to
achieve it through the following aims:
Aim 1 Our reason to be is simple
To independently and openly gather Customer Needs and Customer Reconnaissance
from a diverse and large customer base, for the purpose of influencing and informing the corporate and government changes we (the customers) need to see
in the world.1
Aim 2 A Commercial Social-Enterprise
CustomersUnited is formed as a
customer-centric, socially conscious, independent, web-based, commercial enterprise. |
Aim 3
Our Goal - A Better Way
To cause a shift in customer culture, for the customer to
regain a position
of influence. To cause corporates, government and regulators
to shift their culture to accommodate customers influence on
change. Establish the
BetterWay 2, based on our 10 principles of underlying societal
shifts and customer influence*, as the norm for future change -
achieved by this generation of customers for us, our children and the generations to come.
*(see also "People's Influence" discussed under
CU
Principles for government)
Aim 4 CU: A Trusted Causer of Change
To remain independent and to become a respected, trusted brand, the causer
of change:
. the first place where corporates come to find
out what customers need of them; and
. the first place where customers come to
cause the change they need to see
in the world
CustomersUnited
is the means by which ordinary people can unite in common purpose to influence change: caused by the people; for the people; informed by the needs of the people; through the medium of the digital age. |
Our Place in the World
The Consumer Counsel, “Which?”
(Magazine etc.), do a great job testing products and helping customers
decide on what to buy. The press and media bring to customers’ attention,
advertising, news of developments and when things go wrong, as well as readers letters. Then there is OFCOM, OFTEL, Office of Fair Trading, Trading
Standards, Competition Commission, FOS/FSA: the OFFxUK's set-up to monitor, investigate, regulate industry. And finally, we have dedicated TV and radio programmes
like the BBC Watchdog or BBC/Chanel4 current affairs, and more recently
celebrity
chefs focusing on better,
healthier eating and on the food chain, highlighting issues and specific problems
which merit society's concern.
Our place in the world is before all of the above:
. Before a product comes
into existence;
. Before a service level is
defined;
. Before a corporate
implements its direction,
strategy or policy;
|
The Pre-emptive Principle - 2
Simply put, we are placed to
pre-empt change in the world of customers by enabling the influence of customers:
. to inform and accelerate business
developments which are needed by them
. to inform and alter the course of
business changes which are not.
CustomersUnited
is founded on this
second principle, The Pre-emptive Principle, and is set
up to achieve it through the following aims:
Aim 5 Pre-emptive Partnerships
The CustomerPartnership
is a commitment agreement, corporates sign-up to in order to access
Customer Influence data (Needs and Reconnaissance)
for the purpose of change. Needs data and Reconnaissance data are not to be bought,
coerced
or obtained with gimmicks or prizes by
CU but received from customers freely giving
their time, effort and thought for the sole, eventual reward of
change. Partnership gives corporates access to this valuable data not for marketing
but to deliver that reward: change.
The CustomerPartnership is about effective, committed
corporate partners, who take the CustomersUnited
Influence Data (CUiD-
"quid" ) seriously from the boardroom down. Although operationally a partnership
with CU,
it is |
effectively a partnership between a corporate and
their customers through
CU
- a CustomerPartnership
Aim 6 Partnership Hall of Change
TheHallOfChange
will show the major achievements emanating from customers efforts with CU.
The role of TheHallOfChange
in our cynical times, is to show customers their trust was not misplaced in our “We Mean Business" partners; and that change is possible.
Aim 7 A Customer Led Forward-Focus
The CU
ImprovementForum and TheWire
are both forward-focusing devices, led by customer needs and customer
experience.
The ImprovementForum
produces in-depth, balanced articles focusing on the major issues of today affecting customers, with the underlying question: do we the
customers deserve better? However, the follow-up ImprovementSurvey will typically focus
on the future and seek customers needs to pre-emptively
inform corporate development for society.
TheWire dynamically reflects the pulse of
the nation, to inform regulators, corporates and government of what is
happening on the ground now - people's reconnaissance - to pre-empt and help prioritise future policy and solutions. |
A Constant for Customers
To be truly effective for change, CU must become a constant
presence for customers. The old way of some corporates inviting some customers to take part in
some surveys, has brought us some good
changes but quite a few that consistent customer involvement would have avoided.
The Constant Principle -
3
CU must become a constant process and
resource, possessing consistent qualities and mechanisms dedicated to recording customer needs and customer reconnaissance data.
CustomersUnited is founded on this
third principle, The Constant Principle, and is set up
to achieve it with the following aims:
Aim 8 A Constant Customer Base
We aim to be a constant, customer hub; the place dedicated for customers of all
large corporates. User Registration aims to build a
verifiable, large, customer
base drawn from the widest demographic of customers at the broadest range of corporates. Ultimately, everyone who cares about change. |
Aim 9
A Constant Consistent Word
Say once; improve many. Our open surveys will be taken once by customers but
be available to many corporates for each to
make their own improvements.
Aim 10 Constantly
Customer-Centric
CU is dedicated to be customer-centric in our activities. Campaigns, articles, site pages etc.
will be presented with
balance but overall will lean in favour of the customer. (See Our Position For
Customers page)
Aim 11 Corporate Intentions
CU intention is never to be a
destructive or negative force. Our stated aims and approach are all designed to
be creative and positive. We realise success depends on our becoming
the brand “CustomersUnited” and staying true to all we stand for.
We will work to forge effective relationships with our corporate partners without
compromising our aims for customers.(See We Mean Business and Societal Shift,
Customer Change)
Aim 12 A Constant Resource
We aim to be a constant customer-needs resource: central, online, generally available 24/7 to all corporate partners and customers. |
Aim 13 We are NOT FOR
endless debate, online discussions, being a talking shop, considering only the negatives, diminishing
the achievements of some of the world’s greatest corporates (many of them started, like us, from humble,
often one-man, beginnings right here in the UK). We are not for bringing down any corporate business, group or institution,
only for improving them. We are not set up to take on individual complaints.
Aim 14 We ARE FOR
quietly and effectively getting the job done.
No noise. Just ringing in the changes!
Aim 15 Taking Our Own Medicine
In our opening survey at
registration, we ask you what you need of CU:
.
Firstly, is CU needed by customers?
. Is the current situation, by sector,
acceptable to you?
. Is business development based on united
customers needs the better way for the
companies you do business with? etc.
We will practice a constant improvement policy in all we have set out to do, and we will base our own change
on our plans as well as customer and corporate needs. |