Frank J. Navran - Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics

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In these situations, customers are often“greeted” when they enter the store. Rarelydo they have to scan and bag their ownpurchases. And, they typically receive asmile and a thank you as they leave. Ifcustomers have specific questions, they getanswers. And sometimes, they are even“pointed in the right direction.”3. Customer care—this is Scott’s term for thedeliberate effort to exceed customers’ expectations.This is when the customer receivesmore attention, help, support, information,courtesy, etc. than they expected, thuscreating a new, higher expectation. Thistypically results in acompetitive advantagein the customer’smind, because theyhave received a level ofattentiveness and supportthat differentiatesthat provider.Scott’s research wasclear. Customer care increases customerloyalty by eightfold or more. In other words,customers who believe that they are cared forwill not only go out of their way to do businesswith that service provider, but will bragto their friends about how smart they wereto have found such a wonderful place to dobusiness. They are eight times more likely tobecome “repeat” customers.As a result of adopting Scott’s model asa foundational element of my practice, I haveenjoyed a 90% repeat rate among consulting clients.Simply stated, nine out of ten of my clientscome back for more. The result is I have muchmore time to do the work that I love, becauseI have to spend so much less time scrabblingaround for new opportunities to do so. I somewhatfacetiously tell colleagues and clientsalike that my primary marketing strategy for…the bottom linein most of theethics work we docomes downto integrity.the past 15 to 20 years has been to answer thephone when it rings.With that as context, let’s shift the conversationto a redefinition of ROI. Over the years,a realization has been emerging that my focusis still squarely on ROI. The difference is thatalthough the acronym remains the same, themeaning is changed. In the ethics world “I”stands for “Integrity.” In 25+ years of organizationalconsulting focused on issues relatedto ethics and leadership, integrity has beena key consideration in nearly every engagement.Many clients are motivated by practicaland/or pragmatic considerations, rangingfrom controlling their costs to conforming toexternally imposed standards(such as the FederalSentencing Guidelines forOrganizations), but thebottom line in most of theethics work we do comesdown to integrity.To understand integrity,it can be useful to look atthe root word—integer.An integer is a whole number, a number thatis not a fraction. It is a thing unto itself.Integrity is about us being whole. It isabout us ensuring that our behaviors andactions reflect our values and beliefs. When webehave in ways that are consistent with whatwe say we believe in and what we have taughtothers to expect of us, then we are being“whole” and acting with integrity. That is notto say that integrity guarantees that what weare doing is always the right or, necessarily,the best thing to do; but we are being consistentand predictable, a known quantity.Several years ago, when I was a line manager,one of my colleagues was a gentlemanwith whom I had daily interactions. He wasuniversally seen as being an SOB. In fact, thatreputation was so firmly entrenched that oneof my employers refer to him as a “sphericalCompliance & Ethics Professional July/August 2012+1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977 www.corporatecompliance.org 57
Compliance & Ethics Professional July/August 2012SOB.” A sphere, as you may recall from highschool geometry, is the only figure that looksexactly the same no matter which directionyou might view it from. Shine a light on asphere from any angle and the shadow isalways round. And that’s the way it was withBill. He was an SOB no matter how you lookedat him. So, to be certain, consistency is not, inand of itself, a virtue, but ethical consistency is.This little bit of reflection has led meto conclude that, at least in my world, ROIis still king, but for me the acronym nowreads “Return On Integrity.” For 25 years,the bottom line of the work I do with my clientshas only indirectly…work done ethically,with integrity, has apositive impact on thefinancial performanceof every legitimatebusiness enterprise.been about their financialreturn. The directfocus was on raisingthe levels of integrity intheir organization. Wewere working together toestablish and sustain thesystems, processes, andleadership necessary toensure that everything they said and did contributedto increasing integrity and the ethicalwholeness within their organizations.Lest that sound unbusiness-like, let me tiethe “ethics” ROI to the more common financialROI. Although I do not contend that thereis a certain, guaranteed correlation betweenintegrity and profitability, I do believe thereare several arguments that support the thesisthat work done ethically, with integrity, has apositive impact on the financial performanceof every legitimate business enterprise.For those of us in the business world, nothinghappens until somebody buys something.That something may be a tangible productor an intangible service or, more typically,a combination of both. Irrespective of whatthe customer buys, there are promises thataccompany that purchase. If those promisesare not met, the customer will not be satisfiedand, given the opportunity, will choose to dobusiness with your competitors in the future.If those promises are met or exceeded, thenScott’s three levels of customer service comeinto play.At Level 1, the customer receives everythingthey were promised—nothing more,nothing less. They have nothing to complainabout. Neither do they have anything to feelgreat about. Nothing to brag to their friendsabout except, perhaps, the small price paid.The transaction was successfully completed.It is not that different from putting my moneyin a vending machine. I pull the lever. I get theproduct. These customerswill go to any reasonablyconvenient provider wherethe product or service canbe purchased for the sameprice or less.At Level 2, the customerreceives everything theywere promised, accompaniedby polite, friendly,and courteous service. I go into the store. Mydesired product is easy to find. I select it, payfor it, and the clerk smiles and says, “Thankyou” or “Have a nice day” and I leave. I gotthe product. The product was as expected.And the experience was unexceptional, notunpleasant, just unexceptional. These customerswill go to any provider who promisesto provide that same product or service, at acompetitive price, whenever the need arises,without a second thought.At Level III, the customer goes into theestablishment, is greeted by name, welcomedback with a smile, and asked howthey might be helped. They are given direction,guidance, or whatever other help theymight need to make a confident, informeddecision. The person serving them is attentivewithout being intrusive. They are offeredsuggestions on how to optimize the value58 www.corporatecompliance.org +1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977
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