Adopting a Customer First Strategy. Even the Police Can Get it Right!

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In most countries, the population have a love / hate relationship with their police. You can imagine my surprise, therefore, to find myself writing about how they appear to be adopting a customer first strategy in Switzerland!

Let me explain. A few years ago they introduced a new-style speed radars in the villages around my home town. The elements are not that new per se, I know, but last week it suddenly hit me why these speed cameras seem to be so effective. It’s simple; they’re customer centric! The Swiss police have adopted a customer first strategy! And that’s why I want to share more about this story here.

 

Background

Police speed camera
Image Source: Wikipedia

One of the reasons why the Police are disliked in many (dare I say most?) countries, is because of their insidious speed controls.

Whether they are permanent fixtures as on the right, or temporary ones, we all dislike the flash that tells us it’s too late, that we’ve been “caught.”

We then wait a few days, to weeks or even months, naively hoping that it wasn’t our car that was flashed. But eventually the letter arrives asking us to pay a fine.

I think the worst of them all are the laser guns that the Police have been using for many years now. We don’t even know we’ve been flashed until the communication arrives at our home! Or we are pulled up a few hundred meters down the road.

 

Example of a customer first strategy in action with a smiley traffic radar
Image source: Alibaba

The relatively new types of radar that are being introduced in my home area don’t flash either. But that’s because we never get “caught” as such.

You see they measure our speed and give us immediate feedback. Take a look at the photo on the right; I’m sure you’ve seen such installations before in your own area.

Now if we make the assumption that all four types of equipment are to get road users to decrease their speed in critical areas – and not just to gather money as I’ve heard suggested – then the results must vary widely.

 

 

So let me share my thoughts from the perspective of a customer first strategy champion.

 

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Permanent radars

Everyone quickly knows where these are located. In fact, in some countries there are warning signs and they are actually highlighted on the GPS mapping system you may have in your car.

speed radar warning
Image source: Pixabay

In some places, the permanent radars are not always functioning, as the cameras inside them are rotated between installations. It is therefore not possible to know which radars are active and which aren’t. The Police then get a multiple deterrent effect, beyond the number of cameras they have actually installed.

A driver’s behaviour when passing this type of installation, tends to be the following. The traffic is rolling along “normally” and probably over the speed limit. Then everyone brakes hard just in time to pass the radar below the maximum speed allowed. They then speed up again to continue along the road at their previous faster pace.

This phenomenon is in fact well known by the Police. In fact, they sometimes add a second, mobile radar a few hundred meters down from the permanent one, to catch those who are once again speeding!

Even the warning signs, as on the left, don’t have much impact on drivers and the speed limitation is quickly forgotten.

Whether they get caught with the first or second radar, the impact on the end customer, the driver, will be the same.

They feel angry and frustrated, which makes them less attentive, and may result in them driving more erratically. They may even speed up feeling that now they have been caught, there is nothing more to lose!

Not good for the driver nor the Police’s objective of maintaining a slower, safer speed in the vicinity. Clearly not a part of a customer first strategy!

In Switzerland they did try painting the cameras to make them stand out in a fun way. The Emmental cheese on the right used to be close to Geneva airport, but I have seen giraffes and other designs here too. Of course I have also seen other radars that have been painted, but these were done by angry motorists!

 

Temporary radars

Temporary radars have a similar function to the permanent ones, but it usually takes a day or two for drivers to become aware of their location. Their reactions will then be similar to the permanent radars, with the slowing down before and the speeding up after the radar has been passed.

This is not good for traffic fluidity, nor for slowing it down. And the drivers’ reactions if flashed will be just the same as with the permanent installations. Again, not good for making the roads safer by slowing down the traffic, and clearly not a demonstration of a customer first strategy.

 

Laser speed guns

Police laser gun
Image source: Wikipedia

These are probably the most hated form of speed control by drivers. They have no knowledge of where they are, nor even that they have been flashed. It could be argued that they are therefore not a deterrent to speeding, but a pure money-making exercise for the Police.

I admit that the Police do tend to stand in certain places where speeding is a common occurrence. Knowledgeable, local drivers look out for them when approaching the areas and adapt their speed accordingly.

But overall they are not really a device to deter speeding and therefore the associated sentiments are very negative.

Once again this type of radar would not be used if the Police have adopted a customer first strategy.

 

Speed Information

The speed radar that prompted this post measures your speed but then immediately gives you feedback. You are rewarded with a happy green smiley if you are within the speed limit. Or a red frown with a message to slow down if you are speeding.

I have witnessed people approaching these devices and slowing down whether or not they are speeding. And they don’t speed up after they have passed them either. How’s that for having a positive influence on behaviour?

Also, if the drivers are like me, they also get a feel-good feeling for being congratulated for not speeding. I find these by far the most efficient at controlling traffic speed and fluidity, but of course the Police don’t get any money.

 

What This Has to Do with Your business

So why is this example relevant for you and your own customer first strategy? Well, ask yourself what you really want for your business? 

In the case of the police, I am assuming that they want to reduce the speed of drivers in certain areas and make the roads safer for everyone. In this case, the customer-centric approach, which has by far the most success at slowing drivers down to within the speed limit along a larger portion of the road, is the information panel. If that is their objective, then the Police in every country should adopt these new style radars.

But if those who consider speed checks to be a mere money-making operation are right, then the Police will continue to use one of their other options. And they must accept the negative consequences on so many levels, not just on their image or speeding in their localities.

So, take a hard look at your own business actions and ask yourself what you really want for your business? If you are sincerely customer centric, you will stop any practices that you know your customers wouldn’t like.

Half filled packaging – gone. False claims and promises – deleted. Getting credit card details for free trials in the hope customers will forget to cancel and you can automatically charge them for a service that haven’t specifically requested. Not any longer! These all might get you that first sale but you won’t get you happy and loyal customers who become advocates for your brand.

I dedicated a whole post to the ways that companies try to cheat their customers. If you’d like to read it click on this link and see many more ways of cheating the customer that you should avoid: “https://c3centricity.com/how-to-cheat-your-customers/”

[bctt tweet=”What do you want for your business? If you are sincerely customer centric, you will stop any practices that you know your customers wouldn’t like.” username=”Denysech”]

If you don’t want to cheat your customers, who would as it is not a viable long-term business model? – then you must objectively evaluate your current practices.

Ask yourself what you want your customers to think and feel about your brand. What are the objectives you have for your business and your customers? What changes in your customers’ attitude or behaviour are you looking to encourage? How does your brand provide a solution to your customers? 

These questions are just a small selection we use in our highly successful 7-step insight development process called CATSIGHT™.


If you’d like to know more about it or get trained in insight development and adopting a customer-first strategy, then check out our new courses. You could learn how to develop actionable business insights in under two hours!

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