The past two weeks for me have been spent Down Under working for my wonderful client, Volkswagen Group Australia. As I’ve met with many great folks – from those working in dealerships in Tasmania and New South Wales to those in the call center in the home office – I’m once again struck by the critical role that leadership plays in delivering the customer experience.

I don’t think any leader goes to the office any morning with a mission to erode the level of service that her organization is providing for customers. So, the question becomes, “Why does this happen?”

While the solution is complex, the answer is simple: Leaders get distracted from the most important mission they have in business – creating an experience so compelling to customers that their loyalty becomes assured.

I’ve seen it happen in public companies, where leaders get distracted by what’s happening in the market and how investors view their share price. I’ve seen it in larger private companies where those in charge become obsessed with balance sheets and EBITDA. I’ve seen it in small businesses, where entrepreneurs get blinded by landing new transactions and keeping their sales funnel full.

The blinding flash of the obvious should be that everything from share price and investor attitudes…to balance sheets and EBITDA…to sales and vibrant funnels…improve when customers enthusiastically repeat their business and tell their friends and colleagues about you.

As a leader, you have one mission. You need to do what it takes to deliver that Ultimate Customer Experience to those who do business with you.

Naturally, there are multiple subsets to this:

• How do you construct and manage a team of employees that are trained and empowered to do this?
• How do you know what the “ultimate experience” is for your particular group of customers?
• How do you execute a strategy than ensures this approach is done in a profitable manner for your business?
• And many more…

At one Volkswagen dealership I visited this week, a change was recently made in ownership and leadership. Bringing in leadership who believes in this approach, sales have almost tripled in the first period of their efforts.

Sales didn’t get better because the leader pounded on desks and shouted at them to sell more cars. It’s because he changed the culture. From the moment you walk in the dealership, to the time you depart (frequently in your new car!), you can just sense the commitment to the customer.

What is fundamentally important to note is this:

• it’s the same cars (Volkswagens)
• sold in the same building
• by the same people.

What changed was the leadership – and the approach those leaders brought to the business.

You don’t have to change ownership or leadership. What you can change is YOU.

When you understand the most critical mission that you have in business – no matter what you do or where you are – is to create experiences for customers that are so compelling their loyalty is assured, you can enhance your results (sometimes dramatically)!

Are you willing to refocus on your most critical mission this coming week?