Today’s customers are much more informed and radically different from customers of the past. Because of this, more emphasis is put on managing the customer journey, end to end, throughout the entire organization. This may require breaking down some departmental silos to get performance where it should be, especially in what I call the customer-facing areas: sales, marketing and customer service.

Customers don’t pick a company because its organizational structure is the latest craze or it makes exhibiting a priority. But rather, they pick a company based on whether or not they feel it can help accomplish what they want. Anything less and you risk losing the customer.

Why break down department silos?

A lot of companies are discussing the importance of the customer experience and how it influences revenue growth and customer churn. I believe aligning sales, marketing and customer service is critical to the customer receiving a consolidated message, therefore trusting the company brand.

When we allow sales, marketing and customer service to work as autonomous units, we give them permission to unleash all sorts of problems. This can ultimately deflect energy and needed finances away from the big picture. In silos, employees may socialize more within their own silo, and unknowingly be building barriers against other key areas of the organization. In silos, leadership can often be more focused on their departmental deliverables, and limit the involvement of their employees in intra-organizational meetings where communications between areas are critical. Departmental silos tend to have their own budgets and spending may not be directly related to the organization’s main focus. Then there is the issue of financial incentives given to individual areas rather than being tied to corporate goals where everyone can share. These types of financial incentives can create sub-groups that are focused on their own responsibilities due to the financial rewards. The risks of these silos include:

1. Creating a “walled-off” environment between key revenue groups.
2. Creating resentment that can spill over onto the customer.
3. Missing your revenue goals and ramping up customer churn.
4. Creating low employee morale causing a sluggish organization.

There is plenty of research data supporting the customer experience, but it’s these customer-facing areas: sales, marketing and customer service, that have the most influence on that outcome. If 68% of customer defection takes place because customers feel poorly treated (ref1), can you pinpoint where that is happening in your organization? If a 2% increase in customer retention has the same impact on profits as cutting costs by 10% (ref2), are sales, marketing and customer service working towards this goal together, or are they hunkered down in their well-dressed silos?

Without a course correction to bring these customer-facing activities into alignment, the issues of customer churn and other conditions could signal a more serious problem on the horizon.

Alignment – How Does It Benefit the Company?

75% of organizations that report sales and marketing alignment, said they beat their revenue goals, while just 44% of non-aligned organizations passed this critical performance milestone (ref3).

1. Greater productivity. Getting everyone on the same team and speaking the same message cuts down on double work, confusion, wasted time, and reduces the risk of key elements of the campaign slipping through the cracks. Projects are completed more quickly and with greater efficiencies.
2. Enhanced customer experience. Creating a positive customer experience isn’t one person’s or one department’s responsibility. It takes a team that is focused and not disjointed to deliver the brand’s cohesive image and message to help the customer feel more connected to the company.
3. Increased return on investment. Gaining efficiencies by aligning customer-facing areas gives everyone more time to focus on big picture initiatives, time to develop new and innovative ideas, therefore reaching targets faster. This, and the improved customer experience, leads to a stronger ROI, whereby unified teams can reap the rewards.

 How to break down silos.

1. Leadership. Make sure you are hiring the right “team” players and not those who are more interested in their own hierarchical. Develop one attitude among this group of C-level leaders – everyone wins when the company wins, and then rewards that behavior. Leaders need to trust other leaders and their abilities, so spend time together to understand your fellow leaders.
2. Formal Plan. What is the organization’s strategic plan, and have all the leadership signed off on it? Make it a formal plan that is posted and communicated constantly so there grows a sense of unity at all levels of the company.
3. Communications. Break down the silos and encourage intra-department communications, especially around the big picture. Get key individuals from sales, marketing and customer service into intra-departmental meetings so that their voices are heard, and to create a backflow of communications into their areas. This can get everyone on the same page to drive performance. Build an open-collaboration workplace with change advocates in every department.
4. Pull the group together. People in different parts of the building or different locations working on the same projects can be difficult at best. Consider rearranging these customer-facing areas so they are together, physically, as a team.
5. Develop a monthly “town-hall” meeting. Use this meeting to share company goals and to explain “why” you are doing what you’re doing to get employees’ buy-in. Also be honest and address any issues standing in the way of accomplishing those goals and ask for input.

Jack Walsh of GE fame did just this and transformed GE from a highly bureaucratic, labor-intensive and slow corporate giant into a highly productive entrepreneurial organization that functioned with speed, simplicity and a passion of a small company.

1. Appreciation. You cannot always give out financial incentives, but you can show your appreciation with a smile or a friendly hello. Recognize the employees and their contributions in front of their peers. Show gratitude – top to bottom.
2. Encourage social gatherings. Get your employees together where they can socialize with each other and get to know that “other” person. What are some social events the company can do together to create the bond?
3. Develop a corporate incentive program. Sales, marketing and customer service usually have their own financial incentives, but they aren’t the only employees. What can you do to incentivize all departments when the company reaches its corporate goals?

Now What?

Once the silos are gone and you’re left with this new committee, task force, or project group, you need to continually emphasize new communication skills and avenues, new active listening methods, new conflict resolution rules, and new team motivation.

Don’t be discourage if your team doesn’t make a 360-degree turn its first time around. These individuals have ingrained communications styles, habits and attitudes. Breaking down the silos to increase performance takes patience and perseverance.

Keep your eye on the goal of increasing ROI and improving the customer experience.

References: 1-TARP / 2-Bain&Company / 3-Sirous Decisions