Imagine you wanted to meet a friend for coffee.

Your friend suggests a place they think you'll like that's located in a nearby neighborhood. You've never been there before and don't know the address. How would you get there?

There are several ways you could find it:

Plug the name of the coffee shop into your maps app.
Look up the coffee shop's address and plug that into the maps app.
Hire a Lyft and plug the name of the coffee shop into the Lyft app.

There's probably several other ways to find your way there, but the point is you'd figure it out.

Employees working in a service culture operate the same way. They’re given a clear direction, and they find a way to get the job done. That is the essence of a why a service culture is so important.

More on that in a moment. But first, let's define a service culture so we're all on the same page.

What is service culture?

A service culture is a type of organizational culture where employees are obsessed with customer service.

They are constantly looking for ways to act in service to their customers, whether they work with customers directly or support other employees who do. Employees in a service culture have several characteristics in common. They consistently:

Think about how to help customers.
Act to make customers' lives better.
Understand why service is important.

You can find more information about what it means to have a service culture here.

Why is service culture important?

Service culture is short-hand for a customer-focused organizational culture. Employees in a service culture always seem to do the right thing. They encourage each other, proactively solve problems, and constantly look for ways to go the extra mile.

Think of the companies you most admire. Chances are, you'll see many examples of a strong service culture:

Employees are consistently friendly and welcoming.
Products and services work exceptionally well.
Any issues you do experience are minor, and are quickly resolved.

Contrast that with what you typically see at a company that doesn't have a service culture:

Employees are not always friendly or welcoming.
Products and services are glitchy, and often fail.
You often experience issues, and getting them resolved is a hassle.

Which type of company do you want to work for? It seems like an easy choice.

What are the tangible benefits of service culture?

Companies with a strong service culture enjoy a number of advantages over their competition, including increased efficiency, customer retention, and reputation.

Let's go back to the coffee shop example to understand efficiency.

Your friend doesn't need to give you detailed instructions on how to get to the coffee shop. They also don't need to constantly monitor your progress as you navigate your way there. All you need is the location and you'll figure out the rest.

It's the same way in a service culture.

Managers don't need to spend all their time telling employees what to do or how to do it. They also don't need to constantly monitor their employees' actions to ensure people are doing the right thing. Employees know their jobs and do them well.

Customer retention is another benefit.

One executive wanted to better understand customer needs, so he skipped the usual survey and spent a few weeks calling existing customers directly. The idea was to better understand their needs and get feedback on how his company could serve them better.

This simple exercise yielded more than $75,000 in gross profit in just a few weeks. Even better, it provided a blueprint for retaining more customers that he could share with his account managers. It all focused on being customer-obsessed.

Reputation is a third benefit of a service culture.

The founder of a small start-up generated over $100,000 in referral business during year one by getting his small team focused on delivering a consistent brand of service. Despite being a new entrant in a crowded field, the company quickly built momentum by taking business from larger, more established competitors who couldn’t provide the same level of service.

There's one more benefit, and it’s personal.

Imagine attending a networking event where people from various companies are present. One person works for a company that's famous for its service culture. People excitedly ask questions about the company. They make comments like, "It must be so much fun to work there!"

Another person works for a company that's infamous for a poor culture. People approach that person and gripe about their own experiences. They ask for advice on getting complaints resolved. Many make comments like, "It must be a miserable place to work!"

Which company would you rather work for?

Conclusion

Creating a strong service culture isn't easy, otherwise more companies would do it. The reality is it takes a big commitment.

If you're one of the few who's willing to make that commitment, there's a step-by-step guidebook available. It's called The Service Culture Handbook.