Early Lessons in Customer Value
At age 14, working in my family’s fashion retail business, I learned my first crucial lesson about customer value. No longer able to simply take products from our stores, I had to understand that customers work hard to afford these items. This fundamental realization shaped my entire approach to business and customer relations.
The Journey to Understanding
- Starting as a young floor assistant (sometimes making memorable mistakes like “Size 36? No, you’re way too fat for 36!”)
- Learning through direct customer interaction
- Being coached by entrepreneurial parents
- Developing deep customer empathy
- Understanding both sides of the business transaction
Evolution Through Hospitality
- Managing high-end events across Europe
- Handling multi-million franc budgets
- Coordinating international luxury experiences
- Learning perfect service delivery
- Developing crisis management skills
Today’s Digital Leadership Philosophy
Customer-Centric Approach
- Complete transparency with tools (Jira, Confluence, Miro, Teams)
- Direct communication channels
- Immediate problem resolution
- Trust-based relationships
- No artificial barriers
Team Leadership Philosophy
“I am not their boss (officially yes, but practically no) – I am their team mate.”
Key Principles:
- Team success = Business success
- Human capital, not “resources”
- Happy team = Happy customers
- Mutual respect and support
- Collaborative leadership
Why This Matters
- For the Business:
- No human capital = No business
- No business = No revenue
- Happy teams = Better outcomes
- Better outcomes = Satisfied customers
- Satisfied customers = Sustainable business
- For the Team:
- Respect and trust
- Open communication
- Collaborative environment
- Professional growth
- Meaningful work
- For the Customer:
- Direct access
- Transparent processes
- Immediate responses
- Quality delivery
- Trust-based relationship
The Golden Rule in Business
“Was du nicht willst, das man dir tut, so füge das auch keinem anderen zu” (Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you)
This applies to:
- Customer relations
- Team management
- Business practices
- Service delivery
- Professional interactions
The journey from retail floor to digital transformation reveals that core business principles remain constant:
- Respect for customers
- Value for money
- Quality service
- Direct communication
- Human connections
These foundations, learned in brick-and-mortar retail and refined through international hospitality, are more relevant than ever in today’s digital landscape. True customer-centric leadership isn’t about tools or methodologies – it’s about understanding human needs, delivering real value, and maintaining trust through transparency and respect.
The Universal Truth: It’s All H2H (Human to Human)
There’s a profound misconception in business that digital and analog customers are fundamentally different, or that B2B and B2C require completely different approaches. As highlighted in the book “There is no B2B or B2C – It’s all about H2H,” the truth is much simpler: all business is Human to Human.
The Universal Customer Experience
Whether a customer is:
- Investing 260,000 CHF in a wedding
- Purchasing enterprise software
- Buying luxury retail items
- Engaging in digital transformation
The core emotional experience remains the same:
- Trust is essential
- Relationships matter
- “Belly feelings” guide decisions
- Personal connections count
- Human emotions drive choices
Breaking Down the False Divide
Companies often think:
- Digital business requires different approaches
- Digital customers have different needs
- Digital relationships follow different rules
Reality shows:
- Customers are always human beings
- Emotions drive decisions in all contexts
- Trust is universal currency
- Relationships matter everywhere
- Connection is key in every domain
The Moment of Truth
When any customer signs a contract, whether for a wedding or an app, they experience:
- That crucial “belly feeling”
- The fundamental question of trust
- The need for personal connection
- The desire for understanding
- The search for reassurance
This isn’t esoteric – it’s human nature. Understanding this reality helps us:
- Build better relationships
- Create stronger connections
- Deliver more value
- Generate more trust
- Achieve better outcomes
