Customer Centricity

Customers are the backbone of any business, either helping it survive and thrive or causing it to fail due to lack of business. As such, businesses are focusing on customer service and customer relationship management as they strive to provide the best possible products and services. Putting the customers at the centre of your strategic position can help you not only deliver quality service but also develop a loyal customer base.

But what exactly does customer centricity entail?

What is customer-centricity?

In the simplest terms, customer centricity is putting the customers first when deciding your strategic position as a business. It goes beyond attracting customers and making a sale but instead focuses on creating a positive experience before, during, and after a sale. This approach focuses on the perceptions, behaviours, expectations, and environments of your customers to deliver a better experience.

An example of customer-centric behaviour would be using data analytics tools to unveil behavioural trends of your customers to anticipate their needs and offer better products and services for an enhanced customer experience. This can help you drive repeat business, build customer loyalty, and grow your customer base organically, which are crucial in today’s digital-native culture.

What is the difference between customer service and customer centricity?

Customer service is about helping customers with everything they need. This covers any pre-sales and post-sales interactions with a customer where you are focusing on helping the customer find the right product for them and providing any assistance they may need afterwards. Customer centricity goes beyond simply exceptional customer service and must reflect a culture that puts customers and their needs at the centre. It means creating a two-way street where customers can freely interact and exchange ideas with your business – at any stage of the customer journey – to help make the products and overall customer experience better.

Why is customer-centricity important?

The contemporary business landscape is extremely dynamic, with market trends and customer expectations evolving rapidly. And with high competition and market saturation, setting yourself apart from the competition and building a loyal customer base is now more important than ever. Designing a business model that revolves around your customers for a positive and personalised experience is one of the greatest ways to differentiate you from the crowd, boost customer satisfaction, and secure repeat business. This, in turn, can help drive profits and gain a sustainable competitive advantage as competition continues to increase.

How can you achieve customer-centricity?

Although customer feedback is an integral part of customer centricity, merely opening up the channel to provide feedback about issues and suggestions is not enough. Customer centricity means you immerse yourself in the customer journey, understand their experience as they seek and use your products, and act on suggestions they provide.

Here are some simple steps that can help you achieve customer centricity:

Listen to your customers

It may feel repetitive, but listening to your customers is integral to embracing a customer-centric culture. It’s not enough just to hear from your customers; you must listen, understand, and act on their feedback to improve their experience. Customer feedback is a treasure trove of data that can help you optimise your business operations, improve your products, innovate, and design future products. Not acting on it means you are losing valuable insights, and worse yet, if customers realise you are not listening to them, they will stop providing feedback and can also go to your competitors.

Map your customers’ journey

Mapping your customers’ journey can help you “walk in their shoes” to experience your products and services as a customer. This can help you understand the potential pain points and identify any features to add or upgrade, so that, you can continually improve your product and service offerings for an incrementally better customer experience.

Involve your customers in the process

Do not forget to involve your customers in the process of building a customer-centric culture. Assuming you know what your customers are thinking can be detrimental; but simply involving them in the process and asking what they want, expect, or recommend can help you become truly customer-centric.

Adopting a customer-centric outlook and putting the power into the hands of your customers can be a great way to thrive and stay competitive. However, your efforts to put customers first can fail without strong leadership, proper vision, a shared goal, and a clear action plan for listening, learning, and improving with your customers. Leveraging digital transformation and business process as a service solution can help overcome any hurdles you may face when putting your customers first and embracing a truly customer-centric culture.