Putting your customer at the heart of all operations is the cornerstone of a successful business. According to Deloitte, customer centric organizations are 60% more profitable than those without a customer centric strategy.
Whether you're charting the course for a new company or steering an established enterprise, understanding, and embracing customer-centric strategies is non-negotiable.
What is Customer Centricity?
Customer centricity is a strategic approach that places the customer at the center of business decision-making. True customer-centric organizations view every aspect of their operation through the lens of the client, aiming to provide exceptional value and an outstanding experience at every touchpoint.
A consumer centric approach is about more than pleasing the buyer – it's about understanding and serving their needs proactively with dedication and empathy.
The Importance of a Customer Centric Approach
Customer-centric organizations consistently outperform their competitors, enjoying higher customer loyalty, increased customer lifetime value, and a positive brand reputation. Research has found that:
86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. -Supper Office
84% of companies that work to improve their customer experience report an increase in revenue. -PR Newswire.
Companies that lead in customer experience outperform stragglers by nearly 80%. -Gartner
65% of shoppers find a positive customer experience to be more influential than great advertising. -PWC
Creating a Customer Centric Strategy
A solid customer-centric strategy is crucial to ensure effective implementation. Two primary ways to prioritize customer centricity within your business are through customer-centric marketing and customer-centric selling.
Customer-Centric Marketing
Customer centric marketing merges customer feedback into your marketing efforts. Tactics such as user-generated content, customer feedback, and reviews are implemented with the objective of transforming customers into promoters who attract new customers through word-of-mouth referrals.
However, customer-centricity extends beyond marketing to involve the sales team.
Customer-Centric Selling
Client-based selling focuses on solving your client's problems rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all package. A customer-centric sales rep proactively shares helpful content through various channels like email, LinkedIn, text, and in-person or virtual events to move away from traditional phone calling and offer a comprehensive and proactive approach to customer problem solving.
How to Become a Customer Centric Company
These 8 practices will allow you to develop a customer-centric approach within your company:
Foster a Customer Centric Culture
Collect and Analyze Customer Feedback
Become an Active Listener
Employee Empowerment
Continuous Innovation Based on Customer Insight
Adopt an Omni-Channel Approach
Anticipate Customer Needs
Innovate and Adapt
Now, let's dive deeper into the eight essential practices done by organizations to build a client-centric mindset.
1. Foster a Customer-Centric Culture
A customer-centric mindset emphasizes a client-first mindset throughout the entire workforce, fostering a culture that values and prioritizes exceptional experiences. This mindset is supported from the top down to influence decision-making and drive continuous improvement within your organization's processes and interactions.
2. Collect and Analyze Customer Feedback
One of the hallmarks of customer-centric businesses is understanding their customers at a granular level through research, data collection, and analytical tools. This effort provides insights into customer preferences, pain points, and desires to enhance customer service and provide a smooth customer experience for their customers.
3. Become an Active Listener
Customer-obsessed organizations proactively seek and continually respond to customer feedback. They create multiple channels, such as surveys, feedback forms, social media, and customer service, to collect input. Leveraging this feedback, they identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions to enhance the overall customer experience.
4. Employee Empowerment
Customer-centric organizations recognize the crucial role of frontline employees and empower their staff to communicate and collaborate effectively by providing the necessary training, tools, and resources to enable your staff to deliver tailored, timely, and exceptional service.
5. Continuous Innovation Based on Customer Insight
A customer-centric strategy leverages insights from the customer journey to drive continuous innovation. A client-centric approach analyzes collected data to identify trends, anticipate demands, and develop products and services that meet and exceed the expectations of your clients.
By encouraging a culture of innovation, your organization can empower employees to think creatively and deliver value to customers.
6. Adopt an Omni-Channel Approach
Customers expect to connect with businesses through multiple channels seamlessly. An omnichannel approach ensures that the customer's experience is consistent no matter how they choose to engage.
According to recent statistics:
90% of customers expect their interactions to be consistent across all channels. -Business Wire
Omnichannel campaigns saw an 18.96% engagement rate, while single channel campaigns saw just a 5.4% engagement rate. -Omnisend.
Omnichannel shoppers have a 30% higher lifetime value than those who shop using only one channel. -Google.
Marketers using three or more channels in any one campaign earned a 287% higher purchase rate than those using a single-channel campaign. -Omnisend.
7. Anticipate Customer Needs
Customer satisfaction is often a result of needs being met before the customer even realizes they have them. Customer-centric organizations leverage data and analytics to anticipate their customer needs and work proactively to provide solutions before their customers are aware of any problems.
Fostering a proactive approach not only allows you to stay ahead of your customer's needs, but it will also give you a significant advantage against your competitors. According to statistics:
70% have a more favorable view of brands that offer proactive customer service notifications. -Microsoft
87% of customers want to be proactively reached out to by a company for customer service-related issues. -inContact (via MyCustomer)
Proactive customer service can lead to a 20-30% reduction in call center calls — lowering call center operating costs by as much as 25%. -Enkata (via MyCustomer)
In addition, by using past interactions and data, businesses can tailor and recommend products or services before the customer even asks, showing that they are understood and valued.
8. Innovate and Adapt
The business world moves fast, and what delights customers today may be old tomorrow. Customer-centric organizations keep an eye on the horizon and are ready to innovate. Innovative technology can lead to revolutionary changes in the way businesses interact with and serve customers. It’s important to stay curious and open to these innovations.
As demographics change and society evolves, so do customer expectations. Customer-centric organizations are quick to adapt to these changes to maintain the highest levels of client centricity.
Customer-Centricity as a Competitive Advantage
The eight strategies detailed above are not isolated practices but the building blocks of a comprehensive customer-centric approach. Whether you're just starting on this journey or looking to refine your existing customer-centric model, focusing on what your customers need, expect, and desire can elevate your business to new heights of success.
By putting these practices into place, you can create a virtuous cycle in which customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty and advocacy, which in turn brings in more customers delighting in the service you provide.
Customer centricity can be challenging, especially if you don’t have the necessary support and solutions to build a comprehensive strategy. Here at BTI, we can provide the expertise and necessary solutions for you to start building a customer centric organization seamlessly.
Contact us today to become a customer-centric organization!