c3centricity

Maximising Customer Value: Answering Your Top Questions About Customer Centricity

Posted on May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

As a customer-first strategist, I am frequently asked about customer centricity and the value it brings to a business when they adopt the strategy.

I, therefore, thought it would be useful to share the topics my clients ask me about most frequently and my responses to them. If you, too, have questions about customer centricity, I’m sure you will find the answers you’re looking for below. And if not, you can always DM me.

So you have questions about customer centricity?

Good to know! Let me start by saying that adopting a customer-first strategy can be daunting for any organization. You should, therefore, not dwell upon your reticence in the past. However, in today’s rapidly changing business landscape, it is more important than ever for you to prioritize customer centricity.

What is a customer-first strategy?

A customer-first strategy is an approach to business that prioritizes the needs and preferences of the customer. It means putting the customer at the centre of every decision an organisation makes, from product development to marketing and sales. Put simply, it involves a shift away from traditional product-focused strategies to a more customer-centric approach.

This means that it’s not just about providing good customer service; it’s about understanding your customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points, and then designing your products, services, and marketing strategies to meet those needs.

Why is a customer-first strategy important?

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, focusing on your customers is more important than ever before. You can no longer hesitate. Nor can you not make it a top objective for your organisation.

A customer-first strategy can help you build stronger customer relationships, increase customer loyalty and retention, and ultimately drive revenue growth.

By focusing on your customers’ needs and preferences, you can differentiate your brand from your competitors and create a sustainable competitive advantage. Isn’t that what we’re all searching to do?

A customer-first strategy is important because it can increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. When customers feel that a business truly understands their needs and is committed to meeting them, they are more likely to remain loyal to that business and recommend it to others.

In addition, a customer-first strategy can help businesses identify new opportunities for growth and innovation. By focusing on the customer, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their market, and create products and services that truly meet the needs of their customers.

How do you implement a customer-first strategy?

To implement a customer-first strategy, you must start by understanding your customers. For me, this starts with simply watching and listening to them. I say “simply”, but this is one of the most powerful ways to not only know, but truly understand your customers and how your product or service fits into their lives.

Once you have done this, you can supplement your knowledge, if you have found gaps in it, by conducting market research surveys, collecting customer feedback, and analyzing customer data.

All the information you gather can be used to design products and services that meet their needs, as well as to develop marketing strategies that resonate with them and to provide excellent customer service.

Implementing a customer-first strategy requires a fundamental shift in how a business operates. It requires a commitment from top management to put the customer at the centre of everything the business does.

This means creating a customer-centric culture and empowering employees to make decisions that benefit the customer. I suggest you check your mission and vision statements and mention the customer specifically in them.

It also entails using customer input to continuously improve products and services, and creating a feedback loop that ensures that the customer is always at the centre of decision-making. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know my favourite question that I suggest every business uses because of its power, is:

“What would our customers think of the decision we’ve just taken?”

If you know they wouldn’t agree, your decision probably needs rethinking.

What are the benefits of a customer-first strategy?

I touched upon this in last week’s post when I spoke about “The Little Known Disadvantages of a Customer-first Strategy”, but here is a summary of the advantages I mentioned:

Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty
Increased customer retention
Enhanced brand reputation
Improved customer acquisition
Higher revenue and profits
Reduced marketing costs
Increased employee satisfaction and productivity

Reading this list makes me wonder why every organisation has not yet adopted a customer-first strategy! You too?

What are the challenges of a customer-first strategy?

Adopting a customer-first strategy can be challenging, especially for businesses that are used to a more product-focused approach. Again, the challenges you might face were detailed in last week’s post, but here are some of the key ones I included:

Shifting the company culture to be more customer-centric
Collecting and analyzing customer data
Designing products and services that meet customer needs
Developing marketing strategies that resonate with customers
Providing excellent customer service
Balancing the needs of different customer segments
Ensuring that the customer-first approach is sustainable in the long term.

To summarise, the most commonly faced challenge in adopting a customer-first strategy is a lack of customer understanding. In fact, I would go further and say that this is by far the most common reason businesses don’t grow or even fail.

Far too many businesses make assumptions about what their customers want, without taking the time to research and gather data about them.

In addition, the over-arching challenge worth mentioning is a lack of buy-in from the company leadership team. Without the commitment of top executives, it can be difficult to create a customer-centric culture and empower employees to make decisions that benefit the customer.

In a word, start at the top with leadership buy-in and then ensure every employee gets to know your customers. That’s what customer-centricity is all about.

How can you measure the success of a customer-first strategy?

Measuring the success of a customer-first strategy requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures. Key metrics to track include customer satisfaction, retention rates, lifetime value, and net promoter score (NPS).

It’s also important to collect qualitative feedback from customers, to understand how they perceive your brand and how you can improve their experience even more.

Keep in mind that the metrics you choose should be aligned with the business’s goals and be regularly tracked and analyzed to guarantee that the customer-first strategy delivers the expected results.

How can I create a customer-centric culture?

As I have already mentioned, creating a customer-centric culture requires a commitment from top leadership to prioritize the customer.

This means investing in customer research and analytics, empowering employees to make decisions that benefit the customer, and ensuring that the customer is always at the centre of decision-making.

It also means establishing a set of values and behaviours aligned with the customer-first strategy, and then embedding those values and behaviours into the organisation’s very fabric.

I would also suggest that your mission and vision statements include your customers by name, so no one will forget why you’re in business and who you are serving.

How can I ensure that my customer-first strategy is sustainable?

Ensuring that a customer-first strategy is sustainable requires a commitment to continuous improvement. This means regularly gathering customer feedback, analyzing it, and using it to improve products and services.

It also means staying up-to-date with changes in the market and adapting your strategy accordingly.

Finally, it means creating a culture of innovation and experimentation, where employees are encouraged to do whatever they can to not only satisfy but to surprise and delight your customers at all times.

Adopting a customer-first strategy can be a powerful way to differentiate your brand and drive business growth. While implementing it can be challenging, the benefits are well worth the effort. By putting your customers at the heart of your business, you can build stronger relationships, which will drive customer loyalty, and, ultimately, increase your bottom line.

If you still have a question about customer centricity, why not book a complimentary discovery call with me? We can discuss your own concerns and find solutions to your most urgent challenges.

13 Most Inspiring Marketing Quotes and Questions to Live By in 2022

Posted on January 18, 2022May 24, 2023 by Denyse Drummond-Dunn

Are you like most businesses? Do you have a plan you are following that will (hopefully) enable you to reach your goals?

In order to meet them, we are often looking to make changes, large or small, in our organisation. At times like these I find it useful to motivate with some inspiring quotes from people much wiser than I. If you are looking for ways to motivate and inspire your own team, then I am sure you too will enjoy these.

This is my selection of great quotes from some of the best marketers around, together with a relevant question to ask yourself for each. If your favourite quote is not included, then please add it to the comments below the post.

**#1. “Strategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills” Al Ries**

This quote refers to the Catskills, a province of the Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York and only 1270m high. It compares them to the Himalayas, a range that includes some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest (8,849m).

It uses this comparison to suggest that to succeed in marketing you have to afront the highest peaks of strategy and timing, and not be satisfied with scaling simple hills. In other words, be in the right place at the right time with the right offer. Simple!

QUESTION: Are you going to upgrade your marketing this year to meet this lofty challenge?

[bctt tweet=”Strategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills. Al Ries #Strategy #Marketing #Brand” username=”Denysech”]

**#2. “In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last” John Romero**

I love this quote because it refers to knowing and understanding your customers. The best ones, however you define that, come first and your best prospects come second. If you’d like to know if you’re targeting your very best customers and best prospects, then check out the following post: How Well Do you Know Your Customers? 13 Questions your Boss Expects you to Answer

QUESTION: Do you know who your best customers are and everything you should about them?

[bctt tweet=”In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last. John Romero #Marketing #Brand #Customer” username=”Denysech”]

**#3. “Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation” Milan Kundera**

This post shows the often forgotten importance of marketing to business. I know those of you in sales or operations etc will complain, but if customers don’t know and love your brands then you don’t have a business. It really is as simple as that. I also like that innovation is included, because especially today, customers have become so demanding that we need to constantly upgrade our offers to them.

QUESTION: Does your business value marketing? If not, how can you help them to recognise its value?

[bctt tweet=”Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation. Milan Kundera #Business #Marketing #Innovation” username=”Denysech”]

**#4. “The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions” Claude Levi-Strauss**

Are you better at asking questions or answering them? Which is more important in your job? Why? A leader doesn’t have all the answers but should surround himself with people who do.

QUESTION: How often do you ask the right questions? What more could you ask and of whom?

[bctt tweet=”The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions. Claude Levi-Strauss #Leadership #Business” username=”Denysech”]

**#5. “People Do Not Buy Goods And Services. They Buy Relations, Stories, And Magic” Seth Godin**

[bctt tweet=”People Do Not Buy Goods And Services. They Buy Relations, Stories, And Magic. Seth Godin #Quote #CEX #CRM” username=”Denysech”]

**#6. “A Brand Is No Longer What We Tell The Consumer It Is — It Is What Consumers Tell Each Other It Is” Scott Cook**

[bctt tweet=”A Brand Is No Longer What We Tell The Consumer It Is — It Is What Consumers Tell Each Other It Is. Scott Cook #Brand #BrandImage #Marketing” username=”Denysech”]

**#7. “Make Your Marketing So Useful People Would Pay For It” Jay Baer**

[bctt tweet=”Make Your Marketing So Useful People Would Pay For It. Jay Baer #Quote #Marketing #Customers” username=”Denysech”]

**#8. “Awareness Is Fine, But Advocacy Will Take Your Business To The Next Level” Joe Tripodi**

Awareness today comes in many forms. Awareness of your advertising, activities and promotions, social media posts. Is that what you measure? The problem is that all these metrics mean little if you are not resonating emotionally with your customers. And the only way you’ll know this is when people start supporting, advocating, recommending your brand.

QUESTION: What metrics do you follow to measure your marketing? When and how do your customers recommend you?

[bctt tweet=”Awareness Is Fine, But Advocacy Will Take Your Business To The Next Level. Joe Tripodi #Quote #Awareness #Advocacy #CRM #CEX #Business” username=”Denysech”]

**#9. “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be” May Sarton**

No-one is like you. No-one in the past was like you. No-one in the future will be like you. You are unique with your own unique gifts and talents. So why not use them to make your business better? Treat your customers as if they were you.

QUESTION: How do you like to be treated? Use that as your guiding light for how you treat your own customers. Your business will be better off for it.

[bctt tweet=”We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be. May Sarton #Quote #BeOurself #Self ” username=”Denysech”]

If you’d like to know who you are and what gifts and talents you should be using to succeed in your career, then sign up for our free training.

**#10. “We see things as we are, not as they are” Leo Rosten**

One of the biggest challenges in business is to see our brands as our customers do. Most of the time we make what we like, advertise and promote in a way that we like and develop new products and services that we like. What we like has no importance, only your customers’ opinion matters when you want to grow your business. So listen to them.

QUESTION: How often do you watch and listen to your customers? Whatever the frequency is, it’s not enough. Do more.

[bctt tweet=”We see things as we are, not as they are. Leo Rosten #Quote #Realism #Understanding #Perception #SelfAwareness” username=”Denysech”]

#11. “Content is anything that adds value to the reader’s life” Avinash Kaushik

Too many websites are filled with information that the brand wants to tell the customer. The best websites do the opposite. They are filled with content the customer wants or needs, and entertains along the way.

QUESTION: How good is your website at giving your customers what they want. If you’re not sure check out this article: From a Good to a Great Website: 9 Ways to Engage More Successfully

[bctt tweet=”Content is anything that adds value to the reader’s life. Avinash Kaushik #WebDesign #Website #ContentStrategy #Content” username=”Denysech”]

**#12. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” Charles Darwin**

You know the world is changing and changing faster every day. The same goes for our customers. What attracted them yesterday only satisfies them today and disappoints them tomorrow. People want novelty and innovation. Make sure you are constantly upgrading your offer, but be careful to do so by adding what your customers want or desire. If you innovate based on your internal skills rather than external needs, your innovations will remain in the 95% that fail.

QUESTION: Is your portfolio filled with winners? Use Pareto’s principle (the 80/20 rule) to continuously evaluate your offers and eliminate the bottom 20%. Then add new offers that respond to customers’ needs of today, or ideally tomorrow.

[bctt tweet=”It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin #Change #Intelligence #Survival” username=”Denysech”]

**#13. “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new” Steve Jobs**

A golden oldie to finish with. This is reminder that asking customers what they want it not the best way to know what they want. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, as another os Steve’s quotes says, customers don’t know what they want until you show it to them. However, they do know very well what they don’t want and what problems they are facing when using the category.

The second reason is that people are changing so fast that by the time you make what the customer has asked for, they’re already in need of something else.

[bctt tweet=”You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new. Steve Jobs #Quote #CRM #CEX #CustomerSatisfaction” username=”Denysech”]

For even more inspiring quotes, do check out C3Centricity’s resources. There you can find hundreds more quotes, classified by the four foundational areas of a customer-first strategy, namely company, customer, brands and processes: https://bit.ly/3qwTFQa

Tag: business strategy