The vast majority of companies want to move towards a customer-centric perspective in order to get closer to their customers and better meet their needs. However, being a customer-centric company goes beyond theory. In this article you will find the keys to being customer-centric and the 5 reasons why most organizations want to be customer-centric.
Companies are realizing that, in 2022, business success means putting the customer at the center of all business decisions. Thus, more and more companies are adopting a customer-centric perspective to get closer to the customer and better meet their needs.
Recent research shows that organizations are becoming increasingly customer-centric.
- 58% of business leaders believe that customer-centricity is the most significant factor in implementing a true digital culture.
Do you want to be customer-centric? Follow the steps you will find in our guide to be customer-centric!
What is customer-centric?
Customer-centricity or a customer-centric perspective consists on putting the customer at the center of all business decisions, strategies and actions. It basically means thinking about the customer in each of the stages and business processes and stop making decisions thinking about the company to start thinkhing about customer satisfaction.
Being a customer-centric company means knowing our customers better, caring about them and thinking more about their needs than those of the company. In practice, customer-centric companies:
- Listen to the voice of the customer (VoC)
- Make the customer their top priority
- Know and understand their customers
- Strive to meet their needs
- Make an effort to solve their problems and dissatisfactions
- Take care of the customer experience
From company first to customer first
The consolidation of the customer-centric strategy is not accidental and comes from a business need. Digitalization has increased the decision-making power of consumers, who are becoming more informed, more critical and therefore more demanding. In an increasingly competitive market, companies must work harder to satisfy their customers and build customer loyalty.
In short, in the digital era, acquiring and retaining customers is more complex than before and customer-centricity is positioned as an effective strategy to meet the new challenges.
According to PWC, 62% of customers feel that companies do not understand their needs.
Thinking about the customer is not simply an attitude or an act of faith. A customer-centric perspective must be translated into strategies and actions that enable companies to get closer to their customers. In this sense, knowledge about the customer is essential and, consequently, customer data and its exploitation: customer intelligence, customer analytics, etc. Data must be transformed into information and information into knowledge to drive the data-driven transformation.
In turn, the data must be activated or, in other words, the knowledge obtained must be used in actions that optimize the business and bring us closer to the customer.
The best part of the customer-centric strategy is that it benefits both the customer and the company. There is nothing more profitable than a satisfied customer:
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable (Deloitte).
- Unsatisfactory customer experiences ruin 30% of digital business projects (Forbes).
Why does every company want to be customer-centric?
Beyond the above, here are some other benefits of being customer-centric.
1. Being customer-centric helps you to get to know your customers better
Knowing our customers is the first step to better satisfy their needs.
The change in the orientation of the corporate culture towards greater care for the customer, as well as placing the customer at the center of corporate decisions, inevitably translates into companies getting closer to their customers.
As we have already noted, being customer-centric is not just a concept, but translates into concrete strategies and actions —customer segmentation, customer journey mapping, creation of Buyer Personas, etc.— that provide customer insights and a solid and actionable knowledge base about the customer.
Knowing our customers is the first step to satisfy their needs.
2. Promotes personalization
Customer-centric strategies are also the basis of personalization, one of the most important customer strategies in recent years, especially in digital marketing and e-commerce.
The creation of personalized experiences, content and communications tailored to the interests and needs of our customers provide better results and increase the likelihood of purchase. According to an Infosys report, 86% of customers say that personalization has some impact on their buying process.
3. Higher conversion rates
It is proven that thinking about the customer and driving improvement actions helps companies —and especially marketing departments— to improve their conversion rates.
Conversion funnel acceleration techniques are now the basis of digital marketing, Inbound Marketing and content marketing and the great allies of organizations when it comes to improving their results in terms of customer acquisition.
4. More satisfying customer experiences
Without a doubt, if there is one thing that characterizes a customer-centric company, it is offering a satisfactory customer experience. Customer experience is another focal point of the customer-centric perspective and customer strategies in 2022.
Moreover, it has been proven that customers are paying more and more attention to the experience and that improving the customer experience translates into better results.
5. Differentiation from the competition
In an increasingly competitive market, finding elements of differentiation is becoming more and more complicated. At present, due to the particularities of the market, differentiation is more present in intangible elements linked to the shopping experience and the brand-customer relationship than to products or services.
In this sense, the customer-centric perspective is positioned as a key element of differentiation from the competition. Today, customers are less reluctant to change companies, and between a company that thinks about them and one that does not, they will not hesitate to choose the former.
How to be customer-centric?
If you want to take the step towards adopting a customer-centric perspective, but don't know where to start, download our exclusive guide on customer-centric transformation. In it you will find the steps to take to get closer to your customers.
Don't wait any longer, your customers are waiting!
