Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, said it best: “There’s only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending money somewhere else.” It all makes sense. After all, our customers are our bread and butter. They hold our proverbial rice bowls in their hands.
In recent years, more and more consumers are more conscious of how and where they spend their money. They tend to look more deeply into the background of a company, its online presence, the general consensus of other consumers, and its reputation based on the reviews. Also, in this day and age when everyone is active on social media and the internet, in general, they can type out their thoughts and feelings and publish them online for all to see. How can this impact your business? This is how customer centricity can boost your business.
What is customer centricity?
To put it plainly, customer centricity means putting the customer at the center of your business. Everything about your mission and vision is focused on enriching, nurturing, and cultivating a positive experience for your customer each and every time they patronize your business, thus creating a loyal customer base for your company.
It’s more than being polite or empathizing. Being customer-centric involves getting to know your customers – their needs, what drives them to purchase, and what would make them come back to you time and time again. Being customer-centric means that every decision you make and every change you make in the company is focused on how it will affect the customer.
What is the impact of customer centricity?
Customer centricity affects your business in more ways than just creating a stream of revenue that enables you to keep your business running. Remember, there’s no such thing as a unique business idea anymore nowadays so you have to create an edge for your company. This is where adopting a customer-centric strategy comes in.
It’s not always going to be sunshine and roses but this is where how well you know your customers comes in. Customer centricity means you understand how to turn their frowns upside down, helping you make sure that they walk away from the interaction satisfied with the outcome. Let’s take a closer look at how customer centricity can boost your business.
1. Creating a loyal customer base
The old adage still rings true, even in business: First impressions last… And creates a loyal customer for you, one after the other. It starts with the first contact, the first purchase. If you do well, you’ll have a customer for life. Whether they see a similar product somewhere and it’s cheaper there, they will still come back to you because they like you and they like to.
The customer-centricity model focuses on the interaction as much as the product or service you’re offering. Because there’s always bound to be something that will displease your customer, it’s about knowing and understanding how you can enrich their buying experience simply by communicating with them or spending five minutes with them addressing their concerns. Doing these will enable them to establish an affinity with your business.
2. Building trust in your brand
Certain brand names inspire trust in their consumers. The mere mention of the brand name and the words “new release” can send their customers flocking to the nearby stores. There might be other companies offering the same products or services but people will always choose to buy from this one company because they trust it and what they’re offering.
Customer-centric marketing means using everything you’ve learned from the customer lifecycle to nurture a healthy amount of trust in your brand whether you’re selling or offering a service. This helps you create a product or offer a service that you know they need but more than that, you can devise a plan for positioning your company to meet their needs, deliver on your promises, and provide them with a positive experience that they will keep coming back.
3. Increase in customer satisfaction
Once you’ve chosen to make your customers and their satisfaction precedence, you will see a dramatic increase in good experiences which translates to an increase in business, positive reviews, and revenue. If a customer is happy with how you do your business with them, they will show it by leaving good reviews and filling out surveys just to let you and others know that they are pleased.
Of course, there are matters and concerns that will be out of your hands but the trade off is what matters. Train your team to think outside of the box when they feel as though they’re out of options to offer the customer. Offer alternatives, give them options, and take their feedback into account for your next strategic planning.
4. An augment in referrals
A happy bird chirps and a happy customer is sure to sing praises of your company, creating a free marketing opportunity for your business, every chance they get. They’re sure to inject your name into conversations and encourage their friends and family to give your business a try. That’s because you put their needs, priorities, and well-being front and center of your business plan.
Customer centricity means you put your customers first at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Even after they’ve made a purchase, it’s your job to provide after sales care and keep the relationship alive. This level of care makes the customer feel an affinity for your brand and if they’re pleased with doing business with you, they’re highly likely to let everyone know about it.
5. Elevate and protect your brand
You might look at some of the big corporations around nowadays and wonder how they blew up. Believe it or not, they were all startups before but if you look closely, there’s a good chance that these large companies actively practice customer centricity and that is how their brand grew, became popular, and amassed a large customer base that stands by their products and/or services.
Adopting a customer-centric mindset does this for you. Even though you won’t always have satisfied customers, you’ll have loyal ones who’ll protect your brand. And since a customer-centric model enables you to take into account your customers’ feedback and recommendations, you can be sure your brand will move up with the times.
The central point
Giving your customers the utmost importance not only makes them highly valued. There are a lot of insights that you can get just by paying attention to what your customers say and do and taking your cue from these will not only bring you more money. The benefits of customer centricity can be felt for many years to come.
Starting out, you envisioned your business growing and succeeding. Making sure your customers are happy and satisfied does that for you and so much more! You’ll not only be able to watch your company become more trusted in public, your products and services sought after and your employees more fulfilled and happy to be part of your thriving business. You’ll also become an integral part of the industry, the community and that’s all because you chose to put the customer at the center of things.
