Poor customer experiences will destroy 30% of the digital business projects by 2020, according to a research by Gartner.
With the acceleration in pace of technology, the customers expect more from the suppliers. They expect to be heard and involved. They’re quick to switch preferences and seek out new suppliers and vendors more authentic and transparent experiences.
Hence, it is important for organizations to have a customer-centric approach to fulfil the expectations and meet the demands of customers.
What is customer-centric approach?
Customer-centric approach or customer-centricity is about providing great customer service, from awareness stage, through the purchasing process, and after the purchase process. It’s about putting your customers at the core of your business, and considering them a priority.
Organizations with customer-centricity provide personalized experiences, trusted peer-to-peer information, and deliver the information and services in real-time. Such experiences can be delivered via a number of channels like mobile apps, website, contact centers, as well as the AI-powered virtual assistants.
There are several companies which don’t mind firing their employees if they do not fit within their customer-centricity culture. They prioritize the needs of customers just as much as they prioritize their own.
According to Gartner, two-third of the marketers said that their organizations compete mostly on the basis of customer experience. In next two years, the marketers expected their companies to compete mostly or completely on the basis of customer experience.
“Your business results depend on your brand’s ability to retain and add customers,” says Olive Huang, research director at Gartner. “You must win at every interaction the customer has with your organization, whether that be a marketing campaign, a call to a contact center, an invoice, or a delivery reliant on the supply chain. Every department must play its part in a coordinated fashion.”
How customer-centric organizations meet customer demands?
Gartner surveyed the customer-centric organizations and identified their top 10 habits to meet customer demands in the era of digital business.
- Listen to your customers
- Don’t close the loop in conversation
- Be proactive
- Keep customers at front of mind
- Be convenient
- Be engaging
- Be helpful and honest
- Be timely
- Don’t exploit customer data
- Be transparent
- Be secure
- Be relevant
- Use insights to drive customer experience
- Empower your employees to deliver superior customer experience
- Increase and scale your customer experience maturity
- Have a leader to lead the customer-experience team
- Real-time communication is key
- Adapt to customer needs
- Adapt to circumstances
- Use right tools
- Use right capabilities
Well said Virendra! A customer-centric organization is something of a trend. The customer’s satisfaction is so important to these organizations that profits and growth are what keep businesses sustainable. Companies that put the customer at the heart of their organization are experiencing an increase in customer lifetime value and a reduction in churn.
Great article, really informative. Thanks for sharing.