Customer Centricity

1. WHAT IS CUSTOMER CENTRICITY?

The fundamental principle underlying customer centricity is a recognition that customers—and their needs, wants, and aspirations—differ and are not static (M.McGrath n.d)

Bonacchi states that “In the face of growing competition, scarce resources, and more demanding customers, business leaders should be striving to increase profitability by becoming more customer-centric”. Customer-centric marketing seeks to anticipate and understand the individual consumer rather than those of mass markets and build a relationship with individual customers to gain a greater share of wallet over time

Customer centricity requires the active participation of and coordination across many functions and divisions and is supported by executive management. Understanding who the customers are and should be, as well as their needs, and how the company should respond to fulfil those needs is at the foundation to being successful. In the Harvard Business review it is stated that “Never before have customers expected to interact so directly with companies in shaping the products and services they will ultimately use”.

From the moment a customer considers purchasing a product or service, whether as a standalone purchase or as part of an integrated offer, his or her relationship with that service and the company providing it begins to evolve. In customer-centric marketing, marketers assess each customer individually with the objective of creating a differentiated experience for customers, across all customer touch points actively anticipating what will drive the required customer consideration mind set and purchasing decision. To translate this into success (M.McGrath, n.d) states that the differentiated customer experience must be delivered through appropriate organisational structures, embedded in the underlying business processes, and enabled by the supporting technologies

Many executives are missing this opportunity for growth by paying lip...