Would they say you are customer centric?

80% of companies say they are customer centric while 8% of customers think so

These are the results of a study done by Bain & Company across more than 350 companies 10 years ago…

More recent studies indicate that the gap is still very much there today even if most executives would agree that customer centricity is key to the success of their companies.

What explains the gap?

In our last 10 years working as a consultant for a wide range of organizations, we have come across companies that have customer centricity claimed high and loud on posters at the entrance of their headquarters or in their meeting rooms while most customers were feeling that the company was just not caring about them. On the other hand, we’ve had the chance and privilege to work with some companies that may not have customer centricity written on posters but that were delivering a superb customer experience day after day in both their services and products.

We believe that the difference comes from a series of factors:

1. Top management’s commitment – a leadership that is convinced of the importance of customer satisfaction, committed to putting the customer first, role models the right behaviour and mindset, and consistently reinforces the right practices in the organization.
2. A deep understanding of the individuals served by the organization – what we call customer empathy - that allows the company to anticipate the needs of the customer and to design a customer experience that answer the needs of those customers.
3. A customer-centric brand vision – a clear vision of how the brand or company can add value to its customers that is shared by the whole organization and serves as a guiding thread for everything.
4. A coherent superior customer experience across all touchpoints– the understanding of the customer journey, key moments of truth and pain points and a focus on delivering a superior experience when it matters most.
5. Systems and processes that support the delivery of a superior seamless customer experience, including IT systems, integrated customer database & on going programs to gather customer feedback and act on it.
6. Employee motivation, skills and empowerment - last but not least, it depends on your people: how engaged and motivated they are, how clear they are on their impact on custoemr perception, and whether they have the necessary skills and lattitude to develop and implement customer-centric plans and make a difference with the customers, day after day.

We help you assess where your organization stands on these key success factors via our customer empathy audit® and accompany you on the journey to make your organization truly customer centric.