Innovative visionary strategies, transformative business models, top-tier products, and customized solutions all contribute to the success or failure of a business. However, if customers and clients don’t serve as the foundational center of a company, the business may face insurmountable challenges.
Truly satisfied customers can help bring an organization to the next level, and become a great form of free marketing.
But how can you ensure that your business remains client-focused? How can you create a customer-centric culture? How can you drive your passion for customer satisfaction from the ideal stage to a thriving reality?
Let’s take a look.
Why customer focus is vital
Every business, on every level, exists to address the needs and pain points of its customers. In theory, all companies should create a customer-centric culture. However, It’s easy to forget to include customers in overall business strategies and mission implementation — product and sales-driven businesses may lose sight of the customer.
By intentionally marketing a customer-centric approach to business, you can effectively communicate your competitive edge to your target audience. It’s easy to turn these centered ideals into reality through your short-term and long-term strategies and business processes.
What is a customer-centric culture?
A customer-centric business culture begins with beliefs, strategies, and values that lead to sustained success, grow your brand, and help build long-term relationships with your customer base to achieve successful customer retention. Although this culture is based on the ageless value of “customer satisfaction,” customer-centricity goes deeper than a seamless sales experience.
Businesses that foster this intentional focus are driven to understand their customers’ needs, perceptions, and expectations. Every internal strategy in a customer-centric culture is impacted by the overall customer or client experience.
Customer-centric culture focuses on the following:
- Addressing customer pain points
- Anticipation of needs
- Effective customer communication
- Relevant, personalized marketing strategies
- Active customer engagement
- Transparency
- Active employee engagement
Statistics you should know
Companies that place organizational needs ahead of customer needs will often find sustained growth a challenge. If organizational needs such as high-end office space or employee perks take precedence, and companies fail to innovate and customize customer solutions, they will lose sales and revenue.
However, a customer-centric culture can prove transformational. Here are some statistics that help paint a full picture of this fundamental business model:
- Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t employ this business model
- 84% of customer-centric businesses focus on the mobile phone experience
- 96% of customers are loyal to brands with excellent customer service
Examples of successful customer-centric culture
Regardless of the specific market or company size, most successful businesses focus on the customer experience. Intentional, customer-driven strategies allow organizations to develop a growth mindset and the understanding that relational engagement is vital.
Some examples of successful customer-centric businesses include:
- Amazon:
Amazon’s sustained, explosive growth has always been driven by a focus on the customer. According to the Amazon website, “Amazon strives to be the most customer-centric company on Earth, the best employer on Earth, and the safest workplace on Earth.”
The model seems to be working — in 2023, Amazon earned a $574.785 billion annual revenue, which was an 11% increase from 2022.
- Apple:
From its inception onward, Apple has built an enormously successful customer-centric culture. The tech giant bases its innovations on customer needs and offers individualized customer perks, such as a free 30-minute online Personal Session that connects specialists with Apple product owners.
- Hilton Hotels & Resorts:
There’s a reason the hotel giant has remained on top for over 100 years. Hilton doesn’t just talk a good customer game — they implement numerous customer-centric programs with measurable results.
For example, by focusing on the smartphone experience, Hilton continually evolves their customer strategies. The Hilton Honors app allows guests to control the entirety of their stay and enables people to enjoy a seamless experience.
5 tips to create a customer-centric reality
It’s easy to give lip service to creating a customer-centric culture, but how can a business transform these ideals into reality? Even the most well-intentioned businesses can struggle to bring their ideals to fruition.
A customer-centric culture requires actionable steps, audits of current strategies, and the ability to course correct.
If you’re ready to build a business with this focus, or want to shift from a culture that isn’t working, here are five tips to help you get started. By following these tips, you might see a positive, seismic change in company growth.
Start with foundational values
The mission statement and foundational values of your business should reflect your customer-centric approach. Rather than showcasing a profit-driven mission, allow potential customers to see their importance reflected in your values. This helps to keep the company accountable for actions that follow up ideals.
A customer-centric culture includes more than sales and marketing strategies. Even through the creation of in-house policies and procedures, ask yourself, “How does this benefit our customers? How will this allow us to reach our goal of customer engagement and help us to build strong relationships?”
Build through the employee onboarding process
Build your organizational team with people who are passionate about customer service and effective, transparent communication. From talent acquisition to interviews of potential candidates, emphasize the importance of a customer-centric culture and hire people who understand this need.
Strategically use customer feedback to implement changes
Consider developing a section of your website for customer feedback and insights. Allow every employee access to the responses. Include collected, patterned responses — both positive and negative — in company strategy meetings and actionable quarterly plans.
Connect workplace culture with customer-centric culture
Allow employees to understand how their productivity can successfully or negatively impact the customer experience. This can allow employees to feel valued for even the smallest task, and help them to remain customer-focused, too. Reward employees for successful customer engagement, and watch the workplace culture thrive as customer satisfaction grows.
Develop accountability
Create an extensive database and unique personalized data collection processes. This is to identify and understand key performance indicators. Hold every department accountable for following these metrics. Encourage employees to utilize this data to maintain their customer-driven purpose and productivity.
The benefits of customer-centric business
According to PWC, 59% of customers will walk away from a brand after several bad experiences and 32% will drop brand loyalty after one bad experience. Conversely, 82% of U.S. customers yearn for more personalized, human interaction from their favorite brands and are motivated to continue their purchases by positive interactions.
Along with revenue growth, some of the benefits you can expect from a customer-centric culture include:
- Increased customer engagement
- Loyal customer relationships
- Established value for both customers and employees
- Larger market share
- Increased brand trust
Creating a customer-centric culture can easily grow from ideals to reality. It requires actionable steps and a bit of work but may mean the difference between business success and failure.
If you’re ready to implement a healthy, customer-driven culture and dream of taking your business to the next level, connect with Ryan Niddel today.
Ryan is Ohio’s top growth specialist, the CEO of MIT45, and member of the board for numerous growing companies. He understands how to implement breakthrough thinking, innovative leadership, and a growth mindset to set organizations on the road to sustained success.
