June 3, 2013 Getting to be Customer Centric… really Branding Share this post: The “idea” of customer centricity is typically rather desirable. Many companies have used the words “customer centric” sprinkled into their annual report. [Is being Customer Centric truly desirable?] The concept may be repeated in executive meetings. However, more often than not, I believe that the customer hardly knows it or feels the difference. There are, fortunately, some cases where the concept is more than a pipe dream (Amazon, Starbucks…). However, for the remainder, the issue is moving from idea to reality. While some companies eschew or ignore the choice (e.g. ‘because we know better’), for most, there is a very urgent need at least to move along the continuum towards customer centricity. Why? Because whether it is sales or marketing, there is an immediacy to the customer relationship that was not around before. Digital technology has made the time lag shrink inexorably to “now.” Customers are evolving. They are simultaneously less trusting and more demanding. And, for the salesperson or the customer service representative who are on the front line, the need is to be able to coordinate the knowledge of and around the customer, to provide the optimal experience. 3 types of orientations I like to categorize companies into three types: spray and pray (aka the broadcaster — more worried about “me, me, me”) en route (i.e. trying to focus on the customer) in the middle. The customer is considered as a singular person by the entire company. 1. spray & pray. 2. en route. 3. in the middle. How to become customer centric? The move from 1 to 2 is already a good thing. But, the consequence for the customer can feel a little irksome. It’s like calling customer service and being passed from one person to another and having to repeat each time the nature of your call. The move from 2 to 3 is a whole other ball game and requires true change within the organization. I think of the process of moving toward customer centricity in three stages. Definition. In the bigger picture, this means defining who you are. What do you stand for? This process requires refining what (and why) is the brand as well as the customer. Who, where & when the customer is. Then, one needs to define what is the product & service that the company or brand is wishing to provide (and how that is superior and/or different to what is on the market). Organization. How should the organization evolve to cater to these customers? I like to believe that it should start with considering the employee as the first customer and fan of the brand. Resources. The rubber hits the road with the resources. Is the team the right one? Are the values shared and is the attitude the right one? And, finally, the tangible issue of budget. Whereas most companies will create their projected budget on the basis of the past results, the challenge is finding a way to reconfigure even the P&L to reflect the new reality. How do you react? Which brands are exhibiting great customer centricity? NEWSletter Subscribe to Minter’s Bi-Weekly NEWSletter and receive a free copy of the exclusive and updated 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation Your Gift For Signing Up 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed! Amazon, brand values, branding, customer centric, customer centricity, customer service, employee engagement, Human Resources, organization, Starbucks Minter Dial Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Digital Strategy. After a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last ten years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). His newest book Heartificial Empathy, Putting Heart into Business and Artificial Intelligence, bowed in December 2018 and won the Book Excellence Award 2019 as well as being shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2019. It's available in Audiobook, Kindle and Paperback. He is also co-author of Futureproof (Pearson, Sep 2017) and sole author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press, Nov 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim. Minter has a new book on leadership, You Lead, How being yourself makes you a better leader, published by Kogan Page, that released January 2021. It's easy to inquire about booking Minter Dial here. View all posts by Minter Dial Previous post Next post
yendi June 3, 2013 at 9:04 pm Definitely, the customers are increasingly doubting the sales pitch and marketing messages, wary of new proposals. Recently, at a retail bank, I asked the sales person why he was offering a product free of charge, no strings attached, he replied: simply to restore confidence.
yendi June 3, 2013 at 9:04 pm Definitely, the customers are increasingly doubting the sales pitch and marketing messages, wary of new proposals. Recently, at a retail bank, I asked the sales person why he was offering a product free of charge, no strings attached, he replied: simply to restore confidence.
@fabella June 4, 2013 at 11:58 am Hello Minter, Nice one as always 🙂 In a conference, Jean Marc Tasseto, ex Google France CEO, told me that more than one person responsible of the customer in an organisation is already a problem. A unique person because the customer sees himself very unique 🙂 A COMEX person because the customer is the hidden wealth and untapped asset of your company (see Bill Lee book). In a 7 billions creators, shops, medias, customers wild wide world, your customer is your media, salesman, advocate, watcher and innovator (as I developped it in my digital marketing course 😉 ) To create a Chief Customer Officer, reporting to CEO, would be the first move I'd make to change the organisation. That is, for example, the role of Thina Cadierno, Strategic marketing and client director, FNAC. See you. Frédéric PS : Your drawing is very clear. To be totally Apple-like, you should try "Paper by FiftyThree" My recent post Faites de la veille active.
@fabella June 4, 2013 at 11:58 am Hello Minter, Nice one as always 🙂 In a conference, Jean Marc Tasseto, ex Google France CEO, told me that more than one person responsible of the customer in an organisation is already a problem. A unique person because the customer sees himself very unique 🙂 A COMEX person because the customer is the hidden wealth and untapped asset of your company (see Bill Lee book). In a 7 billions creators, shops, medias, customers wild wide world, your customer is your media, salesman, advocate, watcher and innovator (as I developped it in my digital marketing course 😉 ) To create a Chief Customer Officer, reporting to CEO, would be the first move I'd make to change the organisation. That is, for example, the role of Thina Cadierno, Strategic marketing and client director, FNAC. See you. Frédéric PS : Your drawing is very clear. To be totally Apple-like, you should try "Paper by FiftyThree" My recent post Faites de la veille active.
Minter Dial June 4, 2013 at 6:57 pm Hello Frederic, I agree. To start by having a single person "Chief Customer Officer" responsible for the customer experience, reporting into the CEO, can certainly be a good way to initiate the change. Having the CEO "walk the talk" is a pre-requisite; he/she must provide clear guidelines that, in my opinion, should include the ability to "call" the CEO on more profit-centric or product-centric behavior or reflexes. Then, the issue is having the customer centric philosophy embedded throughout the organization. That CCO needs to be motivated to work him or herself out of job!
Minter Dial June 4, 2013 at 6:57 pm Hello Frederic, I agree. To start by having a single person "Chief Customer Officer" responsible for the customer experience, reporting into the CEO, can certainly be a good way to initiate the change. Having the CEO "walk the talk" is a pre-requisite; he/she must provide clear guidelines that, in my opinion, should include the ability to "call" the CEO on more profit-centric or product-centric behavior or reflexes. Then, the issue is having the customer centric philosophy embedded throughout the organization. That CCO needs to be motivated to work him or herself out of job!
4 keys to creating a winning Digital Marketing Strategy August 28, 2013 at 5:21 pm […] to listen properly and engage with customers. Many companies are already talking about being customer centric – the term is almost banal. The challenge is making the statement come alive in the mind […]
4 keys to creating a winning Digital Marketing Strategy August 28, 2013 at 5:21 pm […] to listen properly and engage with customers. Many companies are already talking about being customer centric – the term is almost banal. The challenge is making the statement come alive in the mind […]
Is employee engagement important in a customer centric organization? September 9, 2014 at 5:47 am […] evolve over time (i.e. with the customer base). In a schema I drew and published on this post, Getting to be Customer Centric, really, the grand majority of companies are still in between phase 1 (spray and pray) and phase 2 […]
Is employee engagement important in a customer centric organization? September 9, 2014 at 5:47 am […] evolve over time (i.e. with the customer base). In a schema I drew and published on this post, Getting to be Customer Centric, really, the grand majority of companies are still in between phase 1 (spray and pray) and phase 2 […]