Customer Centricity is business speak you can’t ignore

Daniel Hall discusses the key findings of the recent Horizon research on long-term sustainable growth by Cognosis. What do they reveal about the power of customer centricity? And what steps can companies take to put customer needs at the heart of their strategy.

• 90% of companies put customer needs at the heart of their strategy
• But only 14% of business leaders believe their organisations are customer centric
• Industry leaders in NPS deliver almost 3x higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

If you had to list the most common business clichés, then customer centricity would be right up there, alongside low-hanging fruit and pushing the envelope. As a wallpaper phrase, customer centricity trips off the tongue. It sounds warm and fuzzy, easy and obvious. Who wouldn’t want to put the customer first? This off-hand attitude to customer centricity is a problem, because its real meaning and huge potential for sustainable growth can be lost in translation.

Nearly all companies state that customer centricity is a priority. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know that they should put the customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They see customer experiences as a source of competitive advantage. But when pressed, only 14% of business leaders are prepared to claim that their companies truly focus on the customer.

There is a yawning gap between aspiration and reality, which amounts to missed opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Research has shown that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

Put plainly: everybody knows they need to be more customer focused, but deep down, only a very small percentage know they are actually doing it well. Get right, however, and you will grow your business much faster.

By quantifying the performance of 100 successful companies over a 15-year period, our research identified four key drivers for sustainable growth. Firstly, companies need to have a purpose. They must be customer centric, adaptable and, finally, future focused. Of these golden ingredients for success, customer centricity was shown to be the one that can move the needle the quickest. Therefore, it should be the first to change.

“Customer centricity is the single biggest behavioural contributor to improving financial performance over the long term.”

What is customer centricity – and how do you do it?

Daniel Hall discusses the key findings of the recent Horizon research on long-term sustainable growth by Cognosis. What do they reveal about the power of customer centricity? And what steps can companies take to put customer needs at the heart of their strategy.

• 90% of companies put customer needs at the heart of their strategy
• But only 14% of business leaders believe their organisations are customer centric
• Industry leaders in NPS deliver almost 3x higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

If you had to list the most common business clichés, then customer centricity would be right up there, alongside low-hanging fruit and pushing the envelope. As a wallpaper phrase, customer centricity trips off the tongue. It sounds warm and fuzzy, easy and obvious. Who wouldn’t want to put the customer first? This off-hand attitude to customer centricity is a problem, because its real meaning and huge potential for sustainable growth can be lost in translation.

Nearly all companies state that customer centricity is a priority. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know that they should put the customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They see customer experiences as a source of competitive advantage. But when pressed, only 14% of business leaders are prepared to claim that their companies truly focus on the customer.

There is a yawning gap between aspiration and reality, which amounts to missed opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Research has shown that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

Put plainly: everybody knows they need to be more customer focused, but deep down, only a very small percentage know they are actually doing it well. Get right, however, and you will grow your business much faster.

By quantifying the performance of 100 successful companies over a 15-year period, our research identified four key drivers for sustainable growth. Firstly, companies need to have a purpose. They must be customer centric, adaptable and, finally, future focused. Of these golden ingredients for success, customer centricity was shown to be the one that can move the needle the quickest. Therefore, it should be the first to change.

“Customer centricity is the single biggest behavioural contributor to improving financial performance over the long term.”

Should every business be customer centric?

Daniel Hall discusses the key findings of the recent Horizon research on long-term sustainable growth by Cognosis. What do they reveal about the power of customer centricity? And what steps can companies take to put customer needs at the heart of their strategy.

• 90% of companies put customer needs at the heart of their strategy
• But only 14% of business leaders believe their organisations are customer centric
• Industry leaders in NPS deliver almost 3x higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

If you had to list the most common business clichés, then customer centricity would be right up there, alongside low-hanging fruit and pushing the envelope. As a wallpaper phrase, customer centricity trips off the tongue. It sounds warm and fuzzy, easy and obvious. Who wouldn’t want to put the customer first? This off-hand attitude to customer centricity is a problem, because its real meaning and huge potential for sustainable growth can be lost in translation.

Nearly all companies state that customer centricity is a priority. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know that they should put the customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They see customer experiences as a source of competitive advantage. But when pressed, only 14% of business leaders are prepared to claim that their companies truly focus on the customer.

There is a yawning gap between aspiration and reality, which amounts to missed opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Research has shown that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

Put plainly: everybody knows they need to be more customer focused, but deep down, only a very small percentage know they are actually doing it well. Get right, however, and you will grow your business much faster.

By quantifying the performance of 100 successful companies over a 15-year period, our research identified four key drivers for sustainable growth. Firstly, companies need to have a purpose. They must be customer centric, adaptable and, finally, future focused. Of these golden ingredients for success, customer centricity was shown to be the one that can move the needle the quickest. Therefore, it should be the first to change.

“Customer centricity is the single biggest behavioural contributor to improving financial performance over the long term.”

Daniel Hall discusses the key findings of the recent Horizon research on long-term sustainable growth by Cognosis. What do they reveal about the power of customer centricity? And what steps can companies take to put customer needs at the heart of their strategy.

• 90% of companies put customer needs at the heart of their strategy
• But only 14% of business leaders believe their organisations are customer centric
• Industry leaders in NPS deliver almost 3x higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

If you had to list the most common business clichés, then customer centricity would be right up there, alongside low-hanging fruit and pushing the envelope. As a wallpaper phrase, customer centricity trips off the tongue. It sounds warm and fuzzy, easy and obvious. Who wouldn’t want to put the customer first? This off-hand attitude to customer centricity is a problem, because its real meaning and huge potential for sustainable growth can be lost in translation.

Nearly all companies state that customer centricity is a priority. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know that they should put the customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They see customer experiences as a source of competitive advantage. But when pressed, only 14% of business leaders are prepared to claim that their companies truly focus on the customer.

There is a yawning gap between aspiration and reality, which amounts to missed opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Research has shown that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

Put plainly: everybody knows they need to be more customer focused, but deep down, only a very small percentage know they are actually doing it well. Get right, however, and you will grow your business much faster.

By quantifying the performance of 100 successful companies over a 15-year period, our research identified four key drivers for sustainable growth. Firstly, companies need to have a purpose. They must be customer centric, adaptable and, finally, future focused. Of these golden ingredients for success, customer centricity was shown to be the one that can move the needle the quickest. Therefore, it should be the first to change.

“Customer centricity is the single biggest behavioural contributor to improving financial performance over the long term.”

Daniel Hall discusses the key findings of the recent Horizon research on long-term sustainable growth by Cognosis. What do they reveal about the power of customer centricity? And what steps can companies take to put customer needs at the heart of their strategy.

• 90% of companies put customer needs at the heart of their strategy
• But only 14% of business leaders believe their organisations are customer centric
• Industry leaders in NPS deliver almost 3x higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

If you had to list the most common business clichés, then customer centricity would be right up there, alongside low-hanging fruit and pushing the envelope. As a wallpaper phrase, customer centricity trips off the tongue. It sounds warm and fuzzy, easy and obvious. Who wouldn’t want to put the customer first? This off-hand attitude to customer centricity is a problem, because its real meaning and huge potential for sustainable growth can be lost in translation.

Nearly all companies state that customer centricity is a priority. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know that they should put the customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They see customer experiences as a source of competitive advantage. But when pressed, only 14% of business leaders are prepared to claim that their companies truly focus on the customer.

There is a yawning gap between aspiration and reality, which amounts to missed opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Research has shown that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average.

Put plainly: everybody knows they need to be more customer focused, but deep down, only a very small percentage know they are actually doing it well. Get right, however, and you will grow your business much faster.

By quantifying the performance of 100 successful companies over a 15-year period, our research identified four key drivers for sustainable growth. Firstly, companies need to have a purpose. They must be customer centric, adaptable and, finally, future focused. Of these golden ingredients for success, customer centricity was shown to be the one that can move the needle the quickest. Therefore, it should be the first to change.

“Customer centricity is the single biggest behavioural contributor to improving financial performance over the long term.”