If customer centricity is comfortable, then you’re not doing it right...

Putting the customer first is usually described in upbeat terms that can make it sound easy to achieve. However, the hard work and rewards of customer centricity need tougher vocabulary. No pain, no gain, says Daniel Hall.

Browse a values statement or behaviours charter in most companies, and you’re bound to find a reference to customer centricity, in some shape or form. The language tends to have positive connotations around connection, empathy, community, co-creation and so on. It rarely captures the jarring difficulty of turning those aspirations into solid returns.

Don’t confuse customer centricity with customer awareness/focus. It takes more than thinking from your customers’ point of view. Truly customer-centric organisations obsess about exceeding their customers’ current and future expectations. Their culture puts customer needs at the core of decision making and execution – across all functions. It becomes automatic to ask: “What next for our customers?”

There’s a hard edge to customer centricity. Understanding what the customer wants in the future, before they (and your competitors) figure it out, is a persistent challenge. It should become a nagging itch, right across the company. An intrinsic preoccupation, a gnawing agitation, an insatiable addiction. It’s no exaggeration to say that those who get it right are the ones who lie awake at night, racking their brains for the next burst of inspiration.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy describes this unhealthy fixation with customer experiences as a state of ‘divine discontent’. “The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway,” he explained to shareholders in 2021. “Customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.”

The pain factor of customer centricity perhaps explains why so few companies make the leap from good intentions to sustainable growth. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know they should put customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They all 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.

These are lost opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Our research also found that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average. If you are one of the 14%, or already on a journey of transformation, then all well and good. If not, then customer centricity is your burning platform.

GET-OUT CLAUSES

Putting the customer first is usually described in upbeat terms that can make it sound easy to achieve. However, the hard work and rewards of customer centricity need tougher vocabulary. No pain, no gain, says Daniel Hall.

Browse a values statement or behaviours charter in most companies, and you’re bound to find a reference to customer centricity, in some shape or form. The language tends to have positive connotations around connection, empathy, community, co-creation and so on. It rarely captures the jarring difficulty of turning those aspirations into solid returns.

Don’t confuse customer centricity with customer awareness/focus. It takes more than thinking from your customers’ point of view. Truly customer-centric organisations obsess about exceeding their customers’ current and future expectations. Their culture puts customer needs at the core of decision making and execution – across all functions. It becomes automatic to ask: “What next for our customers?”

There’s a hard edge to customer centricity. Understanding what the customer wants in the future, before they (and your competitors) figure it out, is a persistent challenge. It should become a nagging itch, right across the company. An intrinsic preoccupation, a gnawing agitation, an insatiable addiction. It’s no exaggeration to say that those who get it right are the ones who lie awake at night, racking their brains for the next burst of inspiration.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy describes this unhealthy fixation with customer experiences as a state of ‘divine discontent’. “The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway,” he explained to shareholders in 2021. “Customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.”

The pain factor of customer centricity perhaps explains why so few companies make the leap from good intentions to sustainable growth. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know they should put customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They all 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.

These are lost opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Our research also found that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average. If you are one of the 14%, or already on a journey of transformation, then all well and good. If not, then customer centricity is your burning platform.

Transformational, not additive

Putting the customer first is usually described in upbeat terms that can make it sound easy to achieve. However, the hard work and rewards of customer centricity need tougher vocabulary. No pain, no gain, says Daniel Hall.

Browse a values statement or behaviours charter in most companies, and you’re bound to find a reference to customer centricity, in some shape or form. The language tends to have positive connotations around connection, empathy, community, co-creation and so on. It rarely captures the jarring difficulty of turning those aspirations into solid returns.

Don’t confuse customer centricity with customer awareness/focus. It takes more than thinking from your customers’ point of view. Truly customer-centric organisations obsess about exceeding their customers’ current and future expectations. Their culture puts customer needs at the core of decision making and execution – across all functions. It becomes automatic to ask: “What next for our customers?”

There’s a hard edge to customer centricity. Understanding what the customer wants in the future, before they (and your competitors) figure it out, is a persistent challenge. It should become a nagging itch, right across the company. An intrinsic preoccupation, a gnawing agitation, an insatiable addiction. It’s no exaggeration to say that those who get it right are the ones who lie awake at night, racking their brains for the next burst of inspiration.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy describes this unhealthy fixation with customer experiences as a state of ‘divine discontent’. “The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway,” he explained to shareholders in 2021. “Customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.”

The pain factor of customer centricity perhaps explains why so few companies make the leap from good intentions to sustainable growth. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know they should put customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They all 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.

These are lost opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Our research also found that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average. If you are one of the 14%, or already on a journey of transformation, then all well and good. If not, then customer centricity is your burning platform.

Putting the customer first is usually described in upbeat terms that can make it sound easy to achieve. However, the hard work and rewards of customer centricity need tougher vocabulary. No pain, no gain, says Daniel Hall.

Browse a values statement or behaviours charter in most companies, and you’re bound to find a reference to customer centricity, in some shape or form. The language tends to have positive connotations around connection, empathy, community, co-creation and so on. It rarely captures the jarring difficulty of turning those aspirations into solid returns.

Don’t confuse customer centricity with customer awareness/focus. It takes more than thinking from your customers’ point of view. Truly customer-centric organisations obsess about exceeding their customers’ current and future expectations. Their culture puts customer needs at the core of decision making and execution – across all functions. It becomes automatic to ask: “What next for our customers?”

There’s a hard edge to customer centricity. Understanding what the customer wants in the future, before they (and your competitors) figure it out, is a persistent challenge. It should become a nagging itch, right across the company. An intrinsic preoccupation, a gnawing agitation, an insatiable addiction. It’s no exaggeration to say that those who get it right are the ones who lie awake at night, racking their brains for the next burst of inspiration.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy describes this unhealthy fixation with customer experiences as a state of ‘divine discontent’. “The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway,” he explained to shareholders in 2021. “Customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.”

The pain factor of customer centricity perhaps explains why so few companies make the leap from good intentions to sustainable growth. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know they should put customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They all 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.

These are lost opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Our research also found that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average. If you are one of the 14%, or already on a journey of transformation, then all well and good. If not, then customer centricity is your burning platform.

Putting the customer first is usually described in upbeat terms that can make it sound easy to achieve. However, the hard work and rewards of customer centricity need tougher vocabulary. No pain, no gain, says Daniel Hall.

Browse a values statement or behaviours charter in most companies, and you’re bound to find a reference to customer centricity, in some shape or form. The language tends to have positive connotations around connection, empathy, community, co-creation and so on. It rarely captures the jarring difficulty of turning those aspirations into solid returns.

Don’t confuse customer centricity with customer awareness/focus. It takes more than thinking from your customers’ point of view. Truly customer-centric organisations obsess about exceeding their customers’ current and future expectations. Their culture puts customer needs at the core of decision making and execution – across all functions. It becomes automatic to ask: “What next for our customers?”

There’s a hard edge to customer centricity. Understanding what the customer wants in the future, before they (and your competitors) figure it out, is a persistent challenge. It should become a nagging itch, right across the company. An intrinsic preoccupation, a gnawing agitation, an insatiable addiction. It’s no exaggeration to say that those who get it right are the ones who lie awake at night, racking their brains for the next burst of inspiration.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy describes this unhealthy fixation with customer experiences as a state of ‘divine discontent’. “The beauty of this mission is that you never run out of runway,” he explained to shareholders in 2021. “Customers always want better, and our job is both to listen to their feedback and to imagine what else is possible and invent on their behalf.”

The pain factor of customer centricity perhaps explains why so few companies make the leap from good intentions to sustainable growth. According to research, nine out of 10 companies know they should put customer needs at the heart of their business strategy. They all 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.

These are lost opportunities, because customer centricity is proven to deliver stout financial returns. Our research also found that industry leaders in Net Promoter Scores (NPS) gain almost three times higher total shareholder return, compared to the stock market average. If you are one of the 14%, or already on a journey of transformation, then all well and good. If not, then customer centricity is your burning platform.