Customer Centric Organisations ( R they a Myth )

Becoming customer-centric means looking at an enterprise from the outside-in rather than the inside-out— that is, through the lens of the customer rather than the producer . Its about understanding what problems customers face in their lives and then providing mutually advantageous solutions. These solutions are the key options which provide you a “Sustainable Competitive Advantage” which in long term assures Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty add them up and you would get “A POTENTIAL FORTUNE 500”.

To become a successful Customer-Centric Organisation the organisation must follow the following working style:

• They are there When You Need Them, Yet Not Bugging you.
• Synchronize with the Customer's Buying Process (Be Him)
• Accountability for Customer Perception of Value (Understand Him)
• Providing What Customers Really Want (Deliver Him)

For companies to stay relevant and viable , they must decide their market, and fully fill that market's needs in all dimension. For Airtel, it may be service; for Apple, it may be product; for BIG BAZZAR, it may be price. But in the end management must decide and act before the competition senses the move and initiates the attack.

Truly customer centric companies use direct marketing techniques to go where their customers are with interesting and provocative offers.
They do it by researching the market carefully and by systematically testing every promotion and campaign. They use permission-based methods, such as newsletters and free E-mails, to nurture relationships, educate their prospects, and be on their mind when the time is right.

To achieve a sustainable growth everyone company has to look towards the existing or prospective customers and design the business model towards their needs. In software industry we can se few companies like IBM, TechMahindra, Cisco who have increased their revenues by serving the existing customers with new tools and business models. In fact some of these companies bank on their USP of being Customer Centric Entity.

Truly customer centric companies worry about ensuring that their customers actually receive the value they were looking for. They go out of their way to uncover customer's problems and solve them. Also a Customer-Centric Organisation would worry about helping their customers at every stage of their Buyer's Journey not just the one where money changes hands. This enables them to reduce their cost of sales phenomenally, because they can measure the value created by the actions customers take (As it is a give and take relationship).