One thing is certain: you can't stand still. To stay in the market, you need to actively evolve on several fronts! And to take the right path, it's essential to look at your current customers and make decisions with them in mind. In other words, you need to develop a customer-centric strategy. I imagine you're wondering:
"So how do I create a customer-centric strategy that is truly effective?"
Well, it's simpler than it seems! And this content will help you with this challenge. In it, you will find an explanation of the concept, the use of data, and also the main steps for practical application.
Let's start with an essential question:
What is a customer-centric strategy?
A customer-centric strategy is exactly what the name says: a marketing strategy in which the customer is placed at the center of decision-making.
A customer-centric company not only offers the best service, but also strives to create an unforgettable customer experience from the very first contact with the brand. And of course, this unique experience extends to after-sales service, encompassing the entire customer journey.
You don't need to be an expert in consumer behavior to understand how impactful it is to give the customer such a prominent position within the company. In fact, research by Deloitte & Touche found that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don't have the same focus. Just imagine!
Using data in a customer-centric strategy
Taking the step of prioritizing the customer requires a great deal of maturity from any company. While it can be done organically, relying on the team's intuition, there's a more effective way to do it: using data.
But where will this data come from?
Your own CRM will be the primary source of data about your customer's behavior. With it, you can understand aspects such as:
- Buying behavior;
- Moments of heightened interest or engagement;
- Opportunities for extra services for engaged customers; and
- When and for which customers should you offer customizations?.
These are just some of the aspects you can explore with the help of your CRM and a customer-first mindset . But you can be creative and go far beyond the conventional through the insights this attitude will bring you!
How to have a customer-centric strategy (in practice!)
The first thing you should know when implementing a customer-centric strategy is that it will be an ongoing process in your company. From the moment you start applying this concept, you'll see doors opening and more and more improvement ideas emerging. At this stage, it's crucial to document all these areas for improvement, both in terms of product and service.
Anyway, I decided to describe here the 4 main steps to leverage your customer-centric strategy! Take a look:
1) Understand the entire Customer Journey
If you haven't yet studied and documented the customer journey, you might want to do that first and then return to this article. This will be the foundation for implementing a good customer-centric strategy. Watch our webinar on the customer journey
2) Anticipate the customer's needs
If you offer an amazing product or service to the market and win over customers every month through an acquisition strategy that considers the entire customer journey, congratulations! You're doing it right. Now it's time to take the next step and identify opportunities to act!
This is probably the most important step in becoming a customer-centric company! After all, once you understand exactly how your customer behaves, you have the chance to further strengthen your relationship with them. This means you can support them in their moments of doubt or celebrate moments of happiness with them.
Some opportunities you may identify at this time are:
- Develop helpful materials to address common questions and send them out at the exact times when each question typically arises;
- Refine your emails so that they convey exactly the message your client needs to receive at that moment, according to their stage in the customer journey
- Review your entire sales process from this new perspective;
- Create moments of delight during the implementation or follow-up stages with your clients.
These are just a few ideas, but you can go even further and bring your team together to brainstorm !
3) Use social media appropriately
Use each social media platform in the best way possible, considering the stage of the customer journey in which they interact with that channel. For example, your customer might only start following you on Instagram after becoming a client.
So, you can use this channel to further deepen your relationship, share interesting facts about the industry, and inform customers about brand news. However, trying to push a sale might not make as much sense, since the customer has already decided to buy your product. With this in mind, you can better tailor the content you publish and find the best tone of voice to use.
4) Focus on your churn rate (or customer loss rate)
You and your acquisition team know very well how difficult it is to acquire new customers! That's why more and more companies are shifting their focus to retaining existing customers instead of seeking new ones. The biggest reason for this decision is cost. Did you know that, according to Super Office, acquiring a new customer can cost on average 5 times more than investing in retaining an existing one?
Want to know why we take so much care in retaining customers? While it may seem like a natural concern, this isn't always the case. It's not uncommon to find companies that only focus on new customers and forget about current and long-standing ones. This type of behavior is responsible for the loss of an average of 10% of customers every year. The good news about identifying this gap is that you can act on it and delight these customers before they say goodbye!
In addition to actively addressing this common problem, you can also learn a lot about your customers by paying attention to those who are leaving. After all, what is the reason for the exodus? Perhaps talking to a dissatisfied customer at this time will be the key to finding other important points to consider in your customer-centric strategy.
Conclusion
This whole business of entrepreneurship or working to grow a company is like that: you start with the basics and then improve every detail. And the details never stop appearing, do they? There's always one more factor that can be improved to impact the growth of your business!
By the way, have you ever thought about what your company will be like in five years? And in ten or even twenty years? It's hard to imagine exactly how your product or service will evolve in the market, isn't it?
But one thing is certain: your customer will come first. Because if they don't, you'll likely struggle to survive in a market so determined to do just that.
So, get started now and feel free to ask questions and share your results with us here in the comments.