Companies talk a lot about being customer centric, but how you can actually measure this? In order to understand how customer centric your company is, you must look at two key components. The first is company culture and the second is operating processes. For a company to deliver great experiences there must be an internal focus on the customer. This process does not happen overnight and requires a set of competencies that takes time and refinement. Companies are not born customer centric but rather grow and develop into the position. In this article we will look at the stages involved in becoming customer centric. Working with companies of all sizes over the years has taught us that at the heart of every good customer centric process is a software like market research online communities or experience management platforms which act as hubs for engaging customers and analyzing the data.
Most companies tend to ignore the importance of the customer experience. The first stage after ignorance, is curiousity. This curiosity has to do with entertaining the notion that things could be done better. In this stage executives begin looking at how focusing on the customer might work for them. At this stage a temporary team might be assembled to look at where the customer journey could be improved. Usually the improvements spur on further action which results in a full-time team dedicated to the customer experience. Once the team is assembled, focus begins turning to pain points, and creating a voice of the customer. Once the voice of the customer is created and heard, it begins affecting operations.
With the voice of the customer established, the executives will begin looking at how new products are created, and begin bringing in the customer as a consultant to all of the major designs and decision making. One of the ways that this can be done easily is through market research online communities. Surveys are created and the data gathered, then the data is analyzed and groups can be segregated and invited into various small discussion groups. After this stage, customer experience starts to become common place within the company.
The customer centric ethos and processes don’t start and stop with the customer, but filter their way inwards to the company and HR. Gathering feedback for improving the workers pain points further drives satisfaction and boosts productivity. Consider where your company is in this evolution of customer centric journey and consider how a market research online community could help become the central hub for your transformation.
If you would like to find out more about how a market research online community or experience management platform could help you, please contact us.
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