In today’s world, it’s understood that there can be two forms of markets – consumer-centric markets and product-centric markets.
A product-centric company places all of its focus on products and develops newer and advanced products regardless of its demand in the market. The social media marketing strategy and business processes are formed keeping the product in mind and working accordingly. These corporations invest heavily in R&D to develop distinctive products and therefore a company expands by adding new product lines to their portfolio.
A customer-centric company places the customer at the centre of all its strategies. They elaborate on the needs, challenges and pain points of their consumers and then build the solution to sell them. They have a deep understanding of the customer segments to which they would be selling and marketing their products. Apart from shedding light on the solution they offer, customer-centric companies articulate the whole customer journey for a greater and enhanced customer experience. They keep a keen eye on ways they can grow their business and build consumer loyalty. Sometimes they even resort to influencer marketing for achieving the same.
Businesses that take a customer-centric approach do more than put their customers first; they make it a priority to provide an exceptional consumer experience at the point of sale and after the sale to increase profits and gain a competitive advantage. Truly customer-centric organizations determine their most valuable customers and ensure their satisfaction for a sustained consumer. To do this, organizations gather customer data from multiple sources or channels and target their potential customers with relevant offers at the right time and social media management. Customer-centric is nothing new, however, it is becoming extremely significant in today’s age of the customer, when companies are undergoing a digital marketing shift, creating a corporate customer culture, and managing the customer experience. Their focus is on maximizing the customer lifetime value for turning every customer into a sustainable asset of their business. Customer lifetime value also plays a significant role in the valuation and goodwill of the company and influences the investor’s decisions on further investing capital in the business.
Customer-centric companies rely on generating business through their existing customers and aim at maximizing their continual revenues. They provide more than just good support and service. This is why firms and brands go an extra mile to not just provide their product as a solution to problems but also build/maintain a healthy relationship with them which in turn helps them build goodwill and brand equity.