{"id":90116,"date":"2023-10-24T17:25:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zetaglobal.com\/?post_type=insight&p=90116"},"modified":"2025-04-08T09:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T16:09:05","slug":"the-secrets-of-customer-centricity-part-1-building-the-foundation","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/zetaglobal.com\/resource-center\/the-secrets-of-customer-centricity-part-1-building-the-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secrets of Customer Centricity \u2013 Part 1: Building the Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Profitable customers are at the heart of what makes companies tick. Whether you\u2019re serving B2B, B2C, B2B2C, NFP (choose your acronym), everyone has a customer. But typically, your marketing focuses on you as a brand. What you<\/em> want to sell, what you <\/em>want to offer, what you<\/em> want to say\u2014all on your own timeline, in the channels you<\/em> prefer to use. The customer experience and the customer lifecycle have too frequently gone by the wayside.<\/p>

\"Person<\/p>

Today\u2019s customers are wiser and have higher expectations for the brands they do business with; many feel the need to identify with the core values of an organization. That said, creating an empathetic, impactful customer experience is much more difficult than it was in the past. As the toolsets to deliver excellent experiences get more and more complex, the gap between adoption and expectation continues to widen.<\/p>

The Three Major Realities That Brands Face Today<\/h2>

Channel Proliferation<\/h3>

Channel proliferation makes it difficult for brands to see the customer experience holistically. Consumers engage with brands across a multitude of channels, including voice calls, mobile text, app engagement, direct mail, email, social media, website, chat bots and display media\u2014to name a few. It\u2019s difficult for brands to bring all those experiences together, in near-real time, to understand, support, and respond to the customer experience.<\/p>

Immediacy<\/h3>

Customers expect immediacy and convenience when interacting with brands. Not only do you need to respond to what a customer is asking for, but you also need to anticipate what they\u2019re going to need or ask for next. Demonstrating a fundamental understanding of brand loyalty drivers requires you to have a unified view of your customers, wrapped in some data that allows you to garner meaningful and actionable insights on their behavior.<\/p>

Instant, Public Feedback<\/h3>

The social media megaphone is at the ready on consumers\u2019 lips. If someone is unhappy with their experience, it is not uncommon for brands to be lambasted online \u2013 but they seldom receive praise when they meet expectations. Can we confidently say that any publicity is good publicity?<\/p>

Start With Putting Your Customer at the Center<\/h2>

Addressing these challenges may seem overwhelming as it’s not always possible for an organization to devote all of their resources to the customer. \u00a0Running a successful business also requires producing, marketing, and selling your products or services on time, while staying profitable. No pressure.<\/p>

There\u2019s no \u201csilver-bullet\u201d for addressing customer centricity. It isn\u2019t one isolated event; it\u2019s a combination of technology, people, time, and focus that will make it happen. You need to be realistic about where you stand in meeting customer expectations and be prepared to make strategic decisions that drive growth. If you’re aiming for improvement, sticking to what’s comfortable and “normal” won’t cut it.<\/p>

The Customer Centricity Journey<\/h2>

Over the next few months, we\u2019ll be exploring what it takes to truly put your customer at the center, including:<\/p>