How To Nurture A Customer-Centric Approach To Brand Building

Customer-centric cultures and attitudes towards brand building matter as they enable companies to deliver great experiences by default and resist forces which may degrade the experience. In addition, as transforming a culture is so difficult, firms which do manage to overhaul their cultures will be enjoying a competitive advantage for years to come.

What Is Customer-Centric?

Customer-centric (which is also known as client-centric) is a brand building strategy which is based on putting your customer as your top priority and at the core of your brand in order to provide a positive experience as well as build long-term relationships.

When you put your customer at the very heart of your brand-building efforts and combine it with Customer Relationship Management (CRM), you will collect a wealth of data, which gives you a full 360 view of the customer. This data can then be utilised to enhance your customer’s experience.

For instance:

• You are able to utilise customer data in order to understand buying behaviour, interests as well as engagement.
• You are able to identify opportunities in order to create products, services as well as promotions for your best customers.
• You are able to use customer lifetime value in order to segment customers based on top spenders.

Research which was recently conducted found that customer-centric companies were 60% more profitable as opposed to companies which were not focused on the customer.

How Do You Create A Customer-Centric Approach To Brand Building?

As cliched as it sounds, a customer-centric approach to brand building needs to be part of your company philosophy, values as well as mission statement – first and foremost.

Elaborate on your core company philosophy in a clear and easy-to-understand list of core values which your company has the intention of uphold at all times. It is required to address your values towards both your internal as well as your external customers.

A more significant benefit of imbuing a customer-focused attitude to brand building is that it gives something customers can identify themselves with.  Individuals don’t buy what you do. People buy why you do it. If you speak about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe.

The Challenges Of Becoming A Customer-Centric Brand

The power shift between brand and customer took place during the economic downturn in the late nineties as customers became more selective regarding which brand they decided to spend their money with.

The companies who came out on top were those ones who treated their customers with respect, offered great service as well as built a relationship with them which still exists today.

During the same period, another game-changer happened – social media. Social media marketing (and together with it social selling) altered the way in which customers interact with brands and became a massive part of the customer journey.

Social media is just one of many digital channels which is changing the landscape between companies and customers. Research shows that companies struggling to become a customer-centric brand are unable to share customer information across departments and lack an aligned culture around the customer’s needs.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

If you would like to study brand management then you need to do our Brand Management Course. Follow this link for more information.