Companies across the globe understand that putting the customers first is extremely important for businesses. However, truly building a customer-centric organization naturally fosters an operation where customers automatically come first, and all employees have a supportive mindset. Take a closer look at what it truly means to be customer-centric and learn how to build a customer-centric culture in the workplace.
What is a Customer-Centric Culture?
A customer-centric culture essentially means that customers and their satisfaction are always the top priority. Beyond the basic platitude, however, customer-centricity means an organization aims to build long-lasting and stable relationships with customers. Therefore, they consciously build values and teams that are consistently capable of catering to the customer at every level of the buyer’s journey and beyond.
Why Customer-Focused Culture in the Workplace is Important
Creating a customer-centric culture is important for all types of businesses. Some benefits include:
- It builds brand loyalty with a stable customer base
- It creates a brand that has long-term staying power in an ever-growing arena of competitors
- It creates more engaged and loyal employees
When customers are happy with a brand, they are naturally more likely to continue to trust and buy from that brand.
Tips for Building a Customer-Centric Culture
1. Encourage Active Listening
Active listening and communication are important on every level of corporate culture and should be applied when interacting with customers. Research shows that only 38 percent of customers feel like employees actually understand their needs. Developing empathy for customers isn’t possible without truly listening to customers during every interaction.
2. Keep Core Values Aligned
Make sure that your business’s core values are aligned with customer-centric goals. Many companies start with values similar to those that have worked for other companies, which can mean customer-centricity is totally overlooked. When identifying your workplace culture, look at the documented values and mission statement and ensure customer focus is a core component.
3. Hire with Customer-Centric Intent
Some team members are more capable of customer-centricity and empathy than others. As you develop your team to be more customer-facing and appreciative, be sure you are also hiring team members with that same intent. Look at candidate skills that align with the mission, such as being an empathetic personality type or a good communicator.
4. Measure Customer Satisfaction
Analyzing customers’ satisfaction with the business and collecting feedback are easy ways to ensure your organization creates a customer-centric environment. If customers frequently voice negative concerns or low satisfaction scores, it is a good sign that efforts are not being directed the right way. For example, suppose you send out customer surveys and often get remarks that return policies are too stringent. In that case, this may mean that the return process is not empathetic enough to customer needs.
5. Strive to Stay Engaged With Customers
Engaged customers feel valued, and valued customers develop a sense of trust in the brand and business. Use industry tools like customer portals and loyalty programs to keep clients and customers consistently communicating and engaged. Something as simple as a rewards program can be truly valuable for building brand affinity for the long term.
Improve Customer-Focused Culture with Help from Learn2
Ready to hone a customer-focused culture in your business? Connect with Learn2 to improve customer-focused culture in the workplace with effective skills-training modules.
