Customer expectations are constantly increasing. The digital landscape has levelled the playing field between multinationals and start-ups. All brands can have direct access to their target market. Customers are scrutinizing businesses intently.
Digital platforms provide your potential customers with all of your brand information. With a few clicks, your target market can identify your brand’s strengths and weaknesses. The easy access to information gives your audience greater control over the buying process. Customers will only choose to work with those brands that provide an excellent experience.
When prospects are armed with knowledge about your brand’s weaknesses and strengths, they
Organizations that are customer-focused see more robust sales and profits. Customer focus is the foundation for customer loyalty. 74% of customers feel loyal to a particular company, with 52% reporting that they go out of their way to buy from their favourite brands.
Brands need to create an exceptional customer experience, from the first impression of the brand to the sale and beyond, with after-sale support. Roughly half of customers say they would switch to a competitor after just one bad experience. If a customer has more than one bad experience, that number jumps to 80%.
What Does it Mean to be Customer-Focused?
The customer must be the guiding force behind everything you do. Brands need to set aside their ego and focus on bringing the customer what they need and want. Successful brands have created a company culture dedicated to enhancing customer satisfaction and building strong customer relationships.
Customer service skills are critical to a customer-centric culture, but customer focus must be part of the strategy and culture throughout the organization.
Every pet brand should have a core value of focusing on the customer.
What is the value of being customer-focused?
Revenue – Loyalty – Competitive Advantage
Customers with strong attachments to a brand deliver a 23% premium over the average customer — both in profitability and revenue. A repeat customer spends an average of 67% more than a new customer. Loyal customers end up being worth ten times their original purchase.
Many business strategies are focused on increasing brand awareness and winning new customers. For sustainable growth and profitability, delighting existing customers is as critical to success as winning new ones. Retaining customers results in sustained profitability. Customer-focused marketing is crucial for customer retention. Not only is attracting new customers less profitable, but it’s also more challenging.
What is Customer-Focused Marketing?
Customer-focused marketing places the individual customer at the centre of all marketing initiatives. This strategy is one of the easiest and most effective ways to boost profits. The marketing is customer-centric. Using personalized messages and targeted content to bring the customer precisely what they are seeking.
How to Implement a Customer-Focused Strategy
There are two levels to building an effective customer-focused strategy: an emotional level and an operational level. The core belief that the business exists to serve its customers must be shared throughout the organization and built into the processes in every department.
Step 1: Encourage collaboration
Many organizations used to operate their departments completely unconnected from each other. Developing an excellent customer experience requires teams to work together. More than 70% of customers expect companies to collaborate on their behalf.
The customer service team must be able to easily communicate with the sales teams and provide feedback to the marketing department.
Step 2: Know your customers
The most successful campaigns come from brands who know their ideal buyers and existing customers and deliver customized experiences to each.
Interview your existing top customers.
Learn what attracted them to your brand.
Discover what features or products are most important to them.
What motivates your customers to purchase your products?
What needs do your products fulfill?
What problems do your products solve?
Communicate the way your customers want to. Providing support via phone isn’t helpful if your customer wants to catch you on messenger. Sending email surveys will miss the mark when your audience makes most of their purchases on social media.
Step 3: Listen to your Customers
Behind every customer is a story. At some point, you likely built ideal customer profiles. Learn who your customers really are. Were your projections accurate? Or is your core consumer base a different market segment than you anticipated?
Step 4: Personalize the customer experience
80% of companies believe they deliver “super experiences,” but only 8% of customers agree.
Customers are inundated with marketing messages. Generic, one-size-fits-all marketing is no longer relevant, (was it ever?)
If you’re planning an email campaign, ensure you’re providing relevant and interesting information to your audience, not just selling your product. Social media allows brands to have two-way conversations with their customers. Encourage your audience to engage with your team.
Step 5: Focus on the customer experience
Existing customers contribute more to your business than new customers. Treat your customer base as though you’re still trying to win their business. 70% of a customer’s journey is based on how they feel they are being treated.
Step 6: Educate customers
If all your content is about selling your products, you will never build an engaged audience. A customer-focused strategy includes creating and curating content that educates your customers on relevant topics. Give your customers the knowledge to make better buying decisions.
If your content only tries to sell, your customer engagement will be disappointing at best.
Step 7: Be accessible
Make it simple for your audience to reach you. Consumers don’t want to put effort into connecting with a brand.
Pay attention to reviews. Leverage your customer service team and monitor online reviews to find ways to more effectively support your customers and offer greater value.
Amplify the voice of the customer
Use feedback to create a better experience
Increase awareness for your brand by creating customer advocates. Create customer advocates. Current customers are the simplest and most cost-effective solution to increasing brand awareness.
Customer Advocates
Testimonials and quotes for landing pages
Case studies
Social media engagement
Co-marketing resources, like webinars and eBooks
Speaking events
The Customer-Centric Brand
By listening to what your customers really want, what problems your products are solving, and what delights customers about your brand, you can hone a focus that will retain customers while also growing your business. Customer-focus needs to be built into every facet of your organization, structuring teams to collaborate to share information and leads and work together to solve customer’s problems.
Talk to the StreetDog team about how to design compelling email campaigns, build strategic surveys, generate exciting content, and engage your customers on new levels.
