Four ways for marketeers to implement a customer-centric mindset

Increasingly its recognised that a customer-centric mindset is critical to competitive success. Yet, during day-to-day execution, that customer-centric mentality tends to get pushed aside - more so in Marketing than in other client-facing parts of the business, such as Sales and Customer Support.

So here are the 4 ways to keep your customer at the heart of what you do

1. Get to know the real people behind your personas

Avoid the segmentation trap by interacting with your customers as real people rather than just labelling them into personas or categories – that’s useful but it doesn’t allow you to understand how your customers feel.

2. Use technology strategically by keeping the customer first

People gravitate to what feels authentic but a high level of personalization is more easily said than done; it takes time and effort, and a business has only so much capacity.

However, its worth asking yourself questions such as whether scaling a task could frustrate a customer. At the end of the day, what matters most is your customer's experience.

3. Use the right form of contact at the right time

While automating certain processes may be helpful, there will always be times when a customer just wants to pick up the phone and talk to a real person. As marketers in a digital environment, we are continuing to understand when and how certain types of conversations need to happen.

When does a response or other communication need a human touch, and when can it be automated?

4. Advocate for a customer-first philosophy beyond marketing

Customer marketing and engagement go way beyond advocacy, which is essentially a one-way street. It's important for businesses as a whole, not just Marketing, to continue to listen to customers, work to solicit their input, and bring that input to life. It's everyone's responsibility. True customer-centricity is only achieved when everyone works together to put the real people who matter—customers and prospects—first.