We all have a set of set of books that we have read or plan to read for professional development in our industry, and if you’re a Chief Customer Officer, Customer Service Manager, Customer Service Representative – or CEO, CMO, CIO or CFO for that matter – you may be reading up on how customer experience is becoming the competitive differentiator for many leading brands over even product or price. According to a recent Temkin Group Customer Experience Expectations and Plans for 2014 report:
- 63% of companies expect to spend significantly more or somewhat more on customer experience in 2014 than they did in 2013.
- 51% of companies plan to increase the staffing of their centralized customer experience team in 2014
- 78% of companies plan on dedicating significantly more or somewhat more effort to improving their web experience in 2014
- And 84% of companies expect to increase their focus on customer experience measurements and metrics.
So, if your brand isn’t focusing on customer-centricity, it’s time to start doing some research into how to get things going. Bob Thompson, CEO of the research and publishing firm CustomerThink, has a new book out, called Hooked on Customers: The Five Habits of Legendary Customer-Centric Companies that will serve as a stepping stone for brands of all sizes or individuals or teams with a focus on customer-centricity. He notes that the book is the result of 15 years of research, collaboration and thinking about what makes legendary customer-centric companies tick, so the highlights of Thompson’s 15 years of study are well worth a few days of reading.
What are the five habits that Bob believes help customer-centric companies succeed? Here they are, with some food for thought to see if your brand’s as customer-centric as the legendary brands showcased in the book:
- They Listen. For example, they ask about the drivers of their customers’ loyalty. They use both solicited and unsolicited feedback. They follow their customers’ digital behavior. They don’t just listen; they take action of what they’ve heard from customers.
- They Think. They employ business leaders who have the skills to interpret analytics and make decisions. They take advantage of unstructured information. They track both past-performance perspective, real-time and predictive metrics.
- They Empower. They give employees real authority to invest in customer relationships. They have a customer culture that puts both customers and employees first. They use technologies to improve access to information, support and resources.
- They Create. They make innovation part of the corporate culture. They make creating value a habit.
- They Delight. They train, empower and reward employees for delighting customers. They understand what delights, and they use innovation to keep delighting.
How exactly do the legendary customer-centric companies do all these things? That’s where you’ll have to read the book. Congratulations and thanks, Bob, for a treasure trove of insights for all of us who believe in the power of customer-centricity to elevate a brand or organization.