Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because most companies don\u2019t understand that with this digital revolution, there was also a paradigm shift from the traditional product-centric approach to one that focuses on the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, more than ever, brands need to be able to cater to customer needs and preferences. Taking this customer-centric approach creates a satisfying customer experience that becomes the key to crafting winning digital experiences that will, in turn, create loyal customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years, brands have utilized personalization as a means of offering a customized experience for customers. While personalization is still relevant, the shift in the digital age calls for more tailored offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brands can harness data and leverage technology to create these tailored offerings, improve communications, and increase engagements, but only if they remember to focus on the needs and preferences of their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this article, we discuss the shift from product-centricity to customer-centricity. We\u2019ll also explore the role of customer orchestration in customer-centric digital experiences, practical ways to make your brand more customer-centric, and winning examples that can inspire you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Digital Era: The Need to Shift from Product-Centricity to Customer-Centricity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gone are the days when brands could differentiate themselves from their competitors solely through their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a Forbes <\/a>article, approximately 1.1 million new small businesses open in a year. With saturated markets across different industries and the addition of new players, it\u2019s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out simply through the superiority of your products or services – especially if other brands are also claiming to do it better, faster, or cheaper than you. However, there are still companies who prefer this product-centric approach regardless of the demand and the customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While product-centric companies focus on selling the best new products, customer-centric companies make the effort to analyze customer needs through data, tools, and feedback to create the best solutions for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Companies also measure success very differently depending on which approach they use. When the focus is on the product, success is mostly measured through sales and how well the product sells. On the other hand, the customer-centric approach views success through customer satisfaction and customer relationships. When the focus is on the customer, success is based on customer loyalty, retention, average order value, and similar indicators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two strategies are very different because they are defined by different goals. The product-centric approach helps companies achieve goals relating to product quality. Meanwhile, the customer-centric approach allows brands to create the best customer experience by satisfying customer expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s crazy to think that customer-centricity has been talked about since 1954<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept was born when Peter Drucker said, \u201cIt is the customer who determines what a business is, what it produces, and whether it will prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the approach only became earnestly mentioned in marketing literature around the late 1990\u2019s. Even then, production efficiencies held the highest priorities for companies. When the digital transformation took place, companies saw an opportunity to leverage information technology to increase interactions with customers by creating various touchpoints that would allow them to create personalized treatments for loyal customers. Now, companies are still struggling<\/a> to apply the customer-centric approach despite claiming that they are, in fact, focused on their customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, with the recent emergence of customer orchestration, there is a bigger opportunity to implement seamless touchpoints throughout the customer journey that elevate the experience and support personalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When brands successfully find a balance between their use of technology and their understanding of their customer\u2019s behavior, there is no stopping them. This all begins by looking at the customer journey from the perspective of the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start with the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A customer journey map is a visualization of the steps or actions that a company believes a customer will take when they engage with the brand. A customer journey map is neither linear nor simple. The flow can branch out in different ways and in different directions depending on the options and possible outcomes that are available to the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"product-centric](\"https:\/\/thegood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/image2-54.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Role of Customer Orchestration in Creating a Customer-Centric Digital Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n