Crafting a Customer-Centric Strategy

by Benj Miller | Jun 4, 2024

Most people believe building a solid strategic plan for a product or service requires tons of verified data and expert opinions. While data and expertise undoubtedly play critical roles, I was reminded this week that the first and most crucial requirement is answering the question:

“How do our customers want this to be / look / feel / be priced / be delivered to them?”

If we answer that question first, we’re eliminating a lot of the ambiguity we create with a bunch of educated guesses. It aligns your efforts with the real needs and preferences of your clients, rather than relying solely on internal hypotheses or generalized market trends.

This requires you to know your audience. Develop customer personas to really understand their pain points, goals and buying behaviors. You can conduct interviews, surveys and even feedback sessions to gather insights.

In the words of Sam Walton, “There’s only one boss, the customer.” Ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty through a customer-centric approach is the key to thriving in today’s competitive business landscape.