Customer-centricity is like art. As a customer, you know it when you see it, or rather, when you feel it.
You get those warm, mushy feelings like "they really care about me" and the urge to tell your friends.
That's what prompted me to share a few personal examples of customer-centric selling in my last blog about
showing customers some love [1].
Sometimes it's hard to figure out internally whether you're running a customer-centric business or not. You could take our CustomerQ assessment [2] to calculate your CustomerQ score and see how your customer management practices stack up against others.
Or, take some advice from John Doerr, founder of Wellesley Hills Group, on what attributes to avoid, unless you want to lose your clients. These were written for professional services firms, but I think it's good stuff for most any business.
- Once you sign the deal, disappear.
- Show a consistent lack of respect for your client inside your own firm.
- Hide the other ways you can help – hey, it's "my" client.
- Keep to the tried and true approaches.
- Don't ever, ever check to see how you are doing.
- Make your invoices as confusing and indecipherable as possible.
Doerr's complete post is funny and thought-provoking.
How to Unseat an Incumbent Service Provider [3]. Enjoy!