Customer First Strategy

We all think our business should be driven with a customer centric approach assuming it will help us succeed! However, the customer centric mantras that we follow would be meaningless if we don't have a plan in place to execute them. Customer first strategy is one of the customer centric mantras that help organizations build an effective relationship with the customer.

We all know that customers and their feedback is important, but prioritizing their needs become a side note to product quality, satisfaction, or increased revenue. And, most of us won't rally behind a "customer first" business strategy because of multiple reasons.

That said, successful companies find a balance between prioritizing customer needs and meeting business goals. All we have to do is, create an effective customer first strategy that benefits both customer & the organization.

In this article, let's learn more about customer first strategy, and how we can construct the best strategy for the business.

First things First!

What is Customer First Strategy?

Customer first strategy is a business plan centered around meeting customer needs and creating a delightful brand experience. The plan can be something related to a special service or a feature that enhances the company's value from customer's perspective.

In short, customer first strategy is to ensure we maintain and build mutual aid that helps both customer and the company for a longer period.

Let's look at a few things that help organizations build an effective Customer First Strategy:

1. Understanding your target audience.

We can't have a customer first strategy without knowing who our customers are. That's right, we need to deeply understand our target audience and how our business could improve with their buying experience.

Analyzing customers and sales metrics to discover different ways to create a better product along with keeping a track of demographics, purchasing behaviors, values, attitudes, and more will help everyone in the organization to access information and make better decisions.

2. Recognizing what our customer needs we are fulfilling.

Once we identify our target audience, we can start thinking about their needs and goals. This will help us determine which goal or need our organization should address.

For example, let's say our target audience likes a product that is vast in terms of features rather usability. A product with vast features and a great user experience will attract all customers looking for a unique product that offers vast features and UI.

Having a strong presence and the ability to address a certain problem for the customer base will set us apart from competitors and prove our customer first mentality because the decisions that we take are based on our target audience.

3. Bringing in customer centric mindset to everyone in the team.

In most organizations, the customer facing team is solely responsible for monitoring customer satisfaction. These employees directly communicate with customers, so it makes sense they're the only ones who should worry about what users think, right?

If we think that the above statement is right, we are actually moving in the wrong direction.

Because it's impossible to have a customer first strategy if its weight falls solely on customer facing employees. We should understand that every function in the business can benefit from adopting a customer centric mindset.

For example, when the product team is developing a product vision, they should be considering what features will address customer needs and also ensure all employees are satisfied with what's coming because happier employees lead to happier customers. If every person in the company ties their role to our customer's success, we will definitely achieve an effective customer first strategy.

4. Having a strong crisis communication plan.

Crises happen. While it is evident that we can't predict when they'll come, we can plan how to overcome them. That is why it's important to create a crisis communication plan.

A crisis communication plan addresses any issues that may impact the reputation of our brand. It will also minimize the negative effects of crises. A successful crisis communication plan would demonstrate that our main concern is our customers' safety, opinions, values, and feedback. (I will talk more about crisis communication plan in my upcoming articles)

5. Thinking & implementing innovative ideas to improve customer experience.

When we create a popular product or service, we may sit back and watch the sales to rise. However, there are competitors who are likely coming up with new products and services to meet ever-changing market needs. This means, if we fall behind, our inability to change and grow could be our demise and the product or service we offer could quell.

We should understand that innovation is the key to a customer first strategy. It shows that we understand customer needs and can predict how they'll change over time. Searching and identifying new ways to improve customer experience will demonstrate our dedication to product and service quality something that will keep customers loyal.

Never stop innovating in the Business!

6. Prioritizing customer communications.

No matter which organization we work for, sometimes it feels like there are a million things to get done before a product deadline. Products need to be designed, built, tested, and rolled out before they're released to the public. After all, we all need something to offer to the customer when the launch date arrives.

However, it doesn't matter how good our product is if it hasn't been marketed effectively. This makes marketing communications, including newsletters, social media, print advertisements, or TV commercials, are so important. This will help us connect with our customers with ease, and show them why they should purchase our product. This also builds the narrative that our company's products are designed with customer needs in mind.

7. Receiving customer feedback.

At the end of the day, we can't know if our customer first strategy is effective unless we obtain customer feedback. Receiving feedback from customers on a regular basis (i.e., quarterly, bi-annually, or at a schedule of your choosing) can offer valuable insights into the target audience which can be used to fuel our decisions.

It is also helpful to receive feedback from our employees. After all, as I mentioned earlier, employee satisfaction and happiness are just as important as the customers. Getting feedback from the team on how they believe the strategy is working and whether they have ideas for improvements will help the organization understand how effective the customer first strategy is.

End of the day, we always say and believe that "Customer is always right". This is very much true if we listen to the customer if we use the right Customer first strategy!

Thank you!