Comments on: 5 Tips to Becoming a More Customer Centric Organization

By: markpmsg

markpmsg — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:17:21 +0000

Mark: Super post. I think that all companies, startups and beyond, can gain alot by reading your piece. The principles of customer-centricity benefit small companies who can act on the results faster, but can also benefit larger organizations — it just takes more work.

When I think about obtaining customer feedback, the greatest concern I have is about selecting the right group of customers to target. Sometimes a company can spend too much time with more experienced customers, who are “growing out” of the franchise, than they do with the newer generation of customers. This is because (1) the company has more information (and often closer relationships) with longer tenure customers, and (2) newer customers, particularly in 2009, tell companies lots of information that the company does not want to hear. Social networks, lack of brand preference, more pricing transparency — they are all messages that most companies are not equipped to hear yet, yet alone act on.

Abercrombie, Jack Daniels, Phonak — all companies that faced the pressures of an aging customer base. If those companies had stayed “in the core” they might be gone today.

How do you think about target customer selection? How can you make sure to hear from customers who might not tell you what you want to hear?

By: Know Yourself and Show Yourself | Corporate Idealist

Know Yourself and Show Yourself | Corporate Idealist — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:11:44 +0000

[...] ran across an article at Both Sides of the Table that dealt with this very idea on the way to becoming a more customer-centric organization: So I started thinking about the ‘Inside Out’ organization. This is the company that lets [...]

By: Active Website Enterprise Network Blog » Becoming an Inside Out Business

Active Website Enterprise Network Blog » Becoming an Inside Out Business — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:01:33 +0000

[...] more details, click here for Mark’s blog on this topic. He gives fantastic examples of companies that are adapting to this [...]

By: ML Web Consulting

ML Web Consulting — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:44:49 +0000

What a great post. “Design for the novice, configure for the expert” … this article needs to be read by so many companies.

By: froi

froi — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:45:44 +0000

Very helpful tips! Thanks for sharing.

By: msuster

msuster — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:54:54 +0000

Happy to do so. I keep meaning to write more at Tumblr as well. Was thinking that would be more personal thoughts that didn't fit with the blog. Do you think importing them would cloud that? If you're willing to help me figure out the import I'd be happy to do today. I appreciate the suggestion and any help.

By: David Noël

David Noël — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:59:02 +0000

Great post, Mark. As usual.

Quick question/suggestion: what about adding your blog RSS feed to your Tumblr. That way, your Tumblr followers won't miss your posts.

You can do that in: Dashboard -> Customize -> Services -> Automatically import my RSS feed as Link with summary.

By: msuster

msuster — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:50:58 +0000

No, I don't think so. I think keeping a blog is great for all companies. Both of mine were B2B. It makes your company human. It gives customers, potential employees and journalists a view into who you are and the kind of company & culture you're building. It gives a place (like this!) for people to interact with you and build relationships.

By: 5 Tips to Becoming a More Customer Centric Organization | CloudAve

5 Tips to Becoming a More Customer Centric Organization | CloudAve — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:08:33 +0000

[...] who have never spent a day with their customers. If you’re a startup – fix this.(Cross-posted @ Both Sides of the Table)Posted Under : Entrepreneurship Tags customer focus user experience Startup Advice Share this [...]

By: The Pillars of Employee Performance Management for Mid/Large Companies | Management Business Wisdom

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:50 +0000

[...] 5 Tips to Becoming a More Customer Centric Organization [...]