Why are there organizations with customers that are “off the charts” in their loyalty? Customer-centricity creates a symbiotic relationship with customers. Hyper-loyal customers have a passion for converting others to become members of their “club” so that others can have the same great experiences.
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If you are constantly looking at what your competitors are doing, you will simply end up imitating each other. Being customer-centered, on the other hand, brings better clarity to organizations because it focuses them on thinking like a customer, instead of a competitor.
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Tells are indicators of what others see in you—how you will behave in any situation. Customers use all of your interactions with them to form an impression of how you will treat them as customers in the future. It is really important to understand these tells and to manage them deliberately because customers judge your
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The new competitive advantage is in outperformism, built around delivering the passion in your organization for being customer-centered. Because that fresh way of thinking is really, really valuable today, it should be viewed as your new brand.
The old paradigm was to brand your product, then throw in your customer-centered behavior as icing on the cake.
Outperformism is what successful organizations must do to differentiate their products and services and keep their competitive advantage. This level of performance only occurs when a company implements a structured system to proactively exceed the expectations of its customers. It is borrowed from the term ‘outperform’ for a rating which a stock analyst might give
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Everything-products or services-can be enhanced to perform better than it does today. Rather than thinking about what the service currently looks like, envision what it can be in the future. The secret is to approach it from the user’s viewpoint–by thinking like a customer.
Harvard professor Ted Levitt defined this development process 40 years ago in
When you go out to a show or another event, you expect a great performance. What makes you think your customers don’t expect that from you every day?
My wife and I enjoyed a 7-day cruise recently. Part of the entertainment consisted of performances by the Second City Comedy Group. In addition to rehearsed sketches, they
When a plant is put in a window, over time it begins to lean toward the light. In the same manner, generous, abundant actions by businesses create a positive energy source that attracts customers. These suppliers are viewed as legendary, not ordinary.
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If a competitor asked you this question, your emphatic answer would be “No Way!” Customers are assets. You wouldn’t give up your computers or manufacturing equipment, would you? Well, now is the optimum time to upgrade your strategy with a serious focus on thinking like your customers.
In these severe economic times, the competition is getting
Thinking like a customer is unselfish. Barlean’s CIO, Jade Beutler, describes his organization’s efforts as “making things intuitive for consumers.” But unselfish acts also pay off in ways that benefit us, as we all know.
Barlean’s is a Ferndale, Washington-based seller of organic nutritional products, such as fish oils and flax seed. They were founded in
