In this post the author argues that a
customer-oriented corporation is one whom strives to focus its organization,
including leaders, processes and culture to efficiently meet the changing
demands and preferences of its customers. He also argues that
customer-orientation in turn remains a concept tied firmly to the internal
activities of the corporation, from production and development of goods and
services to after-sale support and retention. In contrary to this term related
concepts such as customer value (customer satisfaction using the product to
accomplish a required task) and customer experience (the sum of the experiences
gathered throughout the procurement and utilization of the product) are
distinct from the internal, and largely cultural, aspects and may be treated
separately.
Within the premise of this discussion the
author describes several consumer trends that influence modern day business in
general and internet based businesses in particular. It is argued that the
emergence of four customer types have changed the way corporations engage in
consumer behavior. The types put forth are the self-service customer (customers
experiencing an ever increasing pressure on time and require new solutions
where they may self solve the necessary tasks when available), the social
customer (whom socialize and interact in increasingly open media whom cannot be
controlled nor censured by corporations), the technological customer (whom by
the way new technology has lowered entry-barriers to many markets is blessed
with more options and is inherently less loyal) and the demanding customer
(whom experience that the new players in the marketplace acknowledges and
adapts to their needs and lends the same expectations to established and mature
corporations). The combination of these trends in consumer behavior means that
the customer makes an increasingly attentive selection in deciding the vendors
from whom one acquires product and services. In thus real customer-orientation
becomes a competitive advantage to meet the increasing expectations of the
customer.
In his closing remarks the author advice
business whom seek further engagement with their customer to base their
interaction on dialog concerning the selection of products and services made
available by the corporation and its partners as well as the customer
experience through procurement and within active use of the product or service.
In thus the key premise of this dialog should remain with gathering insights to
establish:
- Simple and user-friendly physical and digital points of contact
- A general culture of service
- An ability to adopt increasingly complex customer needs (rather than a push-mentality)
- An organizational structure based on customer segments rather than a functional organization.
Given the ever increasing availability and
globalization of product offerings we see today I believe customer-orientation
has/will become the prevalent form of cultural adoption and product development
in the years to come. Businesses will come to realize that the days of
industrial prowess must give way to more modern approaches to their value
offering such as may be seen with mass customization as the expectations of the
individual customer gains even further momentum. As I
see it such a transition will likely be one filled with difficulty for many
established players set in their (somewhat outdated) ways. I believe we are
entering an era of lurking dangers, but also with profound promise for players
whom act accordingly to the new paradigm.
