5 questions to find out if you’re really customer centric

Consumer-centric businesses put the customer at the center of everything they do, ensuring that no choices are made without first considering the customer and the influence that a decision will have on them.

Customer-centric approach is an easy idea to grasp. In essence, it simply implies that a company must focus on meeting its customers' demands, placing customers' interests ahead of one's own, and offering a customer service experience specifically meant to make people happy.

That is why it is critical for business to contact consumers regularly and develop ways to learn more about them. 

To assist you, we've developed a list of customer-centric questions to ask to get your business on the right track.

1. Do you have a good understanding of your clients?

When we think about customer centricity, the ability of a company to understand its consumers is often the first thing that comes to mind. You'll need to improve your data analytics skills to do so.

Your data should assist you in better understanding your clients, including why they do what they do and what they enjoy. 

If at all feasible, your data should also assist you in predicting when consumers may modify their behavior. Few companies are capable of doing so, as it necessitates advanced methods and a highly competent crew.

You're on the right route, though, if you're constantly gathering customer insights and carefully assessing them. The most essential thing is to make use of all of your data and include it in your decision-making process.

Read more: 4 reasons why customer feedback is key to startup success

2. Are customer journeys or touchpoints more important to you?

When dealing with a brand, such as creating an account, calling a customer care hotline, making a purchase, or altering their subscription data, customers frequently go through a complex set of procedures.

Integrating all of these phases into a smooth customer experience is a difficult task. Typically, companies fail to do so because their staff have a single mentality that is completely focused on their particular jobs. 

As a result, they may be more focused on finishing their duties than on the customer experience entirely.

For example, a contact center agent may be unaware of a customer's prior internet behaviors until they reach out for assistance. Hence, that agent is unable to provide effective client service due to his or her narrow perspective.

Rather than focusing on specific touchpoints or procedures, make it a priority to improve the complete customer experience. 

Employees must understand all of the procedures and processes that a client goes through to complete a task so that they may better support them.

3. What degree of problem-solving authority does your staff have?

Our third customer-centric approach concerns your workers' ability to solve difficulties. 

We've all been in the scenario when you're addressing an issue with an employee and they tell you “Let me ask my manager" instead of assisting you. 

And you know you don't want to hear that sentence. Are you oblivious to the fact that you'll have to speak with a manager? All you want is for the issue to be resolved. 

And you want the person in front of you (or on the phone with you) to have the authority and capability to make it happen.

People are not permitted to do anything in some companies. In others, personnel are instructed and trained in every way necessary to tackle an issue their customers have. 

It makes a lot more sense: they are intimately familiar with the company and are aware of the expectations of the consumers in front of them. It's pointless to drag someone into a conversation who doesn't know anything happening before that.

4. What do you do when you and your customer have conflicting interests?

This sort of scenario occurs far more frequently than you would believe. 

As an example, consider the following: Consider a bank user who hasn't used a sleeping account in five years. They pay a yearly charge for the upkeep and maintenance of such frozen bank accounts, despite the absence of activity. 

How do you deal with that as a bank if you have a high number of customers who fall into that category? Will you remain silent and take advantage of the simple and easy money? Or would you aggressively approach these clients, informing them, "Hey, you have a sleeping account, we need to speak with you?"

And if you do, will you propose that they close the account since the money they spend is worthless? Or will you go one step further and say, "Hey, you've been paying us for the previous five years and we haven't delivered any value to you? We'll make amends."

You can observe the amount of customer centricity increasing from the first to the second scenario. And you can feel that perspective is critical in determining how customer-centric you are.

5. Do your executives place a high priority on the employee experience?

What could be better than an executive commitment to putting consumers first? A CEO is committed to putting his employees first and ensuring that his staff are cared for. 

Then, employees, in return, will look after the consumer journey. If you honestly want to put customers first, you must put staff first. This isn't a question of which comes first: the staff experience or the customer experience. 

Your customer experience management would be meaningless without your workers. You will most likely have dissatisfied consumers if your workers are unhappy.

Asking the correct questions may lead to some amazing discoveries and ideas. There's a strong possibility that you're only a few questions away from achieving the next level of retail success, no matter what sort of shop you operate.

What additional customer-centric questions do you believe merchants should be asking? Please do not hesitate to share them with us.