How customer-centric marketing increases success

The days of product-driven marketing are over. Nowadays, society expects personalized offers and experiences, essential content and communication at eye level. Companies that do not focus on the needs of their customers are losing importance. Customer-centric marketing ensures that companies consistently align their communication and messages with the expectations of their target groups. But how does the transformation succeed?

What exactly is customer-centric marketing?

Customer centricity in marketing is a marketing strategy in which the needs, expectations and experiences of customers are placed at the center of all marketing decisions. Instead of focusing exclusively on the product or company, the aim is to tailor content, offers and communication measures to the wishes of the target group. Instead of pure advertising messages, the focus is therefore on the added value for the customer. This shapes the brand in the long term and builds trust.

The 3 biggest challenges in customer-centric marketing

As important as customer-centric marketing is today, there are many obstacles that can make genuine customer orientation difficult.

1.

One of the biggest challenges is data silos that have grown over the years and unbundled knowledge: Valuable customer knowledge often only exists in the heads of sales staff, but is not available company-wide. As a result, there is no uniform perception of customers within the company. Customer data from different areas (e.g. customer relationship management, web analytics or customer service tools) is often not linked, perhaps not even stored. Without this foundation (e.g. based on a data strategy), it becomes difficult to create personalized experiences - and this is precisely the second major challenge.

2.

Today's customers expect customized content and offers. But many companies struggle with personalization. Standardized marketing messages lead to wastage and missed opportunities to address customers in a targeted manner.

3.

It becomes particularly complex in the B2B2C context, where several players are often involved in the sales process. The lack of coordination between marketing, sales and partners makes it difficult to ensure a consistent customer experience. Close collaboration, transparent processes and the strategic use of technology are therefore crucial to overcoming these hurdles and implementing genuine customer-centric marketing.

The 4 pillars of customer-centric marketing

How you proceed can be very individual. It depends on the processes in your company. In the following, we will show you how we proceed when we support companies in the integration of B2B e-commerce.

1.

Customer insights & data analysis

A sound understanding of customer needs is the key to successful marketing. Companies must systematically collect and evaluate data in order to better understand their target groups and address them in a targeted manner. This can be done by using CRM systems that document all customer interactions and provide helpful insights into customer behavior. The analysis of purchasing behavior, feedback and touchpoints provides valuable information that helps to refine marketing measures. The use of artificial intelligence also enables an even more precise forecast of customer needs and helps to present the right offers at the right time.

2.

Personalized communication & content

Individually tailored content and a targeted approach are the means to increase the success of marketing measures and improve the customer experience. Personalized marketing goes beyond addressing customers by name - it means providing the right content at the right time on the right platform. Developing personalized marketing campaigns and dynamic content that adapts to user behavior enables deeper customer engagement. To avoid diluting a customer experience under analysis, mass communication without a personal touch should no longer be part of the marketing strategy at all.

3.

Optimized customer journey & touchpoints

The customer journey is the path a customer takes from their first contact with a company to the conclusion of a transaction or beyond. A well thought-out and smooth customer journey is crucial for a positive customer experience. Customer journey mapping can be used to identify critical touchpoints that are particularly important for customer satisfaction. A consistent brand experience across all channels must be ensured in order to build trust. At the same time, processes need to be continuously optimized to minimize friction and make the customer journey as pleasant as possible.

4.

Organization and processes geared towards customers

A customer-centric mindset requires adjustments at all levels of the company. Marketing, sales and customer service need to work more closely together to provide a consistent and seamless customer experience. The introduction of interdisciplinary collaboration promotes the integration of customer feedback into daily work. The introduction of KPIs to measure customer satisfaction enables continuous monitoring of success. In addition, agile processes must be established in order to be able to react flexibly and quickly to changes in customer behavior. In order to establish customer centricity throughout the company and actively manage customer experiences, companies often rely on customer centricity models as part of customer experience management.

Our conclusion

Customer-centric marketing is no longer an option, but a must for companies that want to be successful in the long term. Those who truly understand their customers and optimize communication increase customer satisfaction and thus improve how their company and brand are perceived. With customer-centric marketing, companies can not only win new customers, but also retain existing customers in the long term.

Now is the right time to realign marketing strategies and invest in true customer centricity. We are happy to support you in taking this decisive step.

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Christian Vogl, Projects

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