BUSINESS - The Shift to Customer-Centric Marketing

Customer-centric marketing is a strategy with the primary goal of acquiring high-value customers and maximizing the value of every customer relationship.

It acknowledges that there is no "average" customer and that the differences among customers represent an opportunity to build more long-lasting, profitable relationships through relevant communication.

Why is there such a ‘buzz’ about customer-centric marketing?

It has been fueled by the growth in e-commerce.

With web technology enabling customers to engage with companies in a variety of ways, the mentality of mass messaging is being transformed into a dialogue between retailers and customers.

Data from loyalty cards and information gathered about individual customers through their social media activity gives the company the opportunity to tailor communications to different customer segments in a more meaningful and relevant way.

The customer becomes the focus as the company determines how to best meet their needs.

(dagency.co.uk)

In some ways, customer-centric marketing is old school - a return to a personal relationship between customer and neighbourhood retailer. It’s just being done through more electronic channels.

Product-centricity (competitive advantage through superior product design or merchandising) or channel-centric marketing (focus on achieving dominance in one or more channels), are common marketing strategies that are in contrast with customer-centricity.

IBM Marketing Cloud is offering a webinar - 5 Smart Ways to Build a Behaviour-Driven, Data-Enriched Customer Experience - on June 23rd to help you determine if you are engaging customers (and future customers) where, when and how it's most convenient to them.

They will discuss how you can build your marketing approach around customer behaviours, integrate and act on data from across channels, and deliver a more satisfying experience throughout the customer journey.

Get tips for:

• Shifting your approach to a more customer-centric model
• Identifying and capturing the critical cross-channel data you need
• Employing behaviours to drive better experiences across each buyer journey stage
• Using real-world success stories to fuel big results for your company.

Learn more.