For a number of years, I have been posting customer-centric relationship marketing, culture, experience, communications, research, and brand trend subject blogs on the CustomerThink international portal. Much that is customer-centric in nature has been impacting organizations in the way they set up enterprise architecture, create customer experience, and communicate with the customer base and the larger world of consumers. Reflective of everything transpiring in the customer arena, almost in real time, the 12 (really 13, but who’s counting?) inclusive months from August 2012 to August 2013 have been particularly active, with a baker’s dozen of my blogs during this time selected as “Editor’s Top 10 Picks” in the CustomerThink Advisor Newsletter. Many of the blogs have stimulated comment and further dialogue, and I’m extremely appreciative of the interest they have created. This compendium of close to 30 blogs is offered for your reference and application. Note that blogs selected as “Editor’s Top 10 Picks” are identified with a + following the title. For added reader utility, I have prepared an overview at the beginning of each subject chapter and also offered observations, perspectives, and recommendations at the conclusion of each subject chapter.
For many organizations, the 2012–2013 inclusive period is truly a customer-centric year, and we’ve seen enterprise customer centricity become recognized as one of the most important cultural focus challenges and opportunities for any organization. This has been occurring both inside and outside of the enterprise, and so companies must be aware of them, and sensitive to changes in inside and outside dynamics. As an active blogger, addressing all things customer-centric, I’ve done my best to cover key inside and outside issues; and my pieces are divided into five subject areas.
Chapter 1. The Customer-Centric Enterprise
Topics: Evolution of the Chief Customer Officer role; the importance of experience optimization, trust, and customer partnering; leveraging service (including proactive complaint generation and resolution) and employee behavior.
Chapter 2. Customer and Brand Decision Making and Influence
Topics: Word-of-mouth and brand bonding trends; loyalty program effectiveness; emotional connection between customer and company, and importance of strengthening relationships.
Chapter 3. Customer Behavior Measurement
Topics: Identification of which performance metrics work (messaging, operations, experience elements, and so forth), and which have granular actionability shortcomings; application priorities.
Chapter 4. Big Customer Data
Topics: Applications for customer data streams; the leveraging value and required quality of customer data; analytical challenges.
Chapter 5. Customer Strategy and Tactics (Branding, Communications, and Relationships)
Topics: Building “outside” in customer bonding through experience management; conjoining offline and online advertising, promotional, and social messaging.
If knowledge—customer knowledge—is truly power (per Francis Bacon), then “knowing,” that is, understanding the continually changing state of needs and expectations through investigation, and understanding, and acting on, the architectural and engineering responses that must also accommodate for them, is certainly more reflective of customer focus and true customer centricity. Fittingly, the late martial arts master and actor Bruce Lee wrote: “Knowledge is fixed in time, whereas knowing is continual. Understanding requires not just a moment of perception, but a continuous awareness, a state of inquiry without conclusion.” Bottom line: As I’m relearning, and reinforcing earlier concepts of organizational effectiveness with customers, it has felt important to me to share key perspectives and lessons with others. That has been my principal motivation to write Customers Inside, Customers Outside.
Michael W. Lowenstein, PhD, CMC
September 2013