How can you develop a customer-centric mindset in your career?

What really interest and intrigues me in the industry is the silent customer. These customers will stick to brands for years not being vocal about what really makes them stick around. Alternatively the second category are the customers who quickly change brands but silently. It is imperative as a business units to not focus on the Voice of customers only on social media etc but also become cognizant of the these silent entities to get a wider perspective on the ever changing customer needs. One of the solution to this would be conducting focus group interviews to gain deeper insight into what is working and what is not.

Customers are people, employees are people, employers are people, if you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business!! Fact of life

A good starting point is to create your ideal customer. And when I say ideal, I mean the one you’d like to deal with every single time. Based on its needs and expectations, you can then start to build your offer.

In my experience it is critical to understand your clients or stakeholders who rely on your work. A customer-centric approach involves understanding their needs, expectations, and goals. Take the time to engage with them, gather feedback, and make adjustments based on their input. In that way, you can be proactive and instead of waiting for potential issues to escalate, you anticipate potential problems, and take steps to address them before they become major concerns for your clients and stakeholders. Finally, don’t forget that communication is key. Be clear, transparent, and responsive when interacting with colleagues, supervisors, stakeholders or clients. Make an effort to actively listen and understand their perspectives and concerns.

To me customer centric approach does really mean setting a process to get in touch with them on a regular basis. Being customer centric goes deeper. It means that any big decision or orientation you may take is always going to take into account the impact it may have on your customers.

Frequently, we overlook the fact that we, too, are consumers of various products and services. Our purchasing habits, communication preferences, and reasons for utilizing customer service differ from person to person. Are we the same type of individual when buying everyday products as when acquiring appliances? You may discover a relatable aspect, sparking interest in how you might adopt more customer-focused strategies to connect with your clientele. Collaborate and engage in exploring customers' reactions to shifting needs and viewpoints. This humble approach might pave the way for innovative breakthroughs in creating alternative methods.

In order to develop a customer centric mindset in career,one should always focus on putting self in customer shoes using the product/services one vouches for. For eg:If you are associated with a SAAS platform that offers digitization to the small medium businesses/merchants,you should first try to get yourself enrolled in the journey and try to observe the same.Prepare list of milestones that came on way along with observations of time and quality of work done in order to achieve that milestone.That is where you are able to assess and anticipate the issues that a customer might face.Assesing gaps and Solutioning the same makes you aware of the system and at the same time a significant voice of your customer