What are the metrics at the core of a customer-centric company?

The value of operating with customer-centricity is proven as customer-centric companies are up to 60% more profitable. But what does customer-centricity mean for businesses in practice? In a  nutshell, these organisations put their customer at the centre of everything, both internally and externally. They go above and beyond to create a customer experience that nurtures their users; they are able to fulfil their customer's expectations because they have a deep understanding of what they need and want, often to the point of anticipating them. 

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Regular engagement and touchpoints allow companies to collect data about their customer's preferences which helps them provide a comprehensive service for each customer segment. In turn, the stellar customer experience retains customers and leads to positive reviews that attract new customers, especially as regular touchpoints allow any sticking points to be resolved swiftly. 

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As it's a cultural shift to focus on the customer first and to put sales targets and profits second, customer-centricity needs to be monitored to ensure full implementation. All departments and employees should be united in serving customers and any blocks identified and dealt with. To help your company become customer-centric, monitor the following 5 key metrics. 

How to monitor customer-centricity

Retention Rate

Increasing customer loyalty is one of the main profitable benefits of embracing customer-centricity, which is indicated by the retention rate. What percentage of customers continue to use a business' services? A high retention rate shows that customers find value in what is being offered and can use it to their benefit.

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Retention rates can be improved by enhancing the value customers receive from the business. Additional interactions and interventions can make it easy for customers to utilise services and resolve any problems in a way that leaves them happy and even willing to tell others about the high standards of customer service. 

Churn Rate

On the other hand, a business's churn rate is the percentage of customers that stop using a product or service. It indicates that they were interested enough to try it but weren't impressed enough to stay. Customers often leave because they struggle to use the product or service effectively or it doesn't meet their expectations. 

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Establishing a simplified onboarding process can help prevent a high churn rate; it guides customers on how to make the most of the product, gives them a chance to ask for help and shows the business is willing to go above and beyond to support them. Meeting customer needs to the point where they want to continue their relationship with the company is at the core of customer-centricity.

Conversion Rate

Before customers can be retained, they need to be converted. If a business is attracting a lot of leads and interest but struggling to gain paying customers, it suggests a disconnect. Something is preventing the ideal customers from opting in. 

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Customer-centricity is essential in lead generation and customer acquisition because it ensures the business' message resonates with potential customers. If they can't identify that a product will help them with their problems or achieve their goals, they won't buy. Understanding and empathy are needed for customers to identify with an offering and trust in the company enough to buy it. 

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

How happy are your customers with how you are serving them? This insight explains why a business is retaining or losing customers. Specific satisfaction around customer experience, ease of use and business-customer interactions can be acquired so a company can pinpoint areas for improvement and promote areas of satisfaction. 

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A lack of customer satisfaction suggests needs are not being fully met and they aren't achieving the results promised. Monitoring customer satisfaction at every stage, not just when customers reach out with a problem, is essential to refining the experience and achieving high satisfaction. 

Customer Effort Score (CES)

Building upon the results of customer satisfaction surveys is the customer effort score. This tracks how easy it is for customers to use products and services and achieve their desired results. Ease of use is a significant factor in both increasing loyalty and fulfilling customer needs. 

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Businesses bridge the gap from the customer's problem to their solution. It's their responsibility to make outcomes possible for customers. If customers cannot use the product or service to achieve their desired results, they will likely go elsewhere. Continuing to learn about their customer avatar enables companies to identify barriers to implementation and direct changes to make their product better suited to their ideal client. 

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At its core, customer-centricity requires companies to understand their ideal client in-depth to meet their needs. By monitoring and improving these 5 metrics, a company will become customer-centric and maintain that cultural shift over time. 

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In summary, take the time to understand and monitor both why customers are loyal to your company and why they decide to leave. Know how many leads are turning into paying customers, track how happy customers actually are, and how easy they find your product or service to use. Always be in the process of learning about your customers. Excel in these areas, and your business will excel in customer-centricity. 

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What could you do to better serve your customers?

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