IMD-OWP22-PostEvent-Report-V11[8]

→Strategy

HOW TO BE CUSTOMER-LED

Do executives understand what “putting the customer first” really means? Here’s how to do it and how to sustain it against the odds.

Customer centricity is seen as a crucial part of the recovery formula for companies today. Particularly in inflationary times, customers are seeking value. Executives are justifiably spurred on by the promises of digital marketing and big data. Yet there is a legacy of failed attempts at creating and capturing customer value from customer centricity and data usage stretching back decades. Executives cannot afford to fail again.

The prerequisite is to understand that what is really required is a true belief that putting the customer ahead of all other claimants is good business – and drive that belief through the organization. That means putting customers ahead of shareholders, employees, and any others.

The rationale is that these other stakeholders are onboarded in the value creation process, but it is customers who are the ultimate arbiters of value. Value in their eyes must be created before management and the board decide what to do with that: reinvest (innovation, R&D, brand, sustainability transformation), enhance employee conditions, or distribute to shareholders.

SEÁN MEEHAN Martin Hilti Professor of Marketing and Change Management

102

103