Strengthen relationships and build loyalty by better addressing customer and client needs in a shifting market.
Brand teams across industries are rethinking “what’s next” as economic uncertainty disrupts both short- and long-term planning. A critical first step in shaping a near-term growth strategy is identifying gaps in customer centricity.
Brands that stay closely connected to customers are better equipped to understand shifts in attitudes, needs, and behaviors. We’ve been helping our clients focus on the intersection between what their customers or clients want and what their brand is uniquely positioned to deliver. Identifying gaps in that alignment helps clarify the most important next steps.
Critical customer centricity actions.
We recommend four research strategies to help brand teams determine where gaps may exist — and how to prioritize actions that close them. Taken together, these methods provide a well-rounded view of how your customers are feeling and how the market is evolving, so you can deliver products and services that are better aligned with current needs.
Steps you can take to remain customer centric to drive near-term growth.
1. Evaluation needs importance and frequency.
Do the current needs of your customers or clients have passing or long-term importance? Are these needs a one-time event or ongoing? Having a thorough understanding of changing customer attitudes and behaviors will clarify the necessary updates to your brand’s current engagement and servicing model.
2. Refresh your driver analysis.
A robust contextual key driver analysis of the current marketplace can determine specific brand levers that will inform consideration, continued usage, and relationship deepening.
3. Competitive landscape assessment.
Measuring the impact of your brand’s actions on affinity and business outcomes relative to key competitors can reveal both opportunities and gaps in connecting with customers or clients. We’ve recently updated our approach to brand health to give teams a more accurate picture of how their brand is positioned.
4. New concept ideation and optimization.
Now may be the time to develop new products and services, and address near-term customer needs. Agile innovation development can ensure your brand is bringing the right new offerings to market with deep customer insights, but in an accelerated manner.
The most solid footing for any brand in this age of uncertainty is to stay closer to customers or clients and remain empathetic to their changing attitudes, needs and behaviors.”
Customer centricity should serve as your brand’s North Star, and now is the time to check in with customers to make sure all your actions are forward-looking, empathetic, and need-based for the current and near-term environment.
Our team is ready to help you gain the insights you need to adapt successfully in a changing market. Contact us to talk about your research needs.
