Customer-centricity emerged as a significant focus in the SaaS industry, becoming the buzzword in 2023. Even today, it remains a top priority, with leaders frequently emphasizing its importance.

Keep reading if you’re also wondering what makes Customer Centricity a big word. In this blog, we’ve got leaders from different European companies who share their thoughts about customer centricity in the SaaS market, why it’s advantageous for companies, and, most importantly, the hows of it.

Our  Customer Success Snack events have been vital in bringing together Customer Success (CS) leaders across Europe, showcasing our shared achievements, and fostering a vibrant community. Events like this enable robust exchanges, meaningful connections, and collaborative growth among other CS professionals. 

Here are some notes on what we’ve learned from the event. Our great moderators, Catherine Van Raemdonck, Kristoff Bonne, Sally Hamdam, Jose Luiz, and Sally Stoewe, made this article cohesive and insightful. 

Here are eight tips to become Customer-Centric, straight from the leaders themselves. 

1. Embed Customer-Centric Values in the Company Culture Starting from the Top

When we talk about customers, it’s common to think of the CX team right away, as they are the closest to them. However, as we learned from the leaders themselves, customer centricity is not the responsibility of just one department. In fact, like most business decisions, customer centricity should be based on a top-down approach.

In a top-down approach, the initiative for customer centricity starts at the highest levels of the organisation and then cascades down through every department. Through this leadership-driven strategy, we can ensure that customer-centric values and practices are integrated into the core of the company’s operations, culture, and strategic goals.

2. Share KPIs across all teams.

Photo by: https://www.passionned.com/key-performance-indicators-kpi/

Being transparent is crucial to fostering a unified approach to achieving company goals and customer success. It ensures that everyone understands their role and how they can contribute to the organisation’s overall impact. 

According to a study by Harvard Business Review, companies with aligned KPIs achieve 30% higher profitability than their counterparts. Sharing the KPI enhances accountability across all teams, motivating them to take ownership of their role in the business’s success.

3. Actively Listen to the Voice of the Customer

Understanding your customer starts with actively listening to their voice.  As a brand, ensure that you gather direct feedback from your customers, as this is what will translate into figures for you. Use various channels like surveys, interviews, and social media interactions. 

But the work doesn’t stop there. Ttake this feedback back to your team meetings, discussions, and strategy sessions. Share what you’ve learned, discuss the implications, and brainstorm ways to address customer needs and pain points.

By consistently integrating customer insights into your processes and decision-making, you’ll not only meet but exceed customer expectations, fostering stronger relationships and driving long-term success. Remember, the key to customer centricity is making your customers feel heard and valued at every touchpoint.

4. Promote Gender Diversity.

As Isabel from Udacity highlighted, securing a leadership position in a male-dominated environment can be challenging. Similarly, male leaders aiming to succeed in female-centric organisations may face comparable hurdles. What does this have to do with becoming customer-centric then? 

When gender dynamics within an organisation are not addressed, leadership can be seen as biased towards the dominant gender, which can skew decision-making and how customer needs are understood and met.

Promoting gender diversity in leadership roles introduces a wider range of perspectives and approaches. This diversity is crucial for developing effective and empathetic customer-centric strategies, as a varied leadership team is better equipped to understand and cater to the diverse needs of their customer base. Research from McKinsey & Company reveals that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability.

This statistic underscores that diverse leadership teams drive improved financial performance and innovation, which in turn enhances customer experiences and satisfaction. Embracing gender diversity is not just a matter of fairness but a strategic advantage in becoming truly customer-centric.

5. Align Go-to-Market Teams to Drive Customer Success and Customer Centricity

Everyone in the organisation should contribute to driving customer success, starting from the CEO, who must champion customer centricity. Go-to-market (GTM) teams, which include sales, marketing, customer support, product management, channel/partner management, and operations, play a critical role in this process. Aligning these teams is essential for creating a seamless and customer-centric experience.

When you reward the sales team for smooth and effective onboarding and give the same recognition to support functions, the entire organisation can work toward long-term success and profitability. This culture enhances the customer experience and drives customer-centric strategies.

To achieve this, several initiatives need to be aligned within go-to-market teams:

✔️ Integrated Incentive Structures: Ensure sales and support teams are rewarded for their roles in successful customer onboarding and ongoing support, incentivising them to focus on customer satisfaction and retention. 

✔️ Cross-Functional Collaboration: Foster collaboration between sales, marketing, customer support, and other relevant teams to create a seamless customer journey. This collaboration ensures that every team understands the customer’s needs and works together to meet them. 

✔️ Continuous Training and Development: Invest in regular training to keep teams updated on best practices and new strategies for customer success. This training should emphasise understanding and addressing customer needs. 

✔️ Technology and Tools: Equip teams with the right tools and technologies to streamline processes and enhance customer interactions. These tools should provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, enabling teams to tailor their approaches. 

✔️ Leadership Involvement: Leaders must actively participate and drive these initiatives, promoting a culture of customer-centricity across the organisation. Leadership should prioritise customer-focused goals and set an example for the rest of the organisation.

6. Utilise data.

Utilising data is crucial for becoming customer-centric because it enables organisations to understand their customers better and tailor their strategies accordingly. 

The internal data you get from surveys and the latest customer conversion help build your current demographics and determine whether you can still cater to your prospective customers.  

Understanding customer demographics and preferences helps Customer Success Professionals better tailor strategies and approaches. This ensures that offerings remain relevant and appealing to all customers. 

7. Involve Customer Success Managers Early in the Sales Process.

Sharing responsibilities with the Customer Success team early in the sales process allows the CSM to understand the customer’s needs from the outset, ensuring a smoother transition and more effective onboarding. When the CS team and sales are aligned, we can promote alignment throughout the organisation. 

Gong’s data suggests that customers who experience a seamless and supportive onboarding process are less likely to churn and more likely to expand their relationship with the company.

Let’s take Salesforce as an example. Salesforce is known as a global leader in customer relationship management (CRM) due to its strong emphasis on customer success. The most remarkable attribute of this is their approach to involving and integrating their Customer Success Team early in the sales process. 

8. Cultivate a Growth Mindset and Commercial Awareness

Customer Success Managers should prioritise cultivating a growth mindset while enhancing commercial awareness. Bravery empowers CSMs to take the initiative, be proactive, and advocate for customers effectively. 

When blending into the role, always emphasize the importance of continuous learning and adapting to new challenges as opportunities in the industry. By nurturing qualities like this, CSMs can effectively drive customer success and contribute to the customer’s satisfaction goals and the organisation’s growth. 

9. Leverage Customer Feedback for Continuous Improvement.

Feedback is the only way for a company to identify its pain points and areas for improvement. Research by Bain & Company revealed that companies that effectively utilise customer feedback see up to a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores. 

Customer Feedback resolves issues and drives product development. When a company listens to its customers, it can be more proactive in ensuring that its products and services meet customer needs. 

In 2015, a small tech startup, PulsePoint, developed a health monitoring app to track vital signs through wearable technology. Initially, the product received much attention and garnered a modest user base. However, the company faced stagnating user growth and increasing churn rates after the initial launch. The founders were still determining why their promising app wasn’t retaining users as expected. 

Determined to understand the root of the problem, PulsePoint’s CEO, Sarah, decided to invest heavily in collecting and analysing customer feedback. 

With these insights, PulsePoint’s team embarked on a mission to revamp their product and customer service. Within six months of implementing the new updates, PulsePoint saw a significant decrease in churn rates and a 40% increase in active users.

This teaches us how crucial feedback drives company growth and ensures every resource is maximised correctly.

If you enjoyed what we’ve written here, then it’s a must to join our events and be updated on the latest trends in the Customer Success industry. Learn from over 450 Professionals all over Europe.

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