Video transcript
Hey everyone, Rachel here from GetFeedback. Welcome to another episode of Simplifying CX.
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Today I’m going to go over the difference between a product-centric and customer-centric mindset. We’ll cover definitions, differences, and why customer-centricity always produces better results.
First, I’ll define product and customer-centric mindsets.
Next, I’ll cover the differences between the two.
And lastly, we’ll discuss why a customer-centric approach is stronger than a strictly product-centric approach.
Let’s get started.
A product-centric mindset focuses on developing newer and more advanced products regardless of the demand that exists in the market.
Product-centric companies are defined by the products they develop, and those products may or may not meet customers’ needs.
In other words, they find customers for their products rather than products for their customers. They aren’t looking to solve problems or add value, they are looking to extend their product reach to anyone and everyone.
On the other hand, a customer-centric mindset keeps the customer at the heart of every decision a business makes. No discussions, decisions, or designs happen without bringing the customer voice into it.
With a customer-centric mindset, a business builds products with the customer’s best interests in mind.
There are many benefits to a customer-centric approach.
For your customers, the benefits include problems solved, value delivered, experiencing consistency, trust and innovation.
Customer-centric brands often experience growth, a competitive advantage, increased retention, increased Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and profitability.
Today, customers are informed buyers. The power has totally shifted from the product centric business to the customer and their wants and needs.
We have moved away from consuming products and instead, we seek experiences. This has triggered a whole new economy that is based on the moments we, consumers, wish to have. These experiences are a primary driver in the customer decision-making process.
So how do you implement a customer-centric mindset at your organization?
Consider this common product development dilemma: Your team is deciding whether to develop feature A or B? Product Manager A needs feature A but; Product Manager B needs feature B. What should the developers tackle first?
More often than not, when deciding the future of the product, the person with the loudest voice or the most compelling argument received their preferred feature or product adjustment.
Since everyone is making best guesses on how to improve the product with little evidence or data, this leads to tough conversations about which features to prioritize.
But, there’s a way to solve this dilemma.
All feature prioritization conversations can be informed by customer feedback and data.
Priorities are set based on the amount of feedback that customers give per feature request so that decisions are made based on clear data from the most important person: the customer.
Whoever has the most feedback on their issue gets their feature built first. Then they use feedback to validate any changes and measure the impact of their work.
Listening to customers on an ongoing basis, hearing what problems they need solved, and learning how they are using your products to solve them are all critical to prioritizing product enhancements and new product design.
Use the voice of the customer to create engaging products and experiences that customers love and that fit into their everyday life.
Creating experiences for your customers by your customers ensures you’ll gain customer lifetime value and grow your brand.
In summary: a product-centric mindset focuses on the product and its parts, not worrying about how it will affect the customer. In other words, “If we build it, they will come.”
On the other hand, customer-centric mindsets put the customer at the heart of every decision.
The customer-centric mindset provides your organization value by growing customer satisfaction, increasing their lifetime value, and growing your brand reach.
For a complete guide on customer feedback for product teams, click on the description section of this video to read our Product Manager’s CX Handbook.
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Until next time!