Harnessing the Power of Customer Obsession: What Brands Need to Know

The concept of customer obsession is not new, but many leaders are still in the dark about how to operationalize it to drive growth. In our recent webinar with Shar Vanboskirk, VP Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, we had the opportunity to explore exactly what a customer-obsessed company looks like, and how to become one. You can watch the webinar recording of “Maximize Growth Opportunities With Customer Obsession” for the full insights.

Although moving to complete customer obsession can be a time-intensive and costly endeavor, there are certain strategies that every organization can implement now to make moves in the right direction. Over time, customer obsessions can lead to highly profitable, sustainable growth – making it well worth the investment. Read on for a few key takeaways for companies ready to amp up their customer obsession.

Be Willing to Adapt Based on Customer Insights

As 2020 and 2021 have consistently proven, the ability to adapt to shifting consumer behavior is critical. At the core of that adaptability is access to real-time consumer insights and a strong foundation in analytics and data-driven decisioning. For example, Analytic Partners worked with a large craft retailer on a major pivot based on customer behavior shifts in 2020. The organization, which was previously a performance marketing-based business, relied heavily on coupons and in-store traffic while maintaining a relatively light digital and ecommerce presence. However, the pandemic forced the company to pivot quickly – and highly successfully – in a way that wouldn’t have been possible without analytics. Together with Analytic Partners, the brand built out a measurement program that allowed it to see double-digit store growth in the second half of 2020 through innovative, high-speed, actionable insights. You can watch the full story here.

Don’t be Afraid to Test

A test and learn mindset is critical to achieving growth through customer obsession. As customer needs change, businesses that are committed to customer obsession must constantly look for new ways to meet demand and create a new sense of interest and relevance. In line with the discussion of adaptability above, it is far better to test a new strategy that is backed by customer insights and risk a miss than insist upon a prior way of doing business if the analytics indicate a shift is necessary.

Trust in the ROI

There are clear-cut benefits to being customer-obsessed – yet many organizations are stuck on customer obsession as an idea, rather than an action plan. But with the right focus, a clear understanding of what it truly means to be customer obsessed, and a holistic measurement program in place to support, companies can move from “idea” to “action” and adapt, test and learn their way to customer-obsessed success.