Thesis on "Customer Centricity"

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Unfortunately, the majority of the funds that is being spent by businesses is spent only to bring customers to the business and is not spent on keeping them (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Because of this, a lot of customers will do business with a specific company but then they will not remain to continue this business relationship once that specific transaction is done (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Now that this has really come to light in recent years, more and more businesses are realizing that what it takes to keep customers is much different and more significant than what it takes to first get customers into a business (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

Because of this, businesses have to change the way that they look at customers and the retention strategies that they employ to keep them (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). There are customer centricity strategies that are largely used in any service industry (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Some places offer coupons in an attempt to bring people into their business but then offer to give them discounts if they continue to utilize their services (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Most airlines offer frequent-flier mileage programs where people who remain loyal to that airline can receive free or discounted trips (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Some through the mail music businesses offer discounts depending on the amount of music that is bought (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

There are various clubs in coffee shops, department stores that offer credit cards that provide discounts, and resorts and hotels that offer packages to people who stay there more often (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Even some sports teams provide seating priorities for people that have previously held season tickets or previously bought tickets for a specific event (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). For businesses that offer mortgages and other lending type issues, lower rates are sometimes offered to people who have done business with that company before (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

One of the things that most people learn in marketing is that it is often easier to get an individual to try a good or service from a specific company that it is to get them to continue to buy from that company (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). It is much harder to keep customers that it is to get them in the first place, and therefore it seems that more funds should be spent on retaining customers rather than getting customers to come to the business the first time (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

It appears that this would be a good way to build a profitable and growing business, but many businesses seem to turn away from this idea or not realize its importance (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Having customer service that is higher than the standard set for a specific industry is one of the ways that people can be brought into a business, but this customer service must grow into a bond between the consumer and business (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). This bond is called loyalty and it must be on the part of both the customer or customers and the business alike (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

Unfortunately in today's society there is so much going on and so many options to choose from that loyalty often appears to be a fleeting idea (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). There is no blind loyalty in any type of industry anymore and many customers no longer buy something simply because they have bought it there before or because it is a specific brand name (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Customers and customers today are much more educated and keep their eyes open for better deals (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). This is good for the customers because competitors realize that they have to provide a better deal and do more for the customers that they have in order to keep them from going elsewhere (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

One of the best ways to compete is to offer either a new product or a new service to a customer when it appears as though he or she might be leaving to go somewhere else (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). This is not always easy to do, and sometimes might not even be possible, but it is one of the ways that a business can keep customers returning to them (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Another way that a company can keep people coming back is to offer discounts to a customer that has shown a lot of loyalty to the business so that the customer will stay there instead of going to someone else's business (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). A lot of people believe that customer service is the best answer to all of the customer centricity issues (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). While it is very true that customer centricity is very significant and excellent service helps to keep people coming back to a business, the market is too competitive to assume that this will work all of the time (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

Most customers have come to expect excellent service and since they feel that this excellent service is something that they should, by rights, be receiving they often do not see it as anything extraordinary (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). In the long run, excellent customer service must be upheld but it will not necessarily keep customers (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). The only way to really win at the game of customer centricity is to enhance the loyalty that customers have to the business and how much profit for the business each customer provides while insuring that the service remains extremely high (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

Having a brand name value that customers see as being worthwhile is also very significant, but it is necessary to remember that customers will often look for better deals and if they try a product that is lower in cost and find that it is just as good in their opinion they will continue to use it rather than remain loyal to the brand that they originally utilized (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

Brand-name value is not something that is tangible (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). It cannot be seen and it comes only from the perception that the customer prefers a specific name (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). In marketing, the strategic advantage often goes to businesses that have brand names that are easily recognizable (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). If someone were starting up a soda business they would pay billions of dollars if they had it to use the Coca-Cola name (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). This is not because Coca-Cola is such a significant name in and of itself, but because the name is easily recognizable and already has a loyal customer base from which to build (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988).

This is true with anything that is on the market today including computers, theme parks, fast food, and countless other things (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). Not all industries have businesses that have a great deal of brand recognition but industries that have this rely on its importance (Jackson, Cunningham, & Cunningham, 1988). The real question,… READ MORE