How To Build a Customer Centric Organization

What does it really mean to be customer-centric, and how can organizations achieve this elusive goal? 

Tony Ulwick, the pioneer of Jobs-to-be-Done Theory and creator of Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI), offers valuable insights on this crucial topic.

What Does It Mean to Be Customer-Centric?

An organization is customer-centric when it:

1. Has a deep understanding of its customers’ needs, segments, and unmet needs
2. Aligns all internal functions around customer priorities
3. Consistently makes business decisions that drive ongoing value for customers
4. Has a process in place to focus on what matters most to customers

Many companies claim to be customer-centric, but few truly achieve this standard. The key lies in shifting from a company-centric to a customer-centric perspective.

The Challenges of Becoming Customer-Centric

Organizations often struggle to become customer-centric because they view markets, needs, and segments through a company lens rather than a customer lens. This leads to misalignment between internal functions and a failure to address what truly matters to customers.

The Jobs-to-be-Done Framework

To overcome these challenges, Ulwick proposes using the Jobs-to-be-Done framework. This approach focuses on understanding the underlying job that customers are trying to accomplish when they use a product or service. By viewing markets through this lens, companies can gain a deeper understanding of customer needs and how to create value.

The Five Steps to Customer Centricity

1. Define the market around the job-to-be-done
2. Understand customer needs through the job lens
3. Quantify the degree of underserved or overserved needs
4. Discover hidden segments of opportunity
5. Align strategy with customer priorities

These steps form the foundation of the Outcome-Driven Innovation process, which has been proven to dramatically increase innovation success rates.

Implementing Outcome-Driven Innovation

ODI is a comprehensive process that helps organizations become truly customer-centric. It involves:

• Capturing customer needs as “desired outcomes”
• Conducting quantitative research to prioritize these outcomes
• Using sophisticated segmentation techniques to uncover hidden opportunities
• Aligning product development, marketing, and sales strategies around customer needs

The benefits of ODI include increased innovation success rates, reduced development costs, and faster time-to-market.

Practical Steps for Organizations

To implement ODI and become more customer-centric, organizations should consider the following:

1. Creating a dedicated ODI team (typically 2-10 people)
2. Training cross-functional teams on ODI principles
3. Integrating customer insights into decision-making processes across the organization

It’s important to note that not everyone in the organization needs to be an ODI expert. The key is to have a core team of practitioners who can lead projects and disseminate insights to others.

Measuring Progress Towards Customer Centricity

Organizations can gauge their progress toward customer centricity by assessing the following:

• The degree to which internal functions are aligned around customer needs
• The organization’s ability to consistently make decisions that create customer value
• The existence of a formal process for uncovering and addressing customer needs

Conclusion

Becoming truly customer-centric is a journey that requires commitment, but the rewards are substantial.

Organizations can dramatically improve their ability to create value for customers and drive sustainable growth by adopting the Jobs-to-be-Done framework and implementing Outcome-Driven Innovation. 

Remember, customer centricity isn’t just about satisfying customers—it’s about aligning your entire organization around what matters most to them.