Customer centricity is not a new concept in customer service, but it remains more critical than ever. As brands distance themselves from human-led interactions, implementing more and more technology to solve problems, customers have become frustrated by a lack of accessible support.
As this becomes a point of contention, organizations must take a moment to listen to their customers and adapt operations to meet their ever-changing needs. To do this, brands should lean into customer centricity.
But, what is customer centricity? And what does it mean in 2025? Customer centricity is a strategy centered around the customer. It is the practice of putting the customer first and aligning operations to consistently meet their needs. Customer centricity is a method where deeply understanding customers empowers brands to personalize, adapt and improve the journey effectively.
By putting the customer first, organizations are able to better connect with customers and form lasting relationships. This dedication to customer needs drives higher CLV, customer retention and satisfaction over the long-term.
How Does Customer Centricity Work?
So, you want to implement a customer centric strategy to improve CX? Great! Taking the first step is important, but as a warning, the journey may not be straightforward. Customer centricity is not just a buzzword, it is a dedication to putting your customer at the center of everything you do. This doesn’t happen overnight and it will take more consistent collaboration and a strategic rollout.
Let’s break down the pillars of customer centricity to give some perspective.
1. The commitment to deeply understand your customer
Customer centricity depends on a granular understanding of your customer. It is not enough to just parse through feedback, leaders must be deeply curious about how customers are engaging with their brand. Mapping the customer journey, recognizing points of friction and challenges or even moments of delight will give leaders fuel to continuously improve.
This commitment doesn’t end after the first assessment, either, brands must work to consistently reassess on a regular basis. Whether this is weekly, monthly or annually, it is important to check-in and spend time getting to know your customers.
2. The all-hands on deck approach
While customer service teams will certainly take the lead on building a more customer centric strategy, it needs to be an organization-wide endeavor. Customer centricity starts at the top and trickles down throughout every facet of the business.
To be truly customer centric, every department leader must be working toward the same end goal. Yet, in CCW Digital’s latest market study, only 7% of leaders say that their service, sales, marketing and customer relations teams are in total harmony when it comes to designing customer experience and communication strategy.
This means that organizations must take the time to improve these relationships to establish greater cooperation across departments. When every team is working to enhance the customer experience, results can be drastic.
3. Take action and improve
To actually see results, organizations must take these insights and use them to improve. Leveraging data to create more personalized experiences, giving agents greater insight to provide contextual responses and removing roadblocks from the customer journey will go a long way with the customer.
Customer centricity is about curiosity but it is also about a commitment to improvement. Taking action on key insights and using them as a guide for change is one of the most critical steps. By strategically planning, preparing and executing, organizations will see more success with customer centric initiatives.
Challenges to the Customer Centric Mission
While customer centricity is clearly important, it is not always easy. Even the most seasoned organizations have challenges to build around a completely customer centric mission. One of the most pressing challenges to achieving this is a lack of comprehensive data.
According to CCW Digital research, only 22% of leaders say that their agents have consistent, real-time access to the customer data, sentiment analysis and knowledge needed to deliver high-caliber, consultative care.
If this insight isn’t reaching the agent, then it is clearly not organized in a way that is conducive to customer centricity. When insights and data becomes siloed, it can get lost in translation and, worse, lost completely.
Without these critical details, leaders are not able to accurately assess customer needs. Therefore, leaders must ensure they have organized and prepared their data for proper use.
Another key obstacle is a lack of buy-in. This is especially a challenge when it starts at the top. If leaders are not on board with customer centric principles then it becomes extremely difficult to execute.
Amazon famously has proceeded with a mission of ‘Customer Obsession’, where leaders start with the customer and work backwards. According to the tech giant, "They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers."
To establish this kind of culture, leaders must work to gain the buy-in throughout the organization.
Key Benefits of Customer Centric Strategies
Customer centricity can be a game changer for CX leaders. By dedicating more time to understanding your customers and making changes that align with their deeper needs and preferences, organizations can establish highly productive customer relationships.
Beyond an increase in loyalty and CLV, brands can also continuously improve products and services. In gaining this insight, organizations can pinpoint challenges and less than desirable features and proactively improve. Further, marketing teams can create more personalized and meaningful promotions and advertisements, sales can provide better recommendations, there is so much potential across the organization.
At the end of the day, customer centric brands have a leg up on the rest. The connection between the customer and the brand only gets deeper as leaders prioritize these strategies. By keeping a pulse on customer needs, leaders can consistently adapt and improve. This dedication to growth enhances customer trust and loyalty, giving customers the confidence to continually engage with your organization. In 2025, this kind of relationship is paramount.