(With Victoria Manes)
Obsession is a robust phrase. In keeping with the Oxford English Dictionary, an obsession is an thought or thought that regularly preoccupies or intrudes on an individual’s thoughts. At Forrester, we use the phrase intentionally, even provocatively, after we discuss buyer obsession, precisely as a result of we need to evoke a robust response. We need to provoke motion.
Clients Are (Nonetheless) Altering Quick
Ever since I joined Forrester, I’ve been writing and presenting on how buyer behaviour is altering ever extra quickly, Properly, it’s nonetheless true. As an example, 65% of UK on-line adults mentioned they’re “at all times keen to do or attempt new issues,” and 71% of French on-line adults have used chat for commerce at the very least as soon as. That’s why buyer obsession is extra necessary than ever. And by this, I don’t simply imply doing every little thing your buyer needs. Buyer obsession begins with deeply understanding your clients’ wants and flows by way of to aligning what you are promoting operations to serve them profitably. Sure, profitably … customer-obsessed B2C companies display 1.8 instances the revenue progress of non-customer-obsessed companies.
European Companies Are Catching Up
Our buyer obsession maturity evaluation clusters companies into 5 classes, from customer-naïve to customer-obsessed, primarily based on three elements: management, operations, and technique.
In 2022, European companies had been lagging behind in comparison with their international friends of their buyer obsession maturity. However our 2023 knowledge reveals that the proportion of customer-obsessed and customer-committed companies in Europe has elevated considerably within the final 12 months. European companies are catching up, with Italian companies probably the most customer-obsessed, adopted by Spain.
Buyer Obsession Pays Dividends
We all know that buyer obsession pays. We are able to present that customer-obsessed B2C companies see 1.8x the income progress and twice the market share progress of their non-customer-obsessed rivals. However the advantages are wider. European govt decision-makers from customer-obsessed and customer-committed companies inform us that they:
- Are optimistic in regards to the future. They see stronger buyer relationships, extra innovation, and extra profitability.
- Use empathy and understanding to create loyalty. They achieve understanding their clients’ wants, create advocates, and win long-term loyalty.
- Innovate quick. They shorten the time between concepts and motion, prioritise primarily based on buyer wants, and undertake new applied sciences in comparison with their opponents.
In our upcoming occasion, CX EMEA 2023 on 10–11 Could in London, we will probably be awarding our first EMEA Buyer-Obsessed Enterprise Award. We’ve had some very sturdy submissions, and our winner will probably be there to share the story of their journey towards buyer obsession and present the advantages that it brings. We’d like to see you on the occasion.
