I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about how customer centric companies win eventually in an competitive market. During our conversation we reflected back on our individual experiences and realized that some companies get it all wrong even in an age where customers have a strong voice (through social channels). Surprisingly, there are many companies that still flourish and have a very strong engineering driven product focus (you know who they are).
So why do these companies exist?
- They are a monopoly
- Their customers do not have an alternative
But is the model sustainable? The answer is NO. The business landcape is full of examples where a nimble startup has disrupted the incumbent’s business model by being more customer centric and giving what the customers really want. At the core, this simply works because there is an inbuilt closed loop between the customers and product engineering. The channels may wary for understanding the Voice of Customer, but the end result is always positive.
So why do companies still GET IT ALL WRONG in 2012?
Business Concepts Applied 