Customer Centricity
When talking about solution development, we often hear reminders regarding customer centricity. It seems quite evident; it is beneficial for us to build solutions that serve customers’ needs. However, there are several stages of development and several types of solutions that are aimed to benefit different types of customers and respectively the way in which it would be beneficial to involve customers varies. The reason for existence - companies and solutions A motivation may have different levels and it can be easier to identify and measure motivation at levels that are closer to a concrete solution; e.g. having a happy life vs. purchasing a holiday trip. What should be the source our motivation to build new solutions? Should the motivation arise e.g. due to a recognized wider problem or demand in the society, from an issue close to inventor’s own interests, from endeavor to produce income, from resources allocated to introducing new ideas and solutions, from a collective effort to solve a problem, or perhaps from combination of several different sources of motivation. What is the threshold that generates an action that endures adequate amount of adversities? Some think companies exist for the benefit of owners, some think companies are expected to bring benefits for employees, some view the primary focus companies on bringing benefits to customers and some see the ultimate purpose of a company in generating benefits to all interest groups and to the entire society. The motivation to deploy an idea can influence the outcome, although the benefits of different interest groups are seldom isolated. If you are looking for quick wins you may be more likely to focus on different types of business than if you expect long-term improvement in welfare. Generally complicated solutions may be assumed to require longer-term focus that those that are easy to understand and deploy and therefore commonly available and cheap. Solutions that are complicated and new to the market also often require larger investment in introduction phase: The market and ecosystem may need to be built. A newly found technology may not even be ready for commercial application when it is first introduced (except for business that arises from introducing the technology for audience). The solution development point-of-view When looking the issue from development point of view, it is difficult to recognize customer centricity as some sort of Boolean operator that in itself would grant an innovation an opportunity to succeed. Customers base their decisions on many sorts of reasons and the reason to accept something does not necessarily need to have much of anything to do with the innovation itself or its features. It is often a customer’s deliberate rational choice to accept something or not, but the environment does influence the preferences and choices that customers make and not all decisions involve deep conscientious considerations. Customer centricity can neither be seen as a synonym for positive effects. If not designed and implemented properly, it could also e.g. lead to slower development and wrong decisions. The concept of customer centricity in solution development Customer centricity can refer to many things in solution development; it can for example mean direct and close long-term co-operation with few customers or it can mean creation of understanding of potential markets and customers. Customer centricity can, inter alia, require involving customers in order to understand their needs and preferences or an effort to educate and engage potential customers re new solutions and ways to grasp benefits from these new solutions. Sometimes it can be a good idea to deliberate if direct involvement of potential customers represents a feasible approach in a given situation. We should ask e.g. what we wish to achieve by engaging (potential) customers or a group that is supposed to reflect the choices of our target customers in our development process and how we are planning to implement the dimensions of development process that we call customer centricity. How well do you expect your customers’ to be aware of the possibilities that your solution or the technologies or science that you master can introduce? Is it possible for a potential customer to truly understand the benefits you are offering with your solution, especially if the solution and related structures do not yet properly exist? Do the responses you manage to collect withstand time and closer examination? How do you know, which issues influence your potential customers’ responses? What do the responses actually reflect; true need for a solution, access to information, reflections of totally different issues, emotion, or something else? It requires resources to engage a sample that could be expected to represent anything meaningful. And if you only ask a few, it is very difficult to ensure that the responses you get have anything to do with the expectations and priorities of your target customers (unless your target customers largely compound of the ones you ask and the responses are binding)? Relation to market adoption Generally, the acceptance of new technologies and solutions is gradual. Some people accept new solutions and change easier than others but being cautious in acceptance does not actually mean that the person could not become a faithful customer in the long run. For startups whose business is still shaping this can pose a vast problem, especially when planning to introduce solutions that are new to the market. If searching for e.g. potential early adopters, small companies have less resources to invest in understanding where to find information re potential forerunners who would also to large extent match the profile of their target customers in selected issues and which part of available information could be considered reliable. How will the adaptation of technologies and developments in production chains influence customer centricity in solution development? The increased accessibility of information and production equipment for individuals and smaller companies may introduce opportunities regarding market research and engage potential customers at earlier stage of development. This does not necessarily mean that finding potential customers and involving them in e.g. development, market testing or research efforts would become easier. Also small companies would still need to find ways to identify and attract right customers to give their time and valuable opinion/ input. In addition, issues related to e.g. safety, ethics and information security easily increase the cost and make involving customers in development processes more complicated. The influence of communications and marketing Sometimes the significance of marketing can be underestimated when the focus is on developing new solutions. Many marvelous ideas and innovations can be left unrealized simply because of inability to get the message through to different interest groups. Getting huge response does not either always reflect a positive overall impact of or response to a solution or message. So, if you feel that you are not able to receive adequate level of acceptance to your solution, the core of the problem can be in the solution itself or in issues that are not directly related to the functionalities of your solution. It is also good to remember that some of the instructions you get may serve your interest. Johanna Sandman 19.3.2020
© Johanna Sandman 2013-2023
Customer Centricity
When talking about solution development, we often hear reminders regarding customer centricity. It seems quite evident; it is beneficial for us to build solutions that serve customers’ needs. However, there are several stages of development and several types of solutions that are aimed to benefit different types of customers and respectively the way in which it would be beneficial to involve customers varies. The reason for existence - companies and solutions A motivation may have different levels and it can be easier to identify and measure motivation at levels that are closer to a concrete solution; e.g. having a happy life vs. purchasing a holiday trip. What should be the source our motivation to build new solutions? Should the motivation arise e.g. due to a recognized wider problem or demand in the society, from an issue close to inventor’s own interests, from endeavor to produce income, from resources allocated to introducing new ideas and solutions, from a collective effort to solve a problem, or perhaps from combination of several different sources of motivation. What is the threshold that generates an action that endures adequate amount of adversities? Some think companies exist for the benefit of owners, some think companies are expected to bring benefits for employees, some view the primary focus companies on bringing benefits to customers and some see the ultimate purpose of a company in generating benefits to all interest groups and to the entire society. The motivation to deploy an idea can influence the outcome, although the benefits of different interest groups are seldom isolated. If you are looking for quick wins you may be more likely to focus on different types of business than if you expect long-term improvement in welfare. Generally complicated solutions may be assumed to require longer-term focus that those that are easy to understand and deploy and therefore commonly available and cheap. Solutions that are complicated and new to the market also often require larger investment in introduction phase: The market and ecosystem may need to be built. A newly found technology may not even be ready for commercial application when it is first introduced (except for business that arises from introducing the technology for audience). The solution development point-of-view When looking the issue from development point of view, it is difficult to recognize customer centricity as some sort of Boolean operator that in itself would grant an innovation an opportunity to succeed. Customers base their decisions on many sorts of reasons and the reason to accept something does not necessarily need to have much of anything to do with the innovation itself or its features. It is often a customer’s deliberate rational choice to accept something or not, but the environment does influence the preferences and choices that customers make and not all decisions involve deep conscientious considerations. Customer centricity can neither be seen as a synonym for positive effects. If not designed and implemented properly, it could also e.g. lead to slower development and wrong decisions. The concept of customer centricity in solution development Customer centricity can refer to many things in solution development; it can for example mean direct and close long-term co-operation with few customers or it can mean creation of understanding of potential markets and customers. Customer centricity can, inter alia, require involving customers in order to understand their needs and preferences or an effort to educate and engage potential customers re new solutions and ways to grasp benefits from these new solutions. Sometimes it can be a good idea to deliberate if direct involvement of potential customers represents a feasible approach in a given situation. We should ask e.g. what we wish to achieve by engaging (potential) customers or a group that is supposed to reflect the choices of our target customers in our development process and how we are planning to implement the dimensions of development process that we call customer centricity. How well do you expect your customers’ to be aware of the possibilities that your solution or the technologies or science that you master can introduce? Is it possible for a potential customer to truly understand the benefits you are offering with your solution, especially if the solution and related structures do not yet properly exist? Do the responses you manage to collect withstand time and closer examination? How do you know, which issues influence your potential customers’ responses? What do the responses actually reflect; true need for a solution, access to information, reflections of totally different issues, emotion, or something else? It requires resources to engage a sample that could be expected to represent anything meaningful. And if you only ask a few, it is very difficult to ensure that the responses you get have anything to do with the expectations and priorities of your target customers (unless your target customers largely compound of the ones you ask and the responses are binding)? Relation to market adoption Generally, the acceptance of new technologies and solutions is gradual. Some people accept new solutions and change easier than others but being cautious in acceptance does not actually mean that the person could not become a faithful customer in the long run. For startups whose business is still shaping this can pose a vast problem, especially when planning to introduce solutions that are new to the market. If searching for e.g. potential early adopters, small companies have less resources to invest in understanding where to find information re potential forerunners who would also to large extent match the profile of their target customers in selected issues and which part of available information could be considered reliable. How will the adaptation of technologies and developments in production chains influence customer centricity in solution development? The increased accessibility of information and production equipment for individuals and smaller companies may introduce opportunities regarding market research and engage potential customers at earlier stage of development. This does not necessarily mean that finding potential customers and involving them in e.g. development, market testing or research efforts would become easier. Also small companies would still need to find ways to identify and attract right customers to give their time and valuable opinion/ input. In addition, issues related to e.g. safety, ethics and information security easily increase the cost and make involving customers in development processes more complicated. The influence of communications and marketing Sometimes the significance of marketing can be underestimated when the focus is on developing new solutions. Many marvelous ideas and innovations can be left unrealized simply because of inability to get the message through to different interest groups. Getting huge response does not either always reflect a positive overall impact of or response to a solution or message. So, if you feel that you are not able to receive adequate level of acceptance to your solution, the core of the problem can be in the solution itself or in issues that are not directly related to the functionalities of your solution. It is also good to remember that some of the instructions you get may serve your interest. Johanna Sandman 19.3.2020
