Customer-centricity: a term that dominates mission statements, strategy decks, and keynote speeches with its promise of transformation. Yet, the journey from inspiration to execution often falters. While leaders champion the idea of aligning every facet of their organisation to meet and exceed customer needs, the path forward is rarely straightforward. Employees are left navigating vague directives like “put the customer first” or “be proactive,” which can lead to distraction, disorientation, and, ultimately, disengagement. The cost? Missed opportunities for innovation, improved customer satisfaction, and sustained business growth.
The disconnect between aspiration and action is not an uncommon problem. It’s particularly prevalent in organisations that serve internal and external customers through value streams. Employees struggle to translate principles into practice without clearly defined behaviours to operationalise customer-centricity. The obstacle is not a lack of motivation or belief; it’s a lack of clarity.
“Customer-centricity is what we do — not what we say.”
True customer-centricity is not about slogans or surface-level commitments. It’s about intentionality — defining, embedding, and scaling specific behaviours that embody customer-focused values. Drawing from Morten Münster’s essential read for product leaders, “I’m Afraid Debbie From Marketing Has Left for the Day”, this post explores how organisations can bridge the gap between lofty ideals and actionable reality. By focusing on what employees need to do rather than what they need to believe, businesses can unlock the full potential of their customer-centric vision and drive lasting impact.
The Gap Between Ideals and Actions
Customer-centricity often lives in the abstract, encapsulated in broad statements that inspire but fail to inform. Leaders might emphasise “putting the customer first” without explaining what that means on the ground. Employees, juggling competing priorities and systemic constraints, are left to interpret these ideals with minimal guidance.
One striking example of this disconnect is the prevalence of “feature factories” in the world of software delivery. A feature factory is a mode of operation where teams focus on output — delivering features — without adequately considering customer value or outcomes. In this non-customer-centric approach, success is measured by how much is produced rather than how well these ‘products’ address customer needs.
The Cost of Vague Strategies
Feature factories reveal the high costs of vague strategies:
Lack of Customer Alignment: Prioritising a delivery-focused roadmap over solving customer problems can lead to outputs that fail to meet actual needs. By contrast, outcome-oriented roadmaps (such as those championed by Jeff Gothelf) align delivery efforts with customer value.
Missed Opportunities for Feedback: Features are pushed out without customer input, which is missing chances for iterative improvement.
Disillusioned Teams: Teams disconnected from meaningful impact lose morale, churning out features without understanding their value.
Inefficient Use of Effort and Energy: Energy spent on low-impact features diverts from potentially higher-value opportunities.
By contrast, customer-centric organisations avoid these pitfalls by embedding intentional behaviours that keep customer needs at the heart of decision-making. This means focusing on outcomes over outputs, aligning work to customer value streams, and maintaining feedback loops.
Behavioural Design: Translating Vision into Action
Behavioural design provides a structured framework for turning abstract visions into actionable reality. This methodology emphasises:
Behaviour First: Actions define attitudes. Effective change begins with what people do rather than what they think.
Real-World Examples: Address scenarios where broad strategies fail to translate into practical behaviours.
Intentional Design: Define, test, and embed behaviours that align with organisational goals.
Key Steps:
Defining Desired Behaviours: Articulate the specific actions employees should take.
Making Behaviours Measurable: Translate behaviours into clear, observable tasks.
Testing with a “Video Test”: Ensure an outsider can confirm the behaviour is occurring.
This approach transforms abstract aspirations into observable, repeatable actions that align with customer-centric goals.
Operationalising Customer-Centricity
Let’s ground this in a real example. In an organisation delivering software and technology solutions I recently worked with, vague customer-centric ideals were replaced with clear behaviours. Here are some examples:
Deep Understanding of Customer Needs
Behaviour: Actively engaging with stakeholders to understand their pain points, goals, and desired outcomes, not just their requirements. Yes, stakeholders are customers, too!
Example: Conducting interviews, mapping customer journeys, or collaborating on problem discovery workshops.
2. Prioritisation Based on Customer Value
Behaviour: Continuously evaluate and prioritise work based on its impact on customer outcomes, not internal convenience or effort.
Example: Use customer feedback, adoption rates, or the Jobs-to-Be-Done framework to identify the highest-impact features or fixes. These methods ensure prioritization is guided by what delivers the most value to customers rather than by internal convenience or operational metrics alone.
3. Empathy and Advocacy
Behaviour: Representing the customer’s perspective in every discussion or decision.
Example: Advocating for usability or reliability improvements that solve known customer pain points, even if they are not explicitly requested.
4. Collaboration Across Teams
Behaviour: Breaking down silos to ensure that customer value flows smoothly across teams and through APIs, platforms, or integrations.
Example: Collaborating closely with integration partners within the same team to eliminate handoffs and ensure seamless workflows supported by clear, consistently updated documentation.
5. Feedback Loops and Iteration
Behaviour: Regularly seeking customer feedback on delivered solutions and using it to improve the product or process iteratively.
Example: Rolling out MVPs or feature flags and collecting user feedback through analytics or surveys.
6. Proactive Problem-Solving
Behaviour: Anticipating customer challenges before they become critical and proactively addressing them.
Example: Monitoring work item age or dependency risks that might delay a key delivery.
7. Clear Communication and Transparency
Behaviour: Keeping customers informed about progress, challenges, and changes in a way that builds trust.
Example: Using regular updates or Kanban boards to show work in progress and explaining delays with root causes and next steps.
8. Ownership of Customer Outcomes
Behaviour: Taking accountability for the success of the customer’s experience with the solution rather than just delivering the work.
Example: Ensuring third-party integrations meet contractual requirements and solve the customer’s problem effectively.
9. Measuring Success by Customer Outcomes
Behaviour: Shifting success metrics from internal delivery goals (e.g., “on time”) to external customer impact (e.g., “improved retention”).
Example: Tracking implemented solutions’ adoption or usage rates and learning from the results.
10. Balancing Customer and Business Needs
Behaviour: Navigating trade-offs to ensure sustainable solutions for the business while providing customer value.
Example: Delivering a solution incrementally to align with customer urgency without overburdening internal teams.
Scaling and Embedding Customer-Centric Behaviours
Scaling customer-centric behaviours across an organisation requires thoughtful design and cultural embedding. These efforts must address systemic barriers and localised nuances to create consistency without stifling adaptability.
Systematic Design
1. Barrier Analysis: Identify and address friction points that prevent desired behaviours. Examples include:
— Overwhelmed employees are juggling competing priorities.
— Ambiguity in expectations for customer-focused actions.
Removing these barriers ensures that customer-centric practices are achievable and sustainable at scale.
2. Localised Adaptation: Tailor interventions to the unique contexts of different teams or value streams. A one-size-fits-all approach often fails to resonate, whereas localised solutions enhance relevance and engagement.
3. Behavioral Anchors: Embed customer-centric questions into decision-making frameworks across all levels:
— “How does this initiative improve customer outcomes?”
— “What trade-offs are we making, and how do they impact customer experience?”
Cultural Embedding
Embedding customer-centric behaviours isn’t just about defining and measuring them; it requires deliberate cultural rituals that reinforce these practices consistently across the organisation. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches play a role in building a sustainable, customer-focused culture. Here’s how:
Top-Down Initiatives
Portfolio Standups: Establish regular, organisation-wide standups at the portfolio level to ensure alignment on customer outcomes. Use this forum to:
— Highlight key wins or challenges from value streams.
— Share updates on customer impact metrics like adoption rates or usability scores.
— Discuss blockers that impact customer satisfaction and identify systemic solutions.Leadership-Led Check-Ins: Encourage leaders to model behaviours by holding check-ins that start with a focus on customer needs. For example:
— Begin meetings with a “customer story” — a real example of how your product or service impacted a customer positively (or negatively).
— Review progress against key customer-centric metrics as part of leadership dashboards.Celebrating Success: Create formal opportunities to celebrate behaviours that align with customer-centric values, such as recognition programs or award ceremonies.
Bottom-Up Practices
Team-Level Rituals: Introduce small, recurring rituals that keep customer focus front and centre, such as:
— Customer-Focused Check-Ins: Begin team meetings by discussing the current impact of work on customer outcomes.
— Weekly Feedback Loops: Dedicate time each week to review customer feedback and brainstorm improvements.Behaviour Reinforcement Through Retrospectives: Use retrospectives to explore how the team’s actions align with customer-centric values. For example:
— Ask, “Which recent deliverables had the most positive impact on customers?”
— Reflect on missed opportunities to address customer pain points.Peer Recognition: Empower teams to recognise each other’s contributions to customer value through informal shout-outs or structured peer-nominated rewards.
Cross-Level Opportunities
Cross-Functional Customer Clinics: Host regular sessions where cross-functional teams review customer pain points and co-create solutions. These clinics foster collaboration and ensure that every role contributes to improving customer value. For example, teams might analyse recent customer feedback, identify recurring issues, and brainstorm potential solutions together. By integrating insights from these sessions into leading indicators like adoption rates or usability scores, organisations can track whether their efforts are on track before lagging metrics like revenue reflect the impact.
By embedding these rituals and practices, organisations can ensure that customer-centricity becomes a natural part of daily work. Cultural embedding creates a shared sense of accountability and reinforces the behaviours needed for long-term customer success.
A Culture of Continuous Improvement
None of this is a one-time initiative, but rather, it’s a continuous process that thrives on feedback, iteration, and adaption. By fostering a culture where employees feel empowered to act and refine their approaches, organisations create a sustainable foundation for excellence. Leaders play a pivotal role here — championing the vision and the actionable steps that bring it to life.
Conclusion
Customer-centricity isn’t a slogan; it’s a discipline. By embracing behavioural design, organisations can illuminate the path from abstract ideals to actionable, impactful practices. This approach doesn’t just mitigate uncertainties; it empowers teams to deliver unparalleled value — to customers, colleagues, and the business itself.
“Customer-centricity isn’t about knowing the customer exists; it’s about actively solving their problems.”
The journey to true customer-centricity starts with intentional design. Take the first step by:
Defining Desired Behaviours: Clarify the actions that drive customer-centric outcomes in your context.
Embedding Cultural Practices: Introduce rituals reinforcing these behaviours, from portfolio standups to team retrospectives.
Scaling Systematically: Use barrier analysis and localised adaptations to ensure these behaviours take root across teams and value streams.
Ultimately, organisations that prioritise customer-centric behaviours position themselves for long-term success. Creating a culture that aligns every action with customer value unlocks new growth opportunities, fosters stronger customer relationships, and builds a resilient foundation for navigating future challenges. This isn’t just about doing right by the customer — it’s about securing sustainable value for the organisation itself.