The best marketing begins: not with “What should we sell?,” but with “What does the customer actually want?” Customer-centric marketing is when you craft your messaging, content, offers, and customer journey around the issues, needs, questions and decision making of your target market. Customer-centric marketing isn’t about being “friendly,” or even about putting a customer in the middle of your strategy.
Rather, it involves understanding what people appreciate throughout their journey, and then removing obstacles to the desired action.
A simple way to do this: identify the customer’s questions before they buy.
What are they worried about?
What information do they need?
What causes hesitation?
What would give them the confidence that this particular business is the right choice?
Answer those questions in your marketing, rather than showing off your products and services and your business accomplishments. Dentists will relate to this especially well – a dentist’s marketing may be all about treatments like implants, aligners, porcelain veneers or whitening.
But what are your potential patients thinking?
Will it hurt? Is it suitable for me? What do I need to know? What makes me hesitate? What would make me think: Yeah, this one! Customer-centric marketing will allay concerns with education, transparency, experience, clarity and straightforwardness. It is about removing the barriers to take action, rather than just educating about the product. Use customer feedback as part of your marketing: reviews, queries, consultations, questions and feedback will reveal holes in your messaging.
If people are continually asking the same question, it is an opportunity to create content.
Finally, track more than clicks and inquiries. Look at lead quality, engagement, conversions, repeat customers, reviews and feedback to determine whether your marketing is truly creating value. The key: Customer-centric marketing isn’t about talking more about your business.
It’s about understanding your customer well enough to make decision-making easier.