Incubeta’s Head of Consultancy for Ops-SA, Ansa Leighton kicked off the series by unpacking the importance of customer-centricity, the value of investing in customer data and how to build brand love and lasting relationships. Ansa’s discussion was followed by presentations from Franscoe Bouwer, Marketing Manager for Castle Lite – showcasing the world’s first temperature based media trading platform,  and David Wingfield, Managing Exec at ABSA who challenged marketers and brands to build social cohesion, kindness and positive action within campaigns.

What is customer centricity?

Customer centricity is about listening, recognizing and understanding your customers’ concerns while putting their needs at the centre of your organization. In order to take customer centricity seriously, you need to invest in your customer data and understand their behaviour to build meaningful and long lasting relationships with them. The key is to identify opportunities where you can connect with your audience in a meaningful way and provide a cohesive and consistent experience across the user’s journey, both online and in-store. 

Why should I take this seriously?

The pandemic not only changed consumers’ buying habits, but it also affected their brand loyalty. With many businesses experiencing supply chain issues and other retailers relying on brick and mortar stores to conduct sales, consumers were forced to widen their shopping options which made it harder for brands to retain their existing customers. Additionally, the retail landscape became even more competitive, as consumers’ spending habits decreased due to financial constraints and job losses – making it more costly to acquire new customers. This challenged retailers and brands to focus more on their customers requirements in order to achieve Lifetime Value.

How do I become more customer centric?

The key to becoming more customer centric is by approaching it as a mission, not a concept. When making decisions brands need to establish whether the outcome will benefit the customer or the business – thus changing their mindset and organisational culture to become customer focused as opposed to more product centric. Ansa discusses how to invest in your data, which customer data is most relevant and the types of uniquely owned data that brands can leverage when creating a strong customer centric strategy. 

Click here to watch the full session, IAB Insights; Integrating Offline & Online Digital Marketing to understand how you can maximise the power of data for seamless and meaningful brand experiences.