For years, marketers preached that the customer was king. In reality, customer-centred design submitted to distribution; mechanical limits on production and delivery set firm parameters on what the customer could purchase and possess. But that is all changing, rapidly. Now, living in a world of once-unimaginable connectivity and personalisation, customers are dictating the pace, variety, and quality of service. What once seemed an empty prophecy is being fulfilled – the customer is now king.
Retailers appreciate this shift in power and are now moving to remodel themselves around the customer. For some, this change is a shift in focus, a subtle reorientation. But for most, delivering on the customers’ expectations has required seismic restructuring and the establishment of core, data-driven capabilities. There is now a clear mandate for a new breed of marketing professional who acts creatively atop a platform of actionable data intelligence.
Connect Media along with Zendesk gathered a diverse group of leading retail executives to discuss this ongoing empowerment of the customer. Here is what they had to say.