The Outline and Importance of Consumer-Centric Marketing Approach - Coursework Example

The Outline and Importance of Consumer-Centric Marketing Approach The Outline and Importance of Consumer-Centric Marketing Approach Introduction The consumer-centric approach in marketing creates positive consumer experiences both at the point of sales and after sales while adding value to a business because it enables it to differentiate itself from the competition. Further, the consumer-centric marketing approach is more of relationship marketing because the focus is on retaining customers rather than product features and sales (Palmer 2012, p. 24). This model of marketing is not only important in establishing better business-consumer relationships but also provides the foundation for the business to build long-term competitive advantages for its marketing team. From the perspective of marketing having shifted from the production, product, and sales orientations to one where the consumer is the central focus, this paper will outline and explore the importance of a consumer-centric approach in marketing. Consumer-centric marketing is structured around distinctive phases in which relationships between businesses and customers are built and developed according to the dynamics of consumer needs (Dacko 2008, p. 69). The model derives its success from the significance of commitment, sharing information, trust and mutuality by encouraging cooperative relationships that reduce uncertainty. Through being consumer-centric, businesses acknowledge that the differences that exist among their customers are opportunities to develop relationships that are more profitable and longer-lasting (Goldstein & Lee 2009, p. 221). Therefore, reverting to consumer-centric marketing approaches helps businesses drive loyalty. Consumer-centric marketing enables businesses to take the lead by establishing connections that are deeper and more meaningful with their customers. This is achieved by customising their offers and communications according to consumers’ needs to ensure that they come back after the first purchase mainly because consumer-centric marketing has the ability to predict a customer’s lifetime value (Hochbaum, Moreno-Centeno & Catena 2011, p. 1175). Such predictive analytics will enable the business to identify individual clients as well as entire segments that are most likely to drive sales and improve on their preferences. Through the differentiation aspect, a business will stand out in the overcrowded marketplace and go beyond generic communication and offers. This model also ensures efficiency by investing in partners, campaigns and acquisition channels that are designed to gain the confidence of high-value customers. Its agility engages consumers at the right moment in their lifecycle as consumers and on platforms that are relevant to them (Goldstein & Lee 2009, p. 214). The business will convey messages with the highest potential to resonate with consumers’ needs throughout the consumer lifecycle rather than seeking competitive advantages through superior merchandising or product design. For example, the loyalty card promoted consumer-centric marketing by providing means of tracking and linking the transactions of individual customers (Kotler & Keller 2012, 116). This has been developed further through Web technologies that create opportunities to gather information about consumers’ preferences, interests and behaviour, facilitating the creation of unified visions of consumers across multiple transactions. This is an important development made possible by consumer-centric marketing since it ensures the continuity of the relationship between the customer and the business beyond the check-out process (Murray & McCarty 2014, p. 106). In consumer-centric marketing, all the decisions in strategic marketing are informed by consumer demands and for any business looking to make valuable and long-term investments, the customer is the most valuable asset (Kerin 2012, p. 93). This is because apart from the competing nature of businesses, customers also compete with each other for the businesses’ offerings on the market. Therefore, focusing attention on satisfying their needs and improving their experiences through consumer-centric marketing is not only an opportunity but also imperative to improve business. From this perspective, a business will align its marketing strategy around its most valuable investment by orienting itself around the customers rather that channels and products. Since a market may be viewed as a collection of contexts through which products are sold, the importance of this is that the business will be able to segment its customers and, in turn, understand their needs for information (Hochbaum, Moreno-Centeno & Catena 2011, p. 1180). When a business views a market from that perspective, it is able to acknowledge that each segment is a representation of a certain group of customers and each has a common set of problems they are willing to buy solutions for. This will facilitate appropriate engagement channels to customise their campaigns to reach and be relevant to each segment since good customer experiences that impart marketing messages will most likely be successful. This brings out another important aspect of consumer-centric marketing because it is characteristically dynamic rather than static. This is because feedback is inevitable in productive, two way engagements and by using the feedback to understand consumer behavior and expectations, the business can strengthen its commercial relationships by seeking particular repeat and profitable customers (Murray & McCarty 2014, p. 101). Ideally, this is because adapting the consumer-centric marketing approach implies acknowledging that retaining customers is cheaper than recruiting new ones. It provides a valuable tool for profitable differentiation in competitive markets by enhancing customer satisfaction, adding value, offering privileges and formulating barriers that discourage exit. Businesses in the market economy produce goods that consumers are able and willing to buy. Since this cycle of events ensures the survival of the businesses, they (businesses) must also ascertain the needs of the consumers for the sake of their future viability and that calls for a focus on the consumers (Forman & Hunt 2009, p. 138). That is why it is important for all aspects of any market offering to be based on consumer needs provided by their feedback in consumer-centric marketing. The nature of the products is a significant aspect of the market offerings. Therefore, it informs the rationale of the approach in which it is assumed that there is no economical sense in investing in the research and development of products that may not be bought. This is important to businesses because they can channel their resources towards improving their relationships with consumers and design processes with a focus on delivering positive experiences (Kotler & Keller 2012, 74). This approach also provides for the consumers’ ease of access to information about a business, how to buy from it and how to get support when needed. It is also imperative for businesses to acknowledge that situations in which processes designed to flow seamlessly fail are real and always pose a risk to the business. The importance of customer-centric marketing is evident in such situations because when processes inadvertently go wrong, the model will absorb the bumps and cushion the consumers. This is because it was initially designed to deliver positive experiences to them regardless of the circumstances (Li, C 2010, p. 4). It is becoming increasingly necessary for businesses to focus on customers because of the rate at which technological advances as well as globalisation are making the basis of product-centric marketing strategies vulnerable. Businesses must also focus on consumers because consumers in the modern marketplace are increasingly becoming demanding and gaining control on the flow of goods and services (Dev & Schultz 2010, p. 112). For example, in the modern information age, businesses often misjudge their customers’ online communication and misinterpret what the customers really want from the relationship. It is wrongly assumed that customers interact with businesses on social media so as to feel connected and belonging to a brand. However, as Murray and McCarty (2014, p. 119) found, the customers are interested in much less more than solutions and the transaction. By being able to understand consumer behavior, products and services can be priced competitively to suit them because discounts and product reviews and ranking are among the highest searched attributes of market offerings. Therefore, consumer-centric marketing enables businesses to guide consumers in navigating their overloads of information and avoid unnecessary confusion. When this model creates efficient paths, it also minimises the multiple sources of information that consumers need to go through while moving towards making a purchase decision, making it equally important to the business as it is to the consumer (Hochbaum, Moreno-Centeno & Catena 2011, p. 1182). Conclusion The consumer-centric marketing approach has been shown to be one that has its focus on the customers rather than production, product, and sales. This model of marketing is important because it establishes loyalty, differentiation, efficiency and agility, factors that work towards affording a business competitive advantage. It is structured upon building long-lasting relationships between businesses and consumers rather than concentrating on product features and sales. Its success mainly derives from an understanding of the significance of commitment, sharing information, trust and mutuality that are founded on cooperative relationships to reduce uncertainty. Market offers and communications are customised according to the needs of the consumers, which ensures they are not just one-time purchasers but repeat customers who continue their relationship long after the first buy. Differentiation enables a business to stand out in the overcrowded marketplace and go beyond generic communication and offers. The model will ensure efficiency when businesses invest in partners, campaigns and acquisition channels designed to gain the confidence of high-value customers while its agility engages consumers at the right moment in their lifecycle as consumers. Finally, it has also been shown that consumer-centric marketing is beneficial to both businesses and consumers. References Dacko, S 2008, The advanced dictionary of marketing, Oxford University Press, Cambridge. Dev, C & Schultz, D 2010, ‘In the mix: a customer-focused approach can bring the current marketing mix into the 21st Century’, Marketing Management, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 112-116. Forman, H & Hunt, J 2009, ‘Managing the influence of internal and external determinants on international industrial pricing strategies’, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 133-146. 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