The terms “customer-centric” and “customer-centricity” get thrown around a lot; oftentimes, it’s quite clear that they’re being used out of turn. I believe “customer-centric” is often confused with “customer focus,” but the two are very different.

Let’s look at some definitions.

Customer focus means that a brand focuses on the customer. All brands will say they focus on the customer. They listen to the customer (surveys, surveys, surveys), but they don’t really take the time to understand their customers. There’s no real differentiation of who customers are. Everyone is treated equally: as a customer. These brands approach customers tactically and reactively. It’s short-term and transactional: What does she want? How can we be nice to her? What can we do to get her to buy from us or to come back again? Customer focus happens at the front line, person to person, face to face. Customer focus is self-serving in that it is used to achieve business goals, not customer goals.

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