How a “Customer First Mindset” Leads to High-Profit Businesses

Customers are the lifeblood of any business.

And as such, treating customers with courtesy and prioritizing their happiness should be no top of your to-do list.

The companies that see the quickest, most sustainable growth have a “Customer First Mindset.”

But what is a Customer First Mindset? And how will adopting one help your business transform its long-term bottom line?

We’ll get to all that and more, so stay tuned.

What is a Customer First Mindset?

In short, adopting a customer first mindset means prioritizing customer satisfaction over short-term profit.

This means to completely focus your customer service, product, and brand message to ensure that practically every customer walks away happy with their interaction.

While it may seem counterintuitive to put customer satisfaction over profit-, customer centricity is what separates the great brands from the rest.

Here’s why:

Why a Customer First Approach is Critical for Long-Term Success

The probability of selling to a first-time customer is around 5 to 20%.

The probability of selling to an existing customer?

60 to 70%.

Selling to existing customers is magnitudes more likely that selling to someone for the first time.

And customers spend an average of 67% more during their 31st to 36th months interacting with a brand than in their first 6.

Which is to say, long-term customers tend to form the backbone of most businesses’ bottom lines.

Without long-term, loyal customers– A business lacks a steady source of income each quarter, the profit that does come in is going to be much more volatile.

To earn the kind of customers that stick around in the long run, your brand needs to do more than offer a product; it has to ensure that every customer walks away 100% satisfied.

To do that, you’ll need top-notch customer service, post-purchase care, and a stellar product that solves customer needs.

Or in other words, your brand needs a Customer First mindset.

How to Implement a Customer First Mindset Into Your Business

With all of that said about why a customer first mindset is so important, we still have to talk about how your business can do it.

Here are 5 tips to help your business transform the way it interacts with your customer base.

#1: Listen to Customer Feedback

Customer needs and wants aren’t a mystery that needs deciphering- At least, they don’t need to be.

In fact, plenty of customers are more than happy to share their concerns, needs, or suggestions via feedback.

Customer feedback is some of the most valuable data a business can collect, but unfortunately, much of it goes overlooked by the businesses in question.

One of the first steps in adopting a customer first approach is to listen to customer feedback and give it serious consideration going forward.

While you don’t have to change your whole marketing approach due to one bad review, each comment, review, or piece of feedback can give some insight into how you should optimize your approach going forward.

When & How to Collect Customer Feedback

The next question is how you should collect that feedback in the first place.

One of the best places to collect customer insights is through your thank you page.

If you’re on Shopify, you can use an app like ReConvert to collect feedback, reviews, and suggestions right on-page.

And if you’re on another platform, sending post-purchase email follow-ups or providing an easy way to leave reviews is another excellent way to collect that data.

#2: Prioritize Customer Satisfaction Over Short-Term Gains

While profit might be one of the goals, it’s never a good idea to prioritize profit in the short term over customer satisfaction in the long term.

Refund policies, for instance, should be easy, hassle-free, and easy to find on your website.

While hassle-free refund policies might mean more returned orders, it also means fewer angry customers for your customer service team to deal with, and a higher level of trust from the get-go.

Allowing your customer service team to offer discounts or exchanges to upset customers is another excellent example of this.

#3: Involve Your Entire Organization

A customer first mindset isn’t just something that applies to your support teams, it should inform your decisions for the entire business.

If every team isn’t involved when it comes to satisfaction, it will detract from the entire customer experience. Hence why it’s critical to make sure everybody is on the same page going forward.

Ensure that every action your organization makes puts customer needs at the forefront, from the way your customer support team interacts with customers to the new features for an upcoming product.

#4: Train Your Customer-Facing Employees to Provide a Positive Customer Experience

The role of a customer-facing employee is a unique one.

Each customer-facing position represents the “face” of your company, and as such, they’re going to deal with the bulk of customer concerns and complaints.

This is why it’s paramount to make sure every customer-facing employee has top-notch training on how to make sure every customer walks away satisfied.

To learn more on how to do just that, check out our guide on it here.

#5: Provide Value at Every Step of the Customer Journey

Never expect to receive value without giving it first.

Providing value during the customer journey is the most consistent way to generate a consistent stream of loyal brand followers.

Create content to help inform your prospects pre-purchase, surprise customers with birthday discounts, and offer post-purchase care and quality assurance for happy customers.

The Wrap Up

Customer happiness is one of the most overlooked metrics out there, but without a satisfied customer base, long-term profit is practically impossible.

The gain the edge over competitors and thrive in your industry, a customer first approach is nothing short of a necessity.

And if you found this guide helpful, make sure to check out the other content on our blog.