We all like to say our businesses are "customer-centric." It's the de rigueur thing to say these days, and it's the only smart way to describe yourself to your customer audience. It's also something many of us are eager to believe.
But how many companies really revolve around the customer? Not many, and for realistic reasons. For instance, your business has goals and requirements that run counter to what customers' wildest desires might be -- you can't provide the products and services you deliver for free, no matter how much that would delight your customers. Well, you could -- briefly. Then you'd be out of business.
Or you could be so focused on responding to customer suggestions that you'd be unable to settle on a stable product line and thus suffer a blow to your profitability. So, obviously, customer-centricity already comes with some qualifications -- you want to be focused on the customer while still running a profitable and sustainable business.
