Engagements
"Customer Centricity - the elusive holy grail for all businesses"
Research has shown that 63% of CEOs want to rally their organisations around their customers (PWC).
This makes sense as there is evidence that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than ones that do not focus on customers (Deloitte), yet only 14% of CMOs believe that customer centricity is a hallmark of their company (CMO council).
While the topic of customer focus and customer centricity is firmly top of mind for most executives, few really know how to do it.
AJ Boelens is an expert on customer-centric strategy and innovation, under which Business Model Innovation is a part of.
AJ is a registered management consultant and Managing Director of Innovation Connected and has worked with clients across industries. He is also an adjunct faculty at Nanyang Business School teaching in the MBA programmes and is a prolific public speaker having spoken with CNA, Money FM, and several other media outlets.
AJ’s Talking Points on Customer Centricity:
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What is customer centricity? Is it even important?
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What are the benefits of customer centricity? What happens when companies lose
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sight of it?
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What are the typical barriers to customer centricity in organisations?
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Are there any good examples of customer centricity you can share?
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Where would you start when helping companies to be more customer centric?
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How does Business Model innovation or Design Thinking play a role in driving
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customer centricity?
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If there is one thing you would advise companies to do tomorrow, what would it be?
"Business Model Innovation - the largest untapped innovation lever "
Business Model innovation (or BMI) is the largest untapped innovation lever in almost every industry and most leaders are unaware of its importance, nor skilled in how to explore new business models.
Most major industry disruptions are due to business model innovations, not product or service innovations alone. Some examples include AirBnB, Uber, Amazon, and iTunes. But research shows that companies spend 90% of their investment budget on product and service innovations which leaves very little left for other forms of innovation (American Management Association).
As most disruptive product and service inventions do not fit into existing business models (Eg: Kodak with digital photography), this is a massive misallocation of innovation investment and leaders need to rebalance their budget to explore BMI and all the benefits it can bring.
AJ’s Talking Points on Business Model Innovation:
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What is BMI and why is it important for companies to invest more in this area?
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What are some examples you can share with our listeners/viewers?
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What is driving the innovation focus of companies? (Effectiveness vs Efficiency)
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Why do companies miss the target in this regard? What typically distracts them?
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What are typical hurdles towards innovating? Would they differ between MNCs and larger companies compared to mid and small businesses?
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How would you encourage companies to keep their foot on the innovation pedal in an era where transformation is fast and furious?