On February 1, 2017, Executive Next Practices Institute (ENPI) hosted its 4th annual Customer Experience Forum, which discussed the benefits of creating a customer-centric culture. ENPI is a nationwide organization consisting of several thousand mid to large market leaders. This unique network meets regularly to explore emerging trends together and share transformative strategies. ‘Next Practices’ refers to ideas, processes, concepts and solutions that move an organization beyond the “status quo” to keep up with a rapidly changing market.
During the forum, attendees participated in “Greenstorming” sessions to come up with their own innovative ‘Next Practices’ ideas on specific topics. Forums are specifically designed to engage ENPI’s network with the Cove’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to build innovation, intrapreneurship, and corporate/startup collaboration. This year’s Customer Experience forum featured Robert Brown, Founder, and CEO of Meridian AR, David Marino, EVP and Co-founder of Hughes Marino, Corey White, VP Worldwide Consulting Services for Cylance Consulting and Chris Brown, CEO of MarketCulture, all sharing their views on the importance and benefits of a heightened customer experience.
A customer-centric culture was defined as an organization having the capability to understand, predict, and respond to customer, market, and competitor dynamics. Some of the most successful companies, among them Starbucks and Apple, all have customer-centric behavior and decision making in common. Starbucks is well-known for its customer experience with their baristas, while Apple excels in customer foresight. As Brown explained, a customer-centric culture drives innovative customer experience, loyalty, and profitable growth. Additionally, Brown shared that customer experience leaders outperform the market and experience a massive ROI, as a positive customer experience not only leads to satisfaction and loyalty to the brand — but also advocacy.
Among the “Next Practices” recommendations discussed at the forum, ENP recommended embracing a “startup mentality” that places the customer at the center the business. ENPI’s next forum, the 4th annual Neuroscience leadership summit, will be held March 24th, 2017.