Embracing Customers’ Diverse Needs

Abstract

In today’s turbulent marketplace, nothing is more important, difficult or perilous than keeping customers happy. Most companies measure customer satisfaction, implement quality improvements, and take steps to improve after-sales service. Although these measures would seem to make a company more customer-focused, in fact they are attempts to become more market-focused. Companies that focus on the market try to make products that appeal to a broad audience rather than meet specific needs of individuals or a small group of customers. Today it is imperative that companies meet increasingly diverse customer needs at the lowest possible costs. But this has become increasingly difficult to do without sacrificing one for the other and ending up stuck in the middle. The problem is that mass-produced standardized goods cost less, while customized products are more expensive.