What Does It Mean to Be Client Centric?

"Client centric" is a business term meaning that companies keep customers in mind whenever a decision is made, and clients come first in all business practices. Most such companies work to appeal to the largest class, the middle-income class, because they want to reach the most people. Along with appealing to the middle class, many client centric companies offer one-stop shopping experiences, because these are seen as convenient and clients tend to like this better than having to visit separate stores. At the same time, the term "client centric" has been abused as a marketing buzzword, because customers like to feel appreciated, and some companies may just claim to be customer-friendly when they are not.

When a company is formed, the owner tends to focus his or her efforts on a goal and has different ways of reaching that goal. For example, with a sales centric company, the method for reaching financial goals is by making successful sales. With a client centric company, all business decisions consider the client. Instead of thinking about the sales numbers, the owner will make decisions based on whether the client will like what the decisions yield. The company will still think about reaching financial goals, but it will do so by pleasing customers.

Most, but not all, client centric companies focus on middle-income customers. The dominant reason for this is that the middle class is the largest class, and most companies receive their customers from the middle class. At the same time, some companies may focus on low- or high-income customers, or a blend of all three. For example, some companies may offer average services for middle-income customers, premium services for high-income customers and bargain services for low-income customers, so everyone can be satisfied.

To achieve a client centric atmosphere, many companies offer a one-stop shop, because customers usually like being able to purchase everything in one store. The one-stop shop offers a wide range of items, such as clothes, electronics, food and furniture. At the same time, companies do not have to be one-stop shops to please clients; they may just make clients first in all business decisions.

Some companies have abused the client centric term. Customers like when they are put first and may visit companies that claim to be focused on its clients when, in reality, these companies may be sales oriented or may not truly consider the needs of clients when making business decisions. It can be difficult to tell these companies apart, but people often can look at companies’ recent decisions and see if they are focused on the client or just reaching sales numbers.