The impact that companies make is determined by these three important values: beauty, usefulness, and truth. We’re always guided by this ‘rule of three’ when we assess our surroundings, so customers also use these three values when rating what they receive from companies. The more valuable the impact for the customer, the more valuable the company itself will be.

Customers’ ratings therefore make an important statement about whether companies possess certain values, so many of them would like to know how they are perceived. Customer satisfaction surveys can tell you whether the company is truly delivering what it promises, whether it has a ‘truth value’. Conjoint analyses can ask whether usefulness is present too, in order to then likewise have this rated via satisfaction surveys or recommendation rates. The ‘beauty value’ can ultimately be rated too, for example by recording preferences for specific brands or by asking people to assess the quality of various designs. Ratings from those customers that really matter are crucial if companies are to survive. These customers are satisfied and loyal, so they will support and sustain a company because they are willing to do more for it, are happy to recommend it, and are likelier to accept higher prices. However, in order for them to do this, they need to be sufficiently convinced: they must be enthusiastic! This is why companies want to know whether they are making their customers enthusiastic, and above all to what extent they are succeeding in doing so. This generates a great deal of feedback that can reveal whether the product is delivering quality, whether customers are receiving solutions that are relevant to them, or whether the brand is able to differentiate itself against the competition.

The fine art of customer surveys

This data is usually gathered by the various departments that feel they have a responsibility to do so: product development asks about quality, marketing asks about relevance, and strategy wants to know about reputation. Everything is neatly organized in the silos that also provide those elements that contribute to a given product or service (see also: ‘Lead to focus on your customers!’). Nevertheless, this is often the source of the problem that becomes apparent in many companies: the impact on customers is always holistic. Customers always perceive companies holistically, yet the latter work and think in silos. If companies are to accurately interpret what their customers are saying, they must be aware of the way in which their activities are related and mutually dependent.

In order to analyze the interdependency of all the findings from product development, marketing, and branding/design activities, one needs a means of assessment that captures this from the customer’s perspective. Ideally this should be structured so that it also considers whether the company is really thinking about its customers and making them the focus of everything it does. In this way one can see whether customer centricity is making a positive impact and whether it is also given in the context of all the findings about the company. Only companies that are truly customer-centric are able to overcome the silo mindset because every employee is focusing on the key purpose of the work they do – namely serving their customers!

How customers perceive things

In conjunction with companies in Switzerland, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts empirically derived an assessment method that shows the impact on customers: the Customer Impact Score (Fig. 1).

This score uses a customer survey to reveal how customer centricity is reflected in the effect the company has on its customers. Do they experience consistent functionality, i.e. is what they experience ‘true’ (in the sense of what they were promised)? Do they receive what they need, i.e. is what they experience useful? Are they enthused, i.e. is what they experience ‘beautiful’ or attractive? The customers’ verdict is always a holistic one: they can distinguish between the various aspects of the work the company does, but ultimately they rate it on the basis of their overall impression. For example, if a company receives good ratings for its functionality but fails to convince with regard to its perceived emotionality, the overall impact will be merely average.

A holistic approach is crucial

A provider may offer a function whose quality matches its rivals’ offerings, but in doing so it is more emotional. If this is the case, the customer's preference changes and they choose the more impactful option. Moreover, emotionality in particular is perceived in a highly individual manner, so one can have different providers that offer identical functionality: something that enthuses one person might leave another cold.

Thus it is above all the ability to emotionalize its customers that enables a company to increase its impact; competencies in marketing, branding, design and communication are decisive here, but only if they are consistent with the company’s functionality. Customers immediately notice if a company’s offer is ‘all show and no substance’. Everything is mutually dependent.

And who is the fairest of them all?

So the question is: which company can achieve the highest score when rated by its customers? Who makes the greatest impact on its customers and is able to record a rating that will increase its value? The most recent survey of the CI-Score makes it abundantly clear that it is worth investing in ‘customer impact’.

Many companies have the potential to improve, and those that are truly out of favor with the public will find that their days are numbered. This is why we are launching the Customer Centricity Award which uses ‘customer impact’ to select those companies that are most popular among consumers. Moreover, this isn’t determined by a jury, but by real customers who return their verdicts and thereby decide who is truly “the fairest of them all”!

Customer Centricity Award 2025

In 2025, the Customer Centricity Award will for the first time honor those companies in German-speaking countries that receive the highest scores for their customer centricity. Our ‘jury’ is composed of your customers, who are systematically surveyed to ascertain the so-called Customer Impact Score®.

You can find more information here.