This was the central theme of a business seminar hosted by Capital Club Dubai, the region’s premier private business club and a member of the ENSHAA group of companies,titled ‘Getting the Customer to the Heart of the Business: Engaging Your Customers to Become Your Advocates’ by leading business transformation specialists Insight with Passion.Insight with Passion founding member, Kate Hardcastle stressed the importance making customer satisfaction not only a key priority but also an intrinsic part of a business’ vision. And went on to highlight a number of important factors in ensuring that satisfaction does in fact take place, starting with customer needs.

Ms Hardcastle commented that, “If customers want some thing the chances of purchasing increase. What we need to do ismove from needs to wants. This applies across all sectorsand industries; finance, legal, retail, energy and property -it’s the customer which is atthe heart of success.”

She went on to highlight a number of pitfalls that many organisations find themselves faced with, such as a failure to stay up to date with the constantly changing face of what the customer wants and needs and a tendency to prioritise internal needs rather than those of the customer. She also mentioned that another obstacle that many companies face is the inability to reconcile the fact that different sets of customers often have vastly different sets of, at times conflicting, needs.

Furthermore she talked about the importance of mapping out the journey customers take; the total experience of customers’ interaction with a brand, from the first moment of becoming aware of it,until the last point that they have any sort of contact with it. Ms Hardcastle stressed that the role that effective customer focused communication has in ensuring that the journey should consistently leadcustomers back to the business in question was imperative.

The seminar also emphasised that, to stay competitive, businesses must understand their markets, customers, competitors, and vitally what it is that sets them apart from the rest. It is also imperative that everyone involved with the company have a clear view of what the business’ vision and brand truly is, and that no opportunity to engage both existing and prospective clients should ever go to waste.

Kate Hardcastle is an internationally respected retail and commercial expert and an in-demand consultant advising household names to help them reach more customers, transform the customer experience and become more successful. Adept at working in the independent sector or with multi-nationals, Kate has combined a “back to basics” pragmatic approach with a career built on helping brands expand and raise their profile. She is a regular contributor and industry commentator to Sky News, BBC as well as many prevalent trade publications and a Founding Partner of Insight with Passion.

Insight with Passion is an award winning UK based global business transformation consultancy, specialising in bespoke consultancy services. The Insight with Passion team all have their own skillsets which makes them that perfect mix to tackle any challenge that comes their way.