Leading culture consultancy, dragonfish, were selected by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) to conduct a research project aiming to capture best practices in building, shaping, and embedding a customer-centric culture within the water sector and beyond. The report that is now live was published and launched with industry professionals at a recent event hosted by CCW.
dragonfish, who have a wealth of experience working with other regulators including the Financial Reporting Council were well placed to conduct the research with key leaders, directors, and practitioners across the water and utilities sector, as well as industry leaders in customer-centricity and culture.
This report comes at an interesting time for the water sector, with recent research by CCW finding that fewer than half of people (43%) trust water companies to protect and enhance the environment. The report explores how vital customer-centricity is in an industry where customers lack choice. It showed that this focus can be seen as more important than ever when building trust and changing perceptions of the sector.
Through both quantitative and qualitative research, the report titled "Guide to Customer-Centric Culture" aims to provide practical and actionable recommendations for organisations striving to embrace customer-centricity.
The research identified six traits of customer-centric organisations, from how customer needs to truly be the North Star, to having a clear customer data strategy through to what that means to embed it practically.
Following the successful launch event, Emma Clancy - CCW CEO said:
"We are immensely pleased with the groundbreaking research conducted by dragonfish on the topic. The report not only provides valuable insights into industry best practices but also offers a practical framework for measuring, monitoring, and enhancing customer-centricity. This work has the potential to set industry standards and foster a culture of customer-first thinking within the water sector."
Andree Gowar who is the Research and Strategy Director at dragonfish worked on the research and who helped to facilitate the launch event added:
“It was great to come together to deliver the report and discuss our findings. The water industry has a unique opportunity to collaborate on how they are building more customer centric cultures. Despite the challenge the industry is facing it has been encouraging to see the progress being made and the ambition to prioritise culture.
We hope that this report provides valuable insights for water companies so that they can enhance their customer experiences and navigate industry challenges.”
The full report, a "Guide to Customer-Centric Culture" is now available on the Consumer Council for Water's website www.ccw.org.uk/publication/company-customer-centric-culture/
To discover more about dragonfish and their expertise in driving customer-centric culture, get in contact via, hello@dragonfishuk.com.