Customer obsession – the springboard for a value creation strategy

Purpose: Customer-obsessed organizations put customers first, create exceptional value and enhance business performance. This paper aims to offer a framework for implementing the customer obsession construct. Design/methodology/approach: Using relevant customer value literature, syndicated research and a qualitative analysis, customer obsession insights are offered. Findings: Customer-obsessed companies know their customers’ needs and engage with them to offer the best solutions. Four customer-centric stages are evaluated, and applications of customer obsession in the Now Economy are discussed. Research limitations/implications: This analysis of customer obsession is largely conceptual and presents a case study in one metropolitan statistical area. Although the findings are insightful, it may not be representative of the US or global health-care market. Practical implications: Strategic implications relate to a bias for action, types of business obsessions, values alignment and benchmarking. This paper features an in-depth case study on Baptist Health South Florida which assesses customer obsession using a customer value framework. Originality/value: Customer obsession is a strategic mindset built upon strong leadership, a sound business culture and superior value. While critical to business success, there has been limited scholarly work in this area. This paper fills that gap by providing a managerial approach for understanding this key business priority.