If you’re like most leaders of truly customer-centric companies, you’ve set audacious growth goals and you’re doing everything in your power to stay one step ahead of industry disruptors. It’s easy to get hyper-focused on technology: what’s new, what works, and what’s worth the investment of your time, attention, and money?
Don’t get me wrong, cutting edge tech is critical to staying competitive. But the greatest investment you can make is in the human part of the equation.
Deloitte’s 2026 Global Contact Center Survey reinforces the importance of keeping both sides of that equation in focus. Customer experience remains the #1 strategic priority for contact centers, even as organizations invest heavily in AI and other new technologies.
Here are five habits that I’ve noticed every great customer-centric business follows consistently. Take a look and consider how these habits can help you become more customer-centric.
1. Foster Collaboration: Get Your Employees Talking, Internally
Some of the most powerful ideas and consequential insights are born when teams rally around a shared goal – and then share their observations, challenges, and new ideas with each other. Get your employees into the habit of collaborating by creating the times and spaces for them to do so. Start with brief but highly structured meetings that focus on a single customer need or challenge. Lead with enthusiasm, encourage openness, and recognize every contribution. Over time, you’ll notice the collaborative spirit spill out of those meetings, into the hallway, across emails and calls, and into every communication with your customers.
2. Constantly Communicate CX Performance, Improvements, and Challenges.
You want to prove to your customers that you’re serious about serving them well and continuously earning their business. The surest way to demonstrate that commitment is to make sure all of your employees – especially those on your customer care team – are kept in the loop on CX goals and progress. This is not about sending a monthly newsletter. It’s about living and breathing the core messages across multiple communication channels. From team meetings, to individual messages, to group texts and emails, your customer care team should see a consistent focus on the customer, and brand new updates on progress.
3. Celebrate and Reward the Good Stuff
Set individual and team goals around improving your culture of customer-centricity and CX performance. That means going above and beyond CSAT scores and considering rewards programs for meaningful, productive efforts. Keep in mind, in addition to material or financial rewards, a solid dose of good, old-fashioned recognition goes a long way toward driving higher performance, retaining your best performers, and profoundly improving your entire corporate culture.
4. Be Willing to Change Internal Processes
Something that always worked might not work anymore. You know that already. But when is the last time you took a cold, hard look at how you take care of your customers? I’m talking about every step along the way. Are you really operating in the most customer-centric – and employee centric way? Ask your customers where things disconnect or disappoint. And ask your customer care employees, too. Then ask yourself, what if we tore that process apart and built a new one? Doesn’t mean you have to follow through. But too often, we don’t even ask ourselves the question.
5. Sit in the Hot Seat
You’re asking your customer care agents to deliver the highest quality customer experience. You’re asking them to truly listen, truly care, truly engage, and absolutely deliver. But – are you listening, caring, engaging, and delivering all the tools, processes, and support for your employees? You can’t really answer that question unless you’re willing to walk in their shoes – or sit in their chair – every so often. If that sounds time-consuming or incredibly painful, I get it. But if you want to understand what works and want to earn the respect and appreciation of your frontline customer care team, you’ll do it. It’s worth it. I promise.