by Annette Franz | Sep 9, 2026 | customer effort, customer experience, customer retention, customer service, customer-centric, price, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on April 3, 2026. Leaders often treat fees as a pricing decision, but customers experience them as a trust decision. Every fee sends a signal about how a company thinks about the relationship:...
by Annette Franz | Aug 5, 2026 | customer experience, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, data, employee experience, insights, leadership, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on August 1, 2025. In far too many organizations, decisions are made in boardrooms, far removed from the reality of the customer. Metrics are dissected. Dashboards are studied. Yet somehow,...
by Annette Franz | Jan 21, 2026 | culture, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, employee-centric, golden thread, leadership, people-centric, profitability, Uncategorized
In 2018, I challenged organizations to ask: Are you genuinely people‑centric or just profit‑centric in disguise? That tension hasn’t faded; as a matter of fact, it has intensified. Let’s stop pretending. Too many companies still talk about being “people-centric” while...
by Annette Franz | Dec 10, 2025 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, customer-centric, employee experience, employee-centric, leadership, outcomes, people-centric, profitability, Uncategorized
In my work with executives and boards, I often hear the same story: “We care about customers and employees, but we have to hit the numbers first.” It’s a familiar tension, and one that reveals a deeper truth: most organizations are still profit-first at their core,...
by Annette Franz | Jul 23, 2025 | action, closed-loop process, customer experience, customer understanding, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, data, feedback, insights, journey mapping, operationalize, personas, Uncategorized
I still see people using the term “customer-centric” incorrectly. What does it truly mean to be customer-centric? It looks like this: There are no discussions, no decisions, no designs without bringing in the customer and her voice, without asking how it...
by Annette Franz | Aug 14, 2024 | contact center, culture, customer experience, customer service, customer-centric, employee experience, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for Sprinklr. It appeared on their site on March 11, 2024. Think about your company operations for a minute. What do they revolve around? What’s the most important component at the heart of the business? Is it product? Sales? Customers?...
