Customering : the mindset of a revolutionary model

Purpose: As information technology and digital networking advances, success increasingly means designing offerings that respond to customers as the unique individuals they are – whether consumers or corporations – with specific needs and preferences. “Customering seeks to create a customized offering that meets the individual wants, needs and desires of each particular customer, both at a specific moment in time and on into a future relationship”. Design/methodology/approach: Customering starts with the customer – not the product – and pulls together intelligence about the wants, needs and desires of this individual customer before you determine what to sell. Findings: To practice customering successfully companies pull intelligence from individual customers – so that the information will benefit that particular customer – and then pull the offerings through its own operations to meet an individual customer’s needs. Practical implications: To practice customering, companies also must surround their offerings with experiences that draw potential customers in, engage them in the process of discovery and help them see the possibilities in the relationship. Originality/value: Article introduces the reader to the concept of customering, a radical strategic model proposed by the author who introduced S&L readers to “mass customization” and “experience marketing.” Customering must be customer-centric: that means placing the one who pays you money at the center of everything you do.