In a world full of unpredictability, where what consumers need and value changes faster than what businesses are able to offer them, companies that adopt and execute life-centric strategies that meaningfully contribute to the lives of their customers will see higher growth, faster time-to-market, and greater customer lifetime value than their peers that do not, according to a recent report by Accenture.
The report, “The Life Centricity Playbook: Proven Strategies for Growth Through Relevance,” gathered data from interviews with more than 1,700 global C-suite executives to conclude that nearly all of them faced the same challenge: 95% of executives reported that their customers are changing faster than they can change their business.
"As people face constant instability in their lives, they are continuously reassessing their values and sense of purpose,” said Baiju Shah, Chief Strategy Officer of Accenture Song. "Businesses need to adopt a life-centric approach, taking a broader view that allows them to see customers in their full lives and adapt to their ever-changing needs and priorities. Companies that pursue life-centric strategies will not only ignite growth but build long-term advantages, becoming our new category leaders into the year and decade ahead.”
In today’s world, consumers are driven by life forces like economic, social, environmental, and political instability, resulting in increasingly unpredictable and sometimes even paradoxical behaviors and preferences, creating a serious challenge for businesses who wish to keep up with their changing needs. While a product-centric approach focused on performance used to be good enough to capture consumers’ attention and their business, an increasing number of executives are discovering the need for a shift in strategy based on providing experiences in order to drive growth.
Accenture’s research also discovered that while the overwhelming majority of responding executives (95%) are speeding digital transformation efforts, nearly all of them (97%) also reported that those efforts are helping them keep up, but not get ahead, of growth and customer relevance targets. The report uncovered five key ways that life-centered companies are transforming to drive greater growth amid increasing uncertainty: using data to understand their customers better, focusing on sustainable growth, reaching further into new business contexts, designing for simple but significant interactions, and building agile and efficient operations.
The report is the second in a year-long series of reports focused on highlighting life-centricity as a new approach to long-term sustainable growth and relevance. The reports are available on Accenture’s website or via the company’s new thought leadership app, Accenture Foresight.
