Let's face it, in today's marketplace the competition is stiffer and perhaps more cut throat than ever and your customer seems to be more and more cognizant of this fact.  With the explosion of information availability, it has become easy for the customer to explore alternative opinions and solutions to many of their marketing and advertising needs. (Actually, all consumers in every arena are more savvy than ever- but we will concentrate on advertising for the sake of this article)

Therefore, it behooves us to ensure that the relationships and experiences we share with our clients are as pleasant, value oriented and consumer centric as possible. 

So, what do I mean by "consumer centric"? Simply put, it is the idea that everything we do- from our systems and marketing message to our interactions and delivery of finished products to our clients all has customer satisfaction as the starting point.  Notice I did not say "ending" in customer satisfaction- I believe that there is a dynamic difference in the entire work flow and company culture when we start formulating all of our processes from the stand point of obtaining a completely satisfied customer.

I believe that this is critical in creating an empowered customer. Customers like to feel like they are in control as much as possible when considering trading their hard earned cash for a product or service- regardless of how much they want or need it.  If we are truly consumer centric, our customers feel a great sense of control and therefore trust when dealing with our company.  It is much easier to handle a problem when there is a perception of "shared" purpose and control on the part of the empowered customer.

The question then becomes, what parts of your system do you believe are truly consumer centric and what parts could be improved?
Is it easy for the client to make changes to copy or the storyboard prior to production?
Does the customer have the ability to have their TV or radio spot be featured on your website?
Is it easy for the customers message to be shared with other media oultets that they may wish to use as part of their marketing strategy?
Does the sales team and production team get together to discuss ideas on how to improve the experience for the customer?

The bottom line is this- the bottom line should not drive decisions about the business.  Happy customers drive the bottom line.