If you receive my monthly market view, you’ll know customer centricity has been hot on my mind. In last month’s edition of The Hanover Perspective, I questioned whether firms are really putting customers first, or just dressing up profit-first models in regulatory gloss. That discussion clearly struck a chord. So I’m back to press further – because this conversation is far from over.

Businesses are being handed a lighter load – but a heavier responsibility

Businesses are at a strange juncture. On the one hand, regulators are demanding more conviction from them. On the other, regulatory red tape is being slashed in an effort to make things easier, with a 25% cut to compliance costs and the scrapping of bodies like the Payment Systems Regulator. 

Even though the rulebook’s getting thinner, the scrutiny isn’t. Customers are demanding businesses do better. They want transparency, fairness, real value. Get this wrong, and the consequences are the same, no matter how pared back the regulatory burden becomes: penalties, PR disasters and a rapid erosion of trust. 

Still, I keep seeing the same old patterns: complexity passed off as innovation, regulations treated like a rebrand exercise, and revenue coming before customer needs.

The bigger problem is that most businesses don’t even realise they’re doing this. That’s dangerous – because when good intentions become a substitute for real scrutiny, and firms start mistaking their marketing for actual impact, no progress gets made. 

It’s time to talk honestly about customer culture. And to do that, I need you to answer three questions.

1. Are you really customer-first, or just good at saying you are?

A compelling slogan does not a customer-first culture make. Nor does a well-written value statement, or an NPS score in the 50s. 

True customer-first businesses don’t just look the part, they show up where it matters. That means delivering clarity, value and service, even when it’s unprofitable. Or ditching the fee structures and technical jargon that serve no one but your bottom line.

And companies that do this are rewarded with higher profits, with research showing that customer-first businesses grow revenues 4-8% above their market average.

2. Is regulatory pressure driving real change, or just a corporate costume change?

Let’s talk about Consumer Duty. Designed to ensure better outcomes for customers, it landed with big promises. But what have you actually changed? If your “compliance” is mostly repackaged messaging and renamed roles, you’re not reforming – you’re performing. 

And now that regulatory costs are dropping and the watchdog’s bark is quieter, what’s your instinct: meaningful action, or the same empty gestures?

The proposed scrapping of the Consumer Duty Champion is a neat metaphor for how performative businesses have been. If customer outcomes were truly embedded across the business, it wouldn’t matter if that role stayed or went. But it’s always easier to shift accountability than it is to fix ingrained behaviour, isn’t it?

3. Do your customers actually understand what they’re buying?

How many customers really understand the exclusions in their insurance policy? The small print in their mortgage? What “low-risk” actually means in an investment? 

The financial services industry still profits too easily from confusion. Complexity isn’t always deliberate – but it’s always convenient, benefitting the provider more than the person. 

If firms are serious about building trust, they need to start competing on clarity. And not just for the sake of good ethics, but for good business, too: a “very satisfied” customer is 5.8 times more likely to recommend their provider to others compared to a dissatisfied customer, so there’s a very tangible benefit to be had. 

The rise of Customer Advocate Directors – a turning point?

Here’s where I see potential. Customer Advocate Directors (CADs) are gaining traction. Done right, this role has teeth – a mandate to challenge poor practice, to represent the customer at the top table, to shift the dial from performance theatre to meaningful change.

But it’s got to be more than a token appointment. A CAD without authority is just a mascot. For the role to work, it must be embedded in decision-making and empowered to challenge sacred cows. I’ve already seen early signs of impact in firms bold enough to let CADs lead, with one company seeing a 10.6% year-on-year reduction in customer complaints after appointing a Chief Customer Advocate. 

At Hanover, we’re helping firms hire for this role by identifying leaders who actually think like customers. Who don’t just comply, but care. Who aren’t afraid to ask awkward questions, and who will keep doing so long after the regulator looks away.

Embedding customer-centricity into company culture

But let me be clear: hiring a CAD won’t save your culture. Not if the underlying incentives still reward short-term profit over long-term trust.

Customer-first thinking must run through operations, strategy, performance management – everything. That means empowering executives to challenge poor practices without fear. It means rewiring your KPIs to include measurable customer outcomes (not just internal efficiency and revenue metrics) and then putting these customer outcomes on par with commercial ones. 

And finally, it means aligning product innovation with customer value. If your latest insurance product adds bells and whistles but buries the basics in fine print, are you innovating, or obscuring?

Innovation must serve the customer, not manipulate them. Ethical innovation isn’t tantamount to sacrificing profit, it’s just about creating value in ways that build trust and reduce friction. That’s how you future-proof. That’s how you win.

Customer-first leadership isn’t a slogan. It’s a standard

Here’s my final challenge: after reading this, can you hand-on-heart say your firm is putting customers first? 

At the end of the day, this isn’t about compliance or conscience. It’s about leadership, and building businesses that thrive because they’re trusted. The proof of this domino effect is already staring us in the face: customer-centric organisations have 60% higher profit levels than companies that neglect customer experience. There is no business incentive to drag your heels on this. 

If you’re serious about embedding a culture of customer-centricity, let’s talk. At Hanover, we know what good, customer-first leadership looks like, and we know how to find the people who champion it. Contact me directly to learn more.