Each year, I compile a list of customer-centric companies. These are the organizations that are leading in customer centricity, innovation, employee experience and sustainability.
But like many things, customer-centricity looks different in 2020.
This year showed what companies will do when their backs are against the wall. Faced with an uncertain future and unprecedented situations, many companies put their employees, contractors and customers first, even above profits.
Customer-centric companies regularly prioritize their customers with innovative solutions and sustainability efforts, as well as digital convenience and personalization, but they also make extra efforts during challenging times.
These 25 customer-centric companies were chosen for their pivots and transformation during the pandemic, their ingenuity and innovation and their COVID response to help in their communities. For these companies, doing good isn’t a way to earn more revenue. They simply put people first because it’s the right thing to do. They are customer-centric through and through, even during difficult times as they continue to innovate, show strong leadership and put people above profits.
Lowe’s
Stay-at-home orders and quarantines led to an explosion of home improvement and DIY projects, and Lowe’s responded to the increase in demand with additional resources and service for both employees and customers. The company spent $160 million on increased pay and bonuses for employees, extended its emergency leave policies and set aside relief funds. Lowe’s also created an app that helps store managers monitor customer traffic to facilitate social distancing. Aside from its pandemic response, Lowe’s is also an innovation leader. Lowe’s Innovation Labs partners with tech companies, startups and governments to create the future for home improvement retail. Its global technology center is slated to open in 2021 and will add to its use of data to drive efficiency and personalization. MORE FOR YOUWhat Biden’s Presidency Could Mean For Your Student Loans (And How To Prepare)Would Your Student Loans Be Eligible To Be Cancelled By Biden? It’s Complicated3 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Change Healthcare
Rothy’s
With its shoes made of recycled water bottles, Rothy’s is a leader in the sustainable clothing movement. Its products are manufactured using innovative 3D knitting techniques that limit waste and increase efficiency. Because Rothy’s owns its own manufacturing and has an efficient supply chain, it is in complete control and can move from prototype to market in two weeks to get customers exactly what they want, when they want it. Rothy’s provides a unique experience by collaborating with designers and illustrators for new styles and focuses on sustainability by offsetting its carbon emissions. During COVID, Rothy’s applied its 3D knitting technology to make masks, offered discounts to teachers and healthcare workers and donated to COVID relief funds. I personally have two pairs and I love them! When I was working as a speaker while pregnant, these were my go-to for comfort and style.
Kroger
Grocery stores had a moment in the spotlight in 2020, and Kroger’s same-store sales grew 30%. As an essential business, Kroger stores stayed open throughout the pandemic and focused on being available for customers. Employees worked around the clock to keep items stocked and stores clean. The CEO shared best practices from that experience with other companies in a 17-page blueprint on re-opening and operating during a pandemic. Kroger focused on its essential workers by paying frontline workers an hourly “hero bonus” in the spring. The company also worked to build community by donating $1.5 million each to Feeding America and No Kid Hungry. Aside from the pandemic, Kroger is known for innovative customer-facing solutions. It launched its digital innovation lab in January to focus on new digitization efforts.
Starbucks
Starbucks has a fiercely loyal following, in large part because of its mobile ordering and personalized rewards program that makes it easy for customers to order exactly what they want and pick it up with a minimal wait. Starbucks has the most popular app among major restaurants. In 2020, Starbucks focused on its employees with extra hourly pandemic pay and the option to stay home with pay, even if their location was open. Starbucks also extended its mental health benefits to cover 20 therapy sessions per year for employees and their families. As a leader in environmentally-friendly dining, Starbucks also set aggressive new sustainability goals, including reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
CEO Kevin Johnson said this: “I believe it’s the responsibility of every business leader to care for the employees during this time of uncertainty, shared sacrifice and common cause. Not every decision is a financial one. This is a time to prioritize people over profit.”
UnitedHealthcare
When customers were faced with uncertainty around their healthcare, UnitedHealthcare made $1.5 billion worth of premium credits and fees for doctor’s visits available to its customers, which lowered the cost and made it more accessible for customers to get the care they needed. UnitedHealthcare also donated $70 million to COVID relief funds and loaned many executives to public health endeavors and the WHO COVID Vaccine Program to share their expertise during the pandemic. UnitedHealthcare is also a leader in innovation and runs an Accelerator Program that partners with and supports entrepreneurs who are solving healthcare problems.
Etsy
For years, Etsy has been a platform for small businesses and individual artisans to sell their handcrafted items, but that went to a new level in 2020. During economic uncertainty, Etsy has provided a way for people to make more money and saw twice as many shops open in April 2020 than April 2019. 86% of sellers are women and 91% are businesses of one, working from their home. Early in the pandemic, Etsy put out a call to sellers to ask them to start making masks. Within a week, there were 20,000 sellers making masks, and in April alone, Etsy sold more than 12 million masks.
Internally, every Etsy team starts with a customer outcome to focus on the value it can create for customers. The company is constantly innovating its technological features, including expanding its search capabilities to get customers to the right items, no matter what variant of a search term they use.
Verizon
The wireless carrier earned the highest score in the Forbes Corporate Responders rating, meaning it had the best COVID response of all large employers in the U.S. based on factors like community relief and employee support. Verizon instituted one of the most widespread sick leave policies of big employers and prioritized transparency with regular updates from executives. The company committed more than $54 million to COVID relief funds and gave small business owners and wireless customers more high-speed data during the height of the pandemic.
CEO Hans Erik Vestberg said this: “When it comes to our work in the society, helping communities, that’s also extremely important right now. Large corporations need to take the responsibility.”
Patagonia
One of Patagonia’s main focuses is transparency and sustainability, which it showcases by sharing information about the production process with customers. Patagonia strictly enforces its Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure anyone who has a role in manufacturing is following its environmental guidelines, which helps customers know they are buying responsibly sourced outdoor gear. In an unconventional take, Patagonia doesn’t want to sell replacement items to its customers. Instead, it created repair guides on how to fix aging items as a way to encourage sustainability and limit the number of its products in landfills. Known as an “un-company”, Patagonia has a unique culture that has led to an incredibly low employee turnover rate of just 4%. Employees are encouraged to get outdoors and can take two paid months off to volunteer with an environmental organization, showing that Patagonia really practices what it preaches.
Strava
The exercise tracker and social network saw huge growth in 2020 as more people spent time outside and exercised away from closed gyms. Strava’s focus on helping users reach training goals and analyze health data has led to it gaining 1 million new users each month. Every aspect of the experience is designed around staying healthy and active and is personalized to recommend new running or biking trails users might not be able to find any other way. Strava knows its customers so well and understands that they want to get active instead of spending time sorting through ads. Instead of focusing on ad sales, the company makes money through subscriptions that offer even more training resources. Strava also does good in the community by sharing anonymous data with cities and governments to help improve public transportation. Strava also partnered with Stanford to research the effects of COVID on athletes.
Calm
With a need for mental health resources like never before, Calm doubled down on customer experience and gave away content and meditation exercises for free during COVID. Named a Fast Company Innovative Company, Calm regularly applies customer feedback to create unique features and content to meet their wellness needs, such as teaming up with celebrities to read calming bedtime stories and lead daily meditations. Calm understands its customers and provides them with relaxation and meditation support when and where they need it most. Recently, Calm ran a 30-second ad during news coverage on election night that was simply the sound of rain hitting leaves—a welcome break from the chaos of 2020.
Pfizer
Pfizer became a household name in 2020 as it was the first company to create an approved COVID vaccine. Throughout the vaccine creation process, Pfizer aimed for transparent communication with customers. Pfizer used its own money to assemble an mRNA production network for the COVID vaccine instead of taking money from the government so it could stay completely in charge of the entire process and do what is right for its end users. It made good on its promise to have a vaccine by the end of 2020 and cut the typical vaccine creation time from 10 years to less than 1 year—a huge scientific feat. Instead of simply pushing medicines, Pfizer frames each proposal with a personal approach to focus on the customer experience and make things as simple as possible for the end users.
Moderna
Another company that put its all into creating a viable and safe COVID vaccine in record time was Moderna, which partnered with private industry and government to access as many resources as possible. Everything about Moderna’s approach to medicine and vaccines is innovative and focused on creating new medical solutions for customers. With Moderna’s approach to vaccine creation that uses mRNA as medicine, the same manufacturing process can be used for multiple types of vaccines with less expensive raw materials to lower the overall costs. Moderna also practices transparency with its vaccine creation and usage. Its annual Science Day (held virtually in 2020) provides insights into its processes and progress to customers and the public.
TD Ameritrade
With its 2020 merger with Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade brings together two of the most respected and customer-friendly companies in the industry. TD Ameritrade’s 2020 ACSI score was 78, above the industry average and the only company in the space to increase its score. TD Ameritrade is committed to hearing the voice of the customer and uses AI to analyze calls in its contact center for common topics and sentiment and then improve the customer experience. If the algorithm notices that customers are typically frustrated or overwhelmed about certain topics, the company can adjust its messaging and approach to proactively solve those problems. By using AI, TD Ameritrade estimates it has about 500% more information from customer calls.
FAB CBD
The CBD industry is on the rise, but not all companies are created equal. FAB CBD creates premium, reliable products that are designed by a staff experienced in health and wellness. Instead of diluting its products, FAB works to build trust with customers through a clean process that results in only the best products. FAB also has strong customer service and will work with customers to help them find the right products for their needs and lifestyle, an important service in a relatively new industry. FAB CBD stands by its products and goes above and beyond to build customer trust.
UPS
Delivery and supply chain were thrust into the spotlight in 2020, forcing UPS to put its experience and logistics plans into high gear. Between an astronomical rise in online shopping and shipping things like the COVID vaccine, UPS had a huge demand. With old and new processes, it ensured a smooth process, including allowing customers to track worldwide deliveries online. UPS built 20 new facilities and added to its already large aircraft fleet for the holiday season, as well as expanded operations and pickup and delivery windows. Even with a huge increase in deliveries, UPS prioritized customers and supported its hard-working employees.
FedEx
Another winning delivery and logistics company is FedEx, which aims to put customers first at all times. In 2020, its goal was not only delivering precious cargo on time while keeping employees safe, but also keeping small businesses going with COVID safety procedures. FedEx created resources for small businesses as they re-opened, including templates for social distancing signs and other communication. FedEx is a leader in innovation and technology and uses sensor-based logistics for real-time visibility that allows customers to track important shipments as they move. It uses advanced training to measure customer emotion and discover pain points about the overall experience. FedEx is currently testing a delivery robot named Roxo and tracking how customers respond to it. Sidenote: Many of my neighbors regularly put snacks out for these frontline workers, as well as water bottles and hand sanitizer, a small way to say thank you for braving difficult circumstances to help people get their products delivered.
Target
Up until 2011, Amazon managed Target’s ecommerce website. That’s hard to believe when we look at Target today. It started its digital transformation and was already in a strong position for the pandemic due to the early attention to curbside pick-up. Target has long been a digital leader and has seen huge success in recent years with its digital transformation to blur the line between online and in-person shopping with experiences designed with the customer in mind.
Target stepped up its COVID safety response, but also went beyond just safety to focus on comfort and convenience. The company expanded its already successful drive-up option with more spots at stores and now allows customers to scan self-checkout items with their phones instead of a communal scanner. Target also hired more employees to provide better service to customers in a pandemic. Its focus not only on creating a safe and convenient experience, but also on using digital to provide a variety of shopping and delivery options and exclusive collaborations makes Target a top customer-centric company.
Maven
After seeing the impact of the pandemic on women’s health, Maven pivoted to provide better resources to the people who need it most. Historically, Maven has worked in the B2B space to improve employee healthcare benefits. But with COVID putting pregnant women into a new state of anxiety, Maven pivoted to the B2C space to give customers access to virtual maternity and pediatric appointments.
Maven also created a digital tool to give parents more information and assess risks about sending their children to school. The company is also working on integrated payment systems for fertility and adoption treatments and the first preconception product to be fully integrated with a fertility and maternal health solution.
Stitch Fix
On the surface, Stitch Fix may seem like a clothing company, but it is actually a data powerhouse. The company collects data from a wide variety of sources, including surveys, industry trends and customer social media profiles to match each person with the best curated clothing items to meet their needs. Like many other companies, Stitch Fix faced order backlogs and supply chain difficulties in the spring and summer but recovered to hit record levels. With fewer people working in an office or travelling, Stitch Fix pivoted away from its traditional subscription model to an a la carte offering for customers to buy individual items. The new model still leverages data, algorithms and human stylists, but in a way that is more relevant and accessible to customers in 2020. Stitch Fix started selling more athleisure items to match customer demand and saw its women’s activewear revenue grow more than 350% year over year.
Syngenta
Bio-tech firm Syngenta focuses all of its innovation and technology on supporting its customers: farmers. By using innovative farming techniques and processes, Syngenta aims to increase food supply and encourage sustainable development. Employees are passionate about fighting climate change and helping farmers through renewable channels. Its work is especially important when food insecurity is at record highs and more people need access to healthy food in a way that supports the environment. Syngenta was voted a best place to work in science because of its purpose-driven mission and innovative culture. Its teams around the world led COVID relief to the hardest hit areas in countries like India and Vietnam.
Airbnb
Airbnb is regularly recognized as a great place to work because of its focus on creating community and belonging around the world. One of its core values is “Be a Host”, or unite the company around thinking for the benefit of customers. Every new Airbnb employee starts by shadowing a support specialist so they can understand challenges guests and hosts face. Airbnb also recently launched an Innovation Council to start conversations with hospitality entrepreneurs about how to improve the host and guest experience.
Even with travel limitations during the pandemic, Airbnb managed to shine by doubling down on cleanliness and safety standards and pivoting to appeal to WFH nomads and others looking for a safe, nearby vacation.
Johns Hopkins
With uncertainty and changing information around the COVID pandemic, Johns Hopkins stepped in with real-time COVID tracking, which launched on January 22, just two days after the first case arrived in the U.S. and far before anyone could predict the severity. Johns Hopkins’ efforts focus on transparency for media, clinics and citizens. Johns Hopkins collects reports and details from 200 sources around the world, including WHO and local health agencies and then plugs it into real-time mapping software. Aside from its mapping efforts, Johns Hopkins also created an online calculator that estimates a person’s risk of dying from COVID, which has the potential to help officials prioritize groups for vaccination and assist in re-opening efforts. Reliable, unbiased information in real time is incredibly valuable in easing anxiety and empowering people with data.
ButcherBox
When many grocery stores faced meat shortages in the spring, subscription company ButcherBox stepped up to welcome a new wave of customers. Throughout the volatile season, ButcherBox maintained consistent and transparent communication about availability and shipping. It places a large emphasis on sustainable meat sourcing for high-quality, grass-fed products. ButcherBox also collects large amounts of data and uses customer personas to drive personalization efforts. Taking things to the next level, the company also provides customers resources on how to best cook their meat instead of ending the experience once the sale has been made.
Coursera
Coursera’s innovative approach to online learning extends the reach of education and makes learning a huge variety of subjects available to everyone, no matter where they live. During COVID, Coursera made its courses and some certificate programs free to everyone, which led to 18 million people joining in the last nine months—a 388% increase from the same period in 2019. Coursera’s content is tailored to provide a variety of information to fit each customer, from free online courses for high schoolers and college students to courses targeted at mental health and career development. Coursera created new content and aimed it at exactly what customers needed during an uncertain time.
Bluebird Bio
Bluebird Bio, a company that develops gene therapies for severe genetic disorders and cancer, is dedicated to saving customers’ lives and supporting its employees. Its annual Patient Days allow scientists to interact with the people who directly benefit from their discoveries and helps the employees get a taste of the patient’s journey. Internally, Bluebird creates a supportive culture for its employees, or “Birds”, with on-site leadership coaches and a renewed focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. It uses an innovative psychometric tool to measure employee communication styles to facilitate more meaningful and productive employee communication. Bluebird’s transparent COVID response included town halls, extra time off and support groups and resources for working parents and caregivers.
In 2020, customers needed support and strong relationships like never before. Customer-centric companies innovate and stay connected to their customers and employees with every decision they make. These companies have a large impact because they are willing to put people first, no matter what. Customer centricity is especially needed during difficult times, but the principles are timeless.