Gary Fodi, Executive Vice President
and CFO, Madacy Entertainment
PUTTING CUSTOMERS
AT THE CENTER
HOW THREE MIDSIZE BUSINESSES ARE GROWING BY PUTTING THE CUSTOMER FIRST
BY MOLLY ROSE TEUKE
PATRICK FORDHAM
s information technology deepens the pool of infor-
mation available to managers, forward-thinking
companies are streamlining operations and business
processes, developing new products and services,
and even creating new business models to differentiate them-
selves in the marketplace.
But the most savvy companies are moving beyond elec-
tronic scorecards, dashboards, and other tools that slice and
dice performance numbers. They’re using technology to gain
insight into their most important asset—their customers. It’s
not just about improving customer service; it’s about making
customers the center of the business. For companies that are
catching on, the rewards of customer centricity are immense.
REACHING CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY SHOP
At Montreal-based Madacy Entertainment, a leading independent budget and midpriced music label, customer centricity
means making its customers’ success and profitability as important as its own. With new entertainment distribution channels
emerging almost daily, Madacy’s customers—Target, Wal-Mart,
and Best Buy among them—face unprecedented challenges
in keeping music sales strong. Madacy’s ability to help them
succeed is central to retaining its Nielsen SoundScan ranking as
the No. 1 independently distributed label in North America for
the past 11 years.
“Delivery mechanisms are changing in the global category
for entertainment, and we have to look at how our consumer
