Interview: Nadine Neatrour on why customer centricity is a culture, not a strategy
Here we chat with former Selfridges director of marketing Nadine Neatrour about what true customer centricity looks like, why connected retail is harder to achieve than it sounds, and where she believes the industry is still getting it wrong.
Neatrour has spent more than 20 years in senior marketing and ecommerce roles at brands such as Hobbs, Ted Baker, Space NK, Thomas Pink and Moët Hennessy. More recently, she was global chief marketing officer at Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, and now runs Roar Commerce, where she works at board level helping retail and hospitality businesses put customer value at the heart of their strategy.
Subscribe to TRBWhen does a retailer truly understand its customer?
There’s a lot of talk about being “customer first,” but customer centricity isn’t a strategy. It’s a culture. For me, the difference is obvious the moment you step into a business. It shows up in the everyday, from product ranging and pricing through to the in-store and digital experience. More than anything, it reveals itself in how decisions are made.
The businesses that really understand their customers have confidence in the small decisions. They’re listening, responding and acting on what they hear, and that understanding runs right across the organisation. You can tell very quickly when it’s not joined up. A truly customer-centric organisation lives and breathes its audience. It isn’t owned by one team; it’s part of the culture everywhere.
Connected retail is a phrase we hear a lot. What does it take to achieve it?
It’s a well-worn phrase, but the reality is much harder to achieve than people think. At its simplest, it’s about joining the dots. And where businesses struggle is alignment. Too often, teams operate in isolation, each with their own priorities and measures of success. The result is strong individual output, but a lack of cohesion. There can be brilliant work happening across teams, but if it isn’t aligned at a leadership level, it stays theoretical. Without a shared view of success, it’s very difficult to create something that works as a whole.
For me, the starting point is always clarity. It begins with a strong brand point of view, then flows into customer experience, and only then does technology support it. When everything connects, that’s when you start to see real impact.
You’ve now moved into fractional leadership roles. How has that changed your perspective?
Having moved into fractional roles, I now work across a wide range of businesses, and that’s given me a valuable external perspective. What’s fascinating is that every business wants the same thing. Growth. But how they get there is always different.
From emerging brands to global organisations, each business has its own mix of challenges and opportunities, shaped by structure, resources and brand identity. When you’re inside a business, it’s very easy to get caught up in the detail. Stepping into it from the outside allows me to see more clearly where change can have the biggest effect. And those changes are not always complex. Sometimes it’s about stopping the things that aren’t delivering value and refocusing effort elsewhere. Small shifts can unlock a surprising amount of progress.
What drives you most in this work?
I love seeing a plan come together and work. That moment where you can see the success, not just in the numbers, but in the people around the table. Team development plays a big part too. Watching people grow and go on to achieve great things is incredibly rewarding. Retail is, at its core, a people business. Over time, I’ve also adopted a mindset that helps me navigate the pressures of the role. Gratitude is a real strength. Recognising what’s working, even in challenging moments, keeps teams grounded and focused.
What’s the biggest opportunity retailers are overlooking right now?
Amid constant talk of transformation, I think the biggest opportunity lies much closer to home. It’s about doing the basics well. There’s still so much value being left on the table. That means focusing on customer experience, clarity of brand and consistent execution. If you break it down to a simple level, small actions add up. Whether it’s one more item in a basket or one better interaction with a customer, those incremental gains make a real difference. There’s also a gap a lot of people overlook online. A large proportion of traffic doesn’t convert. If customers are there with intent and not buying that’s where the opportunity sits. Fixing that can be more powerful than chasing new growth.
And where do you think the industry is still getting it wrong?
We’re still too focused on transactions rather than truly understanding customer value. Driven by financial targets, many businesses prioritise short-term volume over long-term relationships. If we focused more on customer value, looking at acquisition, retention and lifetime contribution, it would fundamentally change how we operate. I’d also caution against over-reliance on technology. Technology and AI are important, but they are enablers. Without a clear understanding of the customer, they can only take you so far.
Ultimately, retail needs to return to its roots. It has always been a people business. Knowing your customer, understanding what they need and serving them well. That’s what creates lasting success. Because behind every transaction, there is always a person.
