Curiosity is key – you might find allies if you think more broadly

I’ve been working for nearly 8 years at the LEGO Group – currently as Key Account Manager Omni-Channel, responsible for multi-category customers.

My educational background is in commercial engineering, and my interest in commercial matters grew from my parents’ family business, where I learned: “When a customer says jump, you need to jump!”

The LEGO Group is a family-owned industry-leading organisation, and the LEGO brand is one of the most beloved and reputable brands in the world. Still, it’s extremely important to keep our commercial go-to-market approach fresh, certainly in a dynamic B2B channel landscape. You need in-depth customer understanding to unlock new opportunities.

Best-in-class examples and inspiration

I was looking for best-in-class examples and inspiration to further build my ‘customer centricity’ knowledge. And I wanted to participate, learn and engage in an academic environment. Vlerick has a superb reputation for offering academic quality, inspiration and engagement. So, registering for the programme was a no-brainer.

Speaking the customer’s language

I was surprised by how broadly the professors approach the ‘customer centricity’ concept. The topics that were covered included: value creation vs capturing, customer lifetime value, big data analytics, and value-based pricing.

Once again, I realised how privileged I am to work at the LEGO Group. But there’s always room for improvement – for example, I gained insights into how to speak the customer’s language and leveraging ‘the seller’s hidden advantage’.

This programme is a game-changer

I believe this programme is a game-changer. In addition to the top-level content and peer discussions, it further sparked my motivation to go above & beyond. Recently, we achieved major breakthroughs with a big B2B customer. Above everything else, customer recognition is the most precious form of feedback.

The programme also confirmed our focus on long-term trust-building and smooth operational service thinking. I’m extremely proud to have exerted great efforts with the entire team on tasks that are not necessarily glorious – like seeking operating model improvements with our partners – but that solidify partnerships. That’s teamwork with customer-first thinking at its heart.

Dennis Van Looveren, Key Account Manager Omni-Channel at the LEGO Group.

Participant Customer Centricity