Perceptions of the customer

ABSTRACT At a time when customer focus is an aim in many publishing companies, this paper looks at how people in publishing organizations think about customers, why they think like this and what this might mean to the products the company produces. It suggests that views of the customer are often internally constructed and become a self‐fulfilling prophecy, which could lead to publishers missing out on opportunities. The conclusion is that more and different interactions with customers are needed if publishers are to become truly customer focused.