Introduction Customer focus is one of the principles codified by ISO 9001: 2008. While it is commonly believed to enhance the quality of products and services provided by the company, the effect is only achievable when the critical success factors responsible for its success are acknowledged. The following paper overviews the critical success factors for the customer focus principle. Literature Review Customer-focused organizations are more likely to satisfy the quality standards set by ISO 9001: 2008. First, the principle in question serves to enhance the product development cycle. Strong orientation towards the interests and values of customers sustains the research and development process by providing crucial information on the needs of the market (Yaya, Marimon & Casadesus, 2014). By extension, customer-focused organizations are able to introduce products or services that are better aligned with the expectations of the market and whose quality is not compromised by the misguided assumptions. In addition, the principle requires the organization to maintain close contact with the core customers. The feedback made possible by this collaboration allows the organization to adjust their products and services in order to account for the changes in the customers’ expectations and, more importantly, timely detect and address the flaws that hinder the quality of the products already present on the market (Manders, de Vries & Blind 2016). In other words, customer focus allows the quality improvements both at the launch phase of the product and throughout its lifespan. The principle is also associated with increased customer loyalty, which, in turn, has an indirect effect on quality. Specifically, a loyal customer base makes the product development more predictable and reliant on market research in the long run (Yaya, Marimon & Casadesus, 2014). In addition to providing the opportunity of cutting the costs R&D process, this effect decreases the likelihood of introducing a product of inferior quality by failing to detect a flaw. Finally, customer-focused organizations enjoy greater financial stability. More specifically, higher customer retention rates, the possibility to tap into new audiences, and the ability to differentiate the organizations’ products or services from those of competitors increase the revenues and sustain customer satisfaction rate. It is important to note that the effect is only observable in the long run and requires a significant initial investment, which may discourage the management (Yaya, Marimon & Casadesus, 2014). While this parameter does not relate directly to the quality of their products or services, it would be reasonable to expect a positive indirect effect associated with increased stability. In other words, the organizations with stronger positions on the market are less likely to pursue short-term objectives and seek compromises where quality is sacrificed in favor of decreased expenses. Numerous critical success factors (CSFs) have been identified that influence the outcomes of implementing customer focus principles. Some of these CSFs are more suitable for the individual application, while others are scalable and can be equally relevant on the organizational level. One of t