These philosophies are not mutually exclusive or even contrary.
Extreme interpretations of one of these philosophies over the other is where the problem comes in.
Should you give the user WHATEVER they want in spite of your better judgement?
NO.
They will not be happy with the result and it may damage your reputation outside of that one client.
Should you just go ahead and implement your solution despite it not being what the client said they wanted.
NO.
They will not be happy with the result and it may damage your reputation outside of that one client.
This is the purpose of a needs analysis.
You sit down, ask some leading questions, but otherwise LISTEN and digest.
Once you understand what the client really needs, it is your job as a professional to investigate possible options and present them to the client for approval.
If the main reason why the client needs your services is to “just get it done” (and they do exist), you only need to present them with one solution, that’s fine. But you should still check in with them at least once for approval. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. It can even be 10 - 15 minutes. But it is important for expectation management.
The thing is that a business does not function in isolation.
The choices a marketer makes can impact several other areas of the organization that the individual marketer doesn’t necessarily understand because they are just not privvy to all the information.
The same with other specialties, not just marketing.
So, at the end of the day, you need to respect your client’s competence just as they really should respect yours in a productive working relationship.
Yes, it is not always possible to cater to every client’s individual needs and preferences.
But that is why you offer a value proposition.
Offering a value proposition doesn’t mean that you did not listen to your clients. It just means that you considered which section of the market you can best serve (or can’t) after listening to potential partners.
WP offers “decisions” and while that works for a very significant portion of the market, there is a significant alternative market (not as big, but still significant) that prefers a different value proposition.
It is not one or the other. To be customer-centric, it is both.