Economist Intelligence Unit released a new report with some interesting data on “who knows the customer best?” Some of the findings from those in senior Business Leadership C-Suite roles are surprising given all the emphasis on building customer loyalty.
- Six out of 10 view their firms as customer-centric
- 56% have a clear understanding of customers’ (external) tastes and needs
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is time strapped by only 19% having a leading role in connecting with customers
- 21% believe building customer loyalty is a shared responsibility
- Plurality believe the CMO should represent the customer’s voice
- 25% of CMO want a Chief Customer Officer to take over the voice of the customer
- There is a disconnect between what is and what should be regarding responsibility for the voice of the customer
Funny, given that internal customers (employees) are the greatest assets any enterprise has, it would seem logical for the C-Suite focus to be on having a Chief People Officer so that internal customers would create moments of truth leading to external customer loyalty. Yet it appears some in the C-Suite within corporate America are still out of sync with what they say such as “our people are our greatest asset” and continually invest time working around that asset. The Chief Customer Officer is a prime example.
Furthermore if we believe everyone is in sales, then driving revenue should come from its greatest asset driver – the people.
This is an interesting study to read and may provide some additional insight even for the smaller firms under 100 employees and especially those enterprises under 50 employees.
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