gaining critical insight to grow your business
TRANSCRIPT
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 1
Gaining Critical Insightto Grow Your Business
by Curtis N. Bingham
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 2
Gaining Crit ical Insight to Grow Your Business
Curtis N. Bingham
Founder and Executive Director
Chief Customer Officer Council
CurtisBinghamistherecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethisroleasacatalyst
forcompetitiveadvantage.HeisthecreatoroftheCCORoadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+critical
strategiesessentialforcustomercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisispassionate
aboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,andloyalty.
Introduction
Decliningpricesandmargins.Decayingsales.Unprofitablecustomers.Lacklustermarketperformance.
Doesyourcompanysufferfromthesemaladies?Thesolutiontothesemaynotbespendingmore
moneyonadvertising,replacingtheVPofsalesandtherestofthesalesforce,orfurthercuttingcosts.
No,theanswermayliesomewhereelseentirelyandifrecognizedandaddressed,mayresolveallof
thesesymptoms.
Theproblemmayactuallylieinthewaythatyourproductsandservicesaredesigned,developed,
delivered,andrefined.Whodrivestheseactivities?IsitEngineering?Management?Support?Sales?If
thecustomerisnotinthedriver'sseat,yourrevenues,profits,andevenyourcompanymaybeatrisk.Theproblemmaywelllieinthefactthatcompaniesdon'tunderstandtheircustomerswhattheyneed,
want,andmostespecially,whattheyarewillingtopayfor.Withoutthisunderstanding,companiesdo
notknowwhatproducts/servicestooffer,orhowtomarketandselltoprospects.
Theonlywaytoguaranteeincreasedrevenues,stronger,longer,andmoreprofitablecustomer
relationshipsistocenterstrategicdecision-makingonactionablecustomerinsight.
Symptoms
Someofthesymptomsthatcompaniesexperiencewhenoperatingwithoutsufficientcustomerinsight
include:
DecliningmarginsandpricesPriceandmarginareexcellentmeasuresofacompany'sabilitytomake
itsvaluepropositionsuccessfulinthemarket.Toomanycompaniesdonotrecognizewhenthemarket
nolongervaluesitsofferingsandresorttopricecutsorothermargin-cuttingpromotions.
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 3
DecayingSalesAcompanyoutofsyncwithchangedcustomerneedswillsufferassalesdecay.When
customersarehardertofindandsalesaremoredifficultthereasonisoftenthatacompanyhasnot
drivencustomerknowledgefarenoughintothecompanyprocesses.Adaptingeverythingacompany
doesfromproductdevelopmenttocoremetricsofbusinesshealthtocustomervalueisakeystrategyto
reinvigorateacompany'seconomicengine.
UnprofitableCustomersOftencompanies,particularthosethathavebeensuccessful,donotknow
whatagoodcustomerlookslike.Manycompaniesgrewindifferenteconomictimesbytakingthe
business'cameinthedoor'buthavenotyetinvestedingatheringinsightintowhatkindofcustomers
areprofitableones.
Lacklusterproduct/serviceperformanceLackofmarketadoptionclearlymeanstheproductorservice
missedthemarkanddoesnotadequatelysolvecustomerpain.Customerknowledgeneedstopervade
howacompanymanagesinnovationinproducts,markets,andbusinessextension.Everycompanyhas
tobealerttoopportunityintheseareasbecausegrowthisabroadbasedchallengesimplydoingonethingverywellisnolongerenough.
Mostcompanieshaveonlytwocommunicationschannelswithcustomers:salesandcomplaints.Bothof
theseareimportantcompaniesneedtosellandcustomersneedwaystoseekredressbutneither
tellsacompanywhatthecustomerneedstomakethemsuccessful.Toensuresuccess,youmust
continuouslydeliverwhatyouknowyourcustomersandprospectsneed,want,andarewillingtopay
for.
Therearefourstepstosuccessinthisprocess:
1. Proactivelylistentocustomersinanorganized,meaningfulfashion2. Makecustomerdataactionable3. Drivecustomervaluedchangethroughouttheentireorganization4. Measureeffectsofthechange
Thefirststepiscriticalforthesuccessoftheremainingthree.
Customer Insight Conduits
Thefastestwaytoovercometheproblemsdescribedaboveandgainrealinsightintowhatcustomers
needandwantisbyestablishingCustomerInsightConduits.TheseConduitshelpbridgethegap
betweencompanycapabilitiesandmarketorcustomerneeds.
CustomerInsightConduitsaredefinedaschannelsthroughwhichinformationpassesprimarilyfromcustomersandthemarketplacetoafunctionwithinthecompanythatisabletomakedataactionable
anddrivecustomer-valuedchangethroughouttheorganization.TheseConduitsprovideanearly-
warningsystemforproblems.Asproblemsarerecognized,theConduitsserveasadiagnostictoolto
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 4
helpfullyunderstandissuesanddeterminetheefficacyofsolutions.Inaddition,theConduitsarea
measurementvehicletoassessoverallcustomervalueandothermetrics.
CustomerInsightConduitsareanearly-warningsystem,diagnostictool,andameasurementvehicleall
inone.
Examples
CustomeradvisoryboardsEnsurethatthesearecomposedofeconomicbuyersofyour
products/servicesfromanappropriatesamplingofthecustomerbase.Somecompaniesrotatethe
membershipevery1-2yearstoensurefreshinsight.
TechnicaladvisoryboardsTheseshouldbecomprisedofthe"usebuyers:thosewhoareactually
goingtobeusingyourproductsortakingadvantageofyourservices.Fromthese,youobtainvaluable,
on-the-streetinsighthelpfultodevelop/refineproducts.
CustomerconferencesCustomerconferencesareactuallysalesconferenceswherecompaniesrollout
theirnewproducts,hopingtoconvincecustomerstoupgrade.GarlandHall,whenhewastheChief
CustomerOfficerofwebMethods,acompanythatprovidesenterpriseintegrationsoftwaretomajor
companies,usedcustomerconferencestogathercustomerinsightandfurthercementcustomer
relations.webMethodsinvitedcustomerstopresentwaysinwhichtheywereusingwebMethods'
products,shareinsightsandissueswithproductmanagers,etc.
GuestCustomerswebMethodsused"GuestCustomers",wherecustomerspresentedinfoon
themselvesandhowtheywereusingproductstogroupswithinthecompanywhodon'tnormallyhave
customercontact(i.e.,accounting,operations,etc.)
Productorservice"provinggrounds"LLBeaninvitesoutdoorguidestoaspecialweekendescapewheretheytryoutnewproductsandgivefocusedandevenharshfeedback.
Host/MonitorchatroomsanddiscussionboardsMercuryInteractive'sformerVPofStrategic
Initiatives,PatrickSaeger,didanexcellentjobofgleaningideasandidentifyingproblemsthroughthe
company'sproductdiscussionforums.Significant"thoughtleaders"wereidentifiedandusedtogather
insightandultimatelychampionproductsandservices.
CustomerHallofFameLaurieLong,whenshewastheSeniorDirectorofCustomerSuccessatUnica
organizedaHallofFametorewardcustomersforinnovativeuseoftheirproducts.Winnerswere
chosenafterreviewofapplicationsbyanoutsideanalystcommunity.Thisofferedthecustomer
recognitionfromthevendor,othercustomers,andfromtheanalystcommunity.
On-siteassistanceforadayCompanieswithastrongservice/consultingcomponentshouldsendanengineer,consultantorotherappropriatepersontoacustomers'siteforadaytosimplyhelpthemgain
thefullbenefitofyourproduct/service.Theycangleanhugeamountsofinsightindoingso.
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 5
SalesandsupportchannelsSendthesalespeopleouttofindanswerstospecificquestions.Havethe
supportorcallcenterrepresentativespolltheircallerswitha1-2questionsurvey.Leveragethese
channelstogainanswerstospecificquestionsaspartofanoverallinformationgatheringeffort.
TheseareonlyahandfulofCustomerInsightChannelsthatcouldbeleveragedasakeycomponentto
helpgathercustomerdatathatisthenconvertedtoinsight,madeactionable,andusedtodrive
strategic,customer-centricchangethroughouttheorganization.
Conclusion
Theonlywaytoovercomethemaladiesdiscussedpreviouslyisbylisteningtocustomers,makinginsight
actionable,effectingchange,andmeasuringchange.UsingCustomerInsightConduits,companiescan
gaincriticalinsightandwhenmadeactionablecan:
Developsuccessfulproductsandservices Differentiatefromcompetitorseffectively Improvepricesandmargins Attract&retainmoreprofitablecustomers *
*Copyright Notice:All content contained in this article is copyright protected material. Reproduction, in whole or in
part, in any form or medium, without the express written permission of the Chief Customer Officer Council is strictlyprohibited.
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2013 Predictive Consulting Group, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited.CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCILwww.ccocouncil.org | (978) 226-8675 Page 6
About CURTIS N. BINGHAMAsExecutiveDirectoroftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncil,CurtisBinghamis
therecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethis
role as a catalyst for competitive advantage. He is the creator of the CCO
Roadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+criticalstrategiesessentialfor
customercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisis
passionateaboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,
andloyalty.
About THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCIL
TheCCOCouncilisapowerfulandintimategatheringoftheworlds
leading customer executives from widely diverse industries.The
Councilhelpsexecutivesachieveobjectivesfasterandmoreeasilyby
leveragingbest practices. Ithelps validateand refine strategiesand
initiativestoavoidexperimentingatcustomerexpense.Membership
isbyinvitationonly,andpurposefullycross-pollinatedwiththemost
forward-thinkingcompanies,largeandsmall,soastohelpcustomer
executivesdeliversolid,customer-centricbusiness results. Formore
information,[email protected].
Jointheconversationwww.ccocouncil.org
EightImperativesfortheChiefCustomerOfficer ThisBinghamAdvisorylays
outindetailnumerousstrategiesthatenablecustomerexecutivestobe
successfulindrivingcustomercentricitythroughouttheirbusinessesandin
creatingsustainablecompetitiveadvantage,including:sixkeychallengesto
CCOsuccessandthemeanstoovercomethem,ninemetricsthatneedtobe
consideredfortheCCOdashboard,sevencriticalsuccessfactorsforCCOs,three
necessarycharacteristicsforCCOs,andsevenstrategiestosupportcustomer
centricchange.
Downloadyourfreecopytodayatwww.ccocouncil.org/thebinghamadvisory/
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