your chief customer officer

7/29/2019 Your Chief Customer Officer

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35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) [email protected] |www.ccocouncil.org2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

Your C h i e f C u s to m e rO f f i c e r : Why This NewRole in Your Company is

Indispensableby Curtis N. Bingham


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Your Chief Customer OfficerWhy This New Role in Your Company is Indispensable

Curtis N. Bingham

Founder and Executive Director

Chief Customer Officer Council

CurtisBinghamistherecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethisroleasacatalyst

forcompetitiveadvantage.HeisthecreatoroftheCCORoadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+critical

strategiesessentialforcustomercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisispassionate

aboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,andloyalty.

Customerservicesmaylearnonethingfromacustomerduringthecourseofitsdailyinteractions,your

marketingdepartmentmaypickupanother.Yetanothertidbitmaybegleanedbyyoursalesforce

duringasalescall.Individually,allthesetidbitsmaybemeaninglessbuttogethertheycouldspell

significantopportunities.

Whoisresponsibleatyourfirmfordevelopingthiskindofacross-the-boardinsightthatleadstonew

opportunities,newmarkets,andincreasedprofits?Unfortunately,usuallyitisnobody'sjob.Whilemost

executives,managersandemployeestrulyhavethecustomer'sinterestatheart,theyeitherdon'thave

timeortheclarityoffocustodevelopthisinsight.Norwilltheytypicallypossesstheorganizationalclouttoreachacrossandintodivisionalsilostoeffectchangebasedoncustomerinsight.Inaddition,C-Suite

andboardmemberstoooftengetpreoccupiedwithcustomeracquisitionandcostreductions,leaving

thegleaningof"customerinsights"totheback-burner,rarelyornevertobepickedupagain.

InmyresearchofcompaniessuchasSunMicrosystems,Cisco,Hewlett-Packard,Unica,Monster.Com,

Fidelityandothers,Ihavefoundthattheonlywaytoguaranteeincreasedrevenues,aswellasstronger,

longerandmoreprofitablecustomerrelationships,istoestablishexecutivelevelaccountabilityfor

organization-widecustomerinsightbycreatingthechiefcustomerofficer(CCO)role.Onlythroughsuch

arolewillcompaniesbeabletoa)adequatelygathercustomerinsight,b)makeitactionableandc)

deliverproductsandservicesthatareguaranteedtosucceedinthemarketplace.

What is a chief customer officer?

Achiefcustomerofficer(CCO)isanexecutive-levelcustomeradvocate,uniquelyaccountablefor

maintainingandenhancingthestrengthofthecustomerbaseasanasset.Unlikeotherexecutives,this

officerwillembraceabroadviewofthecustomerbase,themarketplace,andfuturetrends,usingthis


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viewtodrivebothcorporatestrategyandorganizationalchangesandinitiatives,socriticallynecessary

forprofitablyservicingcustomersandadaptingtothemarketplace.

Ingeneral,CCOshavefourprimarygoals:

1. Toincreaserevenue:TheCCOcanhelpidentifyopportunitiestosecurenewcustomersandalargershareofthecustomerwallet.

2. Toinjectcustomerbalanceintoexecutivedecisionmaking :CCOscanandmustcountertheC-Suite'sandtheBoard'straditionalfocusonrevenuegrowthandcostcontainment,twoactivities

thatfrequentlyresultindamagedcustomerrelationshipsanddiminishedlongtermresults.

3. Toviewandmanagecustomerrelationshipsasvaluableassets :Customerrelationshipsmustbemanagedascarefullyasotherassetswhenattemptingtocontrolcostsandmaximize

effectiveness.

4. Toproactivelygathercustomerinsightanddriveorganization-widechange :ACCOwillconstantlybegatheringobjectiveknowledgeontheneedsofthefirm'scustomers,prospects

andthemarketplace,usingittodriveorganizationalchangeandinitiatives,oftencuttingacross

departmentalorfunctionalboundaries.

WhataretheprimaryfunctionsoftheCCO?Therearethree:

1. ServiceRevenueDriver:Focusesonincreasingservicesandmaintainingrevenuesbycaringforthepercentageoftotalrevenuederiveddirectlyfromexistingcustomerrelationships.TheCCO

reportstotheCEObutusuallyhasprimarylinemanagementresponsibilitiesforsuchservice

departmentsascustomerservice,technicalsupport,fieldapplicationengineeringandconsulting

services.

2. GeneralistCCO:Insteadofbeingtiedsolelytoexistingcustomers,CCOsareresponsibletoexistingcustomersaswellasdevelopingnewmarkets,customers,prospectsandorganizational

divisions.Theyarealsoresponsibleformarketsensing,customersegmentation,aiding

marketing&sales,andmanagingandprotectingexistingcustomerrelationships,while

influencingserviceandmaintainingrenewalrevenue.

3. ChampionbyCommittee.Customeradvocacycommitteesarecomprisedofvarious"C"levelsorVPsacrossproductlinesandsharetheresponsibilityoftheaforementionedCCOtypes.

ThechoiceofwhichCCOmodeltodeployinyourcompanydependsuponcorporategoals,thematurity

ofthecompanyandthesizeoftheinstalledcustomerbase.Stereotypically,youngercompaniesfocusing


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onnewcustomeracquisitionwithasmallinstalledcustomerbasemaybebettersuitedtothe

Generalist,whereascompanieswithalargerinstalledbaseandwhoseprimaryfocusisinservicingcustomersandmaximizingexistingcustomerprofitabilitymaybebestsuitedtoaServiceRevenue

Driver.Othercompanieswithaverystrongandpervasivecustomercentricculturethat,forwhatever

reason,arenotreadytocreateanexecutivelevelpositionmaybeabletoleveragetheChampionby

Committeemodel.

What can the CCO do that no one else can?

TherearemanyissuesandchallengesthatanorganizationfaceswhichaCCOcanhelpresolvemore

effectivelythanotherexecutivesintheorganization:

1. Ensureabalancedfocusonbothcustomeracquisitionandcustomerretention.Itisclearthattogrow,acompanymustactivelystrivetoretaincustomersandmaximizeprofitability.Aswell,

itmustcontinuouslyseektoidentifywhotheirbestcustomersareandfindmorelikethem.The

CCOisinauniquepositiontohavethisbroadinsightintoboththeexistingcustomerandthe

mostdesirablenewcustomersandprospects.TheCCOcanserveasabalanceformarketingand

salesstrategiessothatnewcustomersarenotacquiredattheexpenseofexistingcustomers.

2. Helpsetprioritiesandsettledisputes,armedwithrealcustomerandmarketplacedata .Let'sfaceit,somepeopleinthefirmwillhavetheirpetprojectswhileothersfeelverystronglythat

theirproductideas,servicedirectionsorindividualgoalstakepriority.TheCCO,byvirtueof

positionandbreadthofinvolvementwithcurrentcustomersandthemarketplace,isuniquelypositionedtosettlethesedisputesandsetpriorities.Asaresult,decisionsandprioritieswill

morelikelymaximizecustomervaluetothecompany,thusbestleveragingacompany'sscarce

resources.

3. Createandmanageaholisticsetofcustomervaluemetrics.Companiesmustalwaysbeonthelookouttodeterminewhichcustomersaremostvaluableandtherebydeservethegreatest

attentionandservice.WithaCCO'sbreadthofcustomerinsight,he/shecancreate"customer

valuemetrics"andhelpprioritizescarceresources.Thisinsuresthatthefirm'smostvaluable

customersareprofitablynurtured.

4. Identifypotentialcustomerdefections .BecauseoftheCCO's(a)regularinteractionwithcustomers,(b)consistent"healthmeasurements,"and(c)earlywarningmechanisms,this

indispensableofficerisuniquelycapableofidentifyingcustomerdissatisfactionandpotentialfor

defection.Oncesoidentified,theCCOhelpstheorganizationfixtheseproblemsandmake

certaintheyneverhappenagain.


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5. Developaclear,consistentviewofcustomer'sneeds .Customersbuyforonereasonandonereasononly:tosatisfyaneed,or,inotherwords,tomakeaproblemgoaway.Therefore,theCCOmustdevelopaclearandconsistentviewofcustomers'needsthatwilldriveproduct

development,marketing,sales,andservicestrategies.

6. Aidtheorganizationinbecomingcustomer-focused.Thelargerthecompany,themoreseparateditsemployeestendtobecomefromitsendusercustomers.Inmanycases,theymay

losethevisionofwhatimpact,positiveornegative,theirdailyactivitiesarehavingon

customers.ACCOcanbringcustomersinforcustomervisits,sharecustomersuccessstories,

andcommunicatecustomerpainpointswithindividualsthroughoutthecompany.Thiswill

enableemployeestoretaintheirfocuswhenendeavoringtodeliveractionable,meaningful

productsandservicestorealcustomers.

Conclusion

Whenyouthinkaboutit,therearequiteanumberofbenefitsreapedbyestablishingachiefcustomer

officerfunctioninyourcompany.Bydoingso,youwillbeabletoincreasethestrengthandsizeofyour

customerbaseassetandmoreprofitablyserviceexistingcustomers.Inaddition,youwillgrowyour

businessbymakingyourexistingcustomerssatisfiedevenasyouexplorenewmarketsandcustomers

withoutsacrificingyourexistingbase.


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Conversations with the CCO: Rebuilding Customer Trust with Helen Burt In this Q&A from an online

interview by Curtis N. Bingham, Helen Burt, Chief Customer Officer of PG&E, shares her strategies for

repairingdamagedcustomertrustintheaftermathofatragedy.

Downloadyourfreecopytodayatwww.ccocouncil.org/exclusiveresources/

About CURTIS N. BINGHAM

AsExecutiveDirectoroftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncil,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

TheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncilis thefirstof itskind;amember-led peer-advisory network offering unparalleled insight into the

critical issues facing CCOs. It was created to provide a safe

environmentwhere CCOs canshare ideas, concerns, andbuild best

practices that wellhelp them, their companies, andespecially their

customers succeed. The Council includes CCOs from diverse

industries, purposefully cross-pollinated with the most forward-

thinking companies, large and small. For more information, visit

www.ccocouncil.org,[email protected].

FormoreresourcesfromCurtisBinghamandtheCCOCouncil,includingarticles,videos,and The

BinghamAdvisory,visitwww.ccocouncil.org.

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