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10 Commitments Every CEO Must Make to Realize Customer Experience Success

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Page 1: 10 Commitments Every CEO Must Make to Realize Customer Experience Success

June 21, 2016

James O’GaraCEO / Founder, OnMessage

Securing executive alignment and clearly defined priorities

in support of the customer experience is crucial. Yet, so few

companies have a game plan for making this happen. In most

cases customer experience, as a priority within the business,

originates and stagnates within customer service or call center

departments. The initiative fails to gain traction in other

customer-facing areas of the business. It never receives

executive support and endorsement. As a result, the customer

experience never delivers material business results.

Why is this? For customer experience to translate into

improved financial performance and become a competitive

advantage it must be embraced enterprise-wide. It must be

implemented in a cross-functional manner — and, it has to

be a priority for the CMO, CEO and the entire C-suite.

Securing unwavering commitment from the CEO is a must. The fact is, to be successful the CEO must truly believe

customer experience matters. The CEO must commit to creating

an experience that will differentiate the company and grow

the business. Without this level of commitment, customer

experience becomes just another business fad. Something a

few members of the team talk about for a while before it quickly

fades to black. It’s never institutionalized. It’s never

operationalized. It does not become a cornerstone of the

company’s business strategy. In these cases, companies should

save their money or spend it elsewhere. But for those companies

where the CMO, CEO and the entire C-suite are fully committed

to making customer experience management a difference

maker, it is the best place the company can invest its money.

The Link Between the CEO, Customer Experience and Meaningful Results. There is a clear link between a CEO’s commitment to customer

experience management and business profitably. That’s the

key takeaway from a global study led by The Economist

Intelligence Unit. The study found that 58 percent of

companies reported much higher profitability than their

competitors when the CEO was in charge of customer

experience, and 59 percent experience better revenue growth

as a result of prioritizing strategic customer experience

investments. The study also discovered that 63 percent of

executives who make customer experience a priority actually

deliver a better customer experience than their competition.

How the CMO Can Lock-In CEO Commitment. There are a multitude of reports that explain one simple fact:

If the CEO is not actively evangelizing customer experience

management — the game is over. A company’s customer

experience has no chance of producing lasting and meaningful

results without unwavering commitment from the CEO.

Without it – the initiative will not sustain energy long enough

for the benefits to materialize in the customer experience.

Have the tough discussions. The very first step a CMO has to take in this process is to

get one-on-one time with the CEO and have a candid, open

discussion about the customer. Discussions about how

customer experience is changing the competitive environment;

why customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and advocacy

will determine future success; and why people, processes

and technologies must be centered on the customer for the

company to win. During this conversation, CMOs should be

prepared to surface relevant and meaningful proof points that

validate how a superior customer experience will improve the

long-term financial performance of the business.

10 Commitments Every CEO Must Make to Realize Customer Experience Success.

The CEO must truly believe customer experience matters.

Page 2: 10 Commitments Every CEO Must Make to Realize Customer Experience Success

Ask the difficult questions. In this meeting, you’ll also need to ask your CEO some difficult

questions. Such as, does your CEO feel leaders have a deep

understanding of the customer? Is the business centered

on the needs and desires of high-value customers? Is the

company’s go-to-market strategy rooted in deep, meaningful

customer insights? Is the company’s product and service

roadmap tied to current and future customer requirements?

Are C-suite conversations and decisions anchored in meeting

and exceeding specific customer expectations? Is the

company’s culture driven by a deep desire to create a

superior experience? Does the company have the people,

processes and technologies in place to deliver a consistent

customer experience?

Be prepared to deal with the answers.

Once you get these questions on the table, you will need to be

prepared for the answers — and, you’ll need to be prepared

to read between the lines. Where does the CEO take the

conversation? Does your CEO acknowledge challenges the

company has with respect to delivering a compelling and

consistent customer experience? Does your CEO recognize

the gaps that currently exist in your people, processes and

technologies? Does your CEO realize how the culture has to

change if the customer experience is going to change? Does

your CEO see how an improved customer experience can

become a strategic advantage in the marketplace? How the

CEO responds to these questions will tell you a lot about how

convinced he or she is that customer experience should be a

strategic priority for the business.

Make a business case. Be prepared to have multiple conversations. The CEO may ask

you to dig deeper, provide more insights about your current

customer experience and identify metrics that determine how

customer experience improvements will benefit the bottom-line.

If this happens, it is a great sign. It means your CEO is

interested. It means your CEO wants to know more and is

taking the conversation seriously. Your job is to help your

CEO assess and define the upside, then lock in his or her

commitment. Here’s what that commitment looks like.

10 commitments CMOs need from their CEO. There are 10 commitments you need to secure from

your CEO if you want to achieve customer experience

management success...

1. Commitment to Customer-Centricity2. Commitment to CXM Ownership3. Commitment to a Direct C-Suite Reporting Relationship4. Commitment to C-Suite Funding and Involvement5. Commitment to Cross-Functional Leadership Accountability6. Commitment to Organizational Change (People, Process, Technology)7. Commitment to Meaningful Performance Metrics8. Commitment to Measurement and Reporting Systems

9. Commitment to Realistic Timeline for Business Impact10. Commitment to Sustained, Company-Wide CX Cadence

All 10 are non-negotiable – if you want CX to be a difference maker. Based on our experience, if you want to deliver material

results, these are nonnegotiable. Each one of these represents

the commitment required for customer experience

management to translate into a competitive advantage. In

the coming weeks, we will identify the specific “ask” and

“actions” tied to each commitment. Things your CEO must

be willing to do if customer experience is to become a true

difference maker for your business.

More Information: To learn how you can bring a clear, compelling and

consistent story to life in the customer experience,

visit www.itsonmessage.com/resource.Your job is to help your CEO assess and define the upside, then lock in his or her commitment.