Although their titles suggest they should be less focused on dollars and cents, chief customer officers (CCOs) care deeply about sales and revenue, especially during crises such as the ongoing pandemic.
In fact, according to an ESI ThoughtLab and ServiceNow survey of 1,080 C-level executives across 13 countries, CCOs care more about revenue and sales than the rest of the C-suite. When CCOs implement new strategies to increase resilience, they advance their direct customer-focused remit and sales and revenue priorities as well. It’s a holistic view that connects happy customers with increased business success.
At the same time, CCOs worry about the challenges that stand in the way of implementing business resiliency initiatives such as quantifying ROI and modernizing antiquated processes. Such challenges will need to be addressed to make sure their businesses are ready for the next big disruption.
Preparing for future disruptions
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, CCOs watched closely as customer service and experiences were disrupted. Going forward, they’re taking responsibility for strengthening essential customer-facing tools and processes. That means improving communication, building a culture that promotes and supports resilience planning, and establishing incentives to meet resilience goals.
CCOs and other C-levels have different priorities
Compared to other executives, CCOs place higher value on providing technology, tools, and data that employees need to stay resilient, the survey suggests. CCOs watched as supply chains and sales channels suffered service outages, personnel shortages, and cyberattacks during the pandemic. As a result, they are working to ensure that both are more agile going forward. They also see the benefit of incentivizing resilience prep for employees through rewards and accountability.
Not surprisingly, CCOs see less value in reporting and auditing for resilience than the rest of the C-suite. However, they also view efforts to digitize customer experience with less enthusiasm than other C-levels. This might be inspired by the difficulties they faced supporting and servicing customers through digital channels during the pandemic, when those channels weren’t ready for prime time and failed to meet customer expectations.
