35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) 226-8675

curtis@ccocouncil.org | www.ccocouncil.org
2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

The Impact of the
Chi ef Customer Of fi cer

by Curtis N. Bingham

35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) 226-8675
curtis@ccocouncil.org | www.ccocouncil.org
2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

The I mpact of the Chi ef Customer Offi cer


Curtis N. Bingham
Founder and Executive Director
Chief Customer Officer Council

cottls 8loqbom ls tbe tecoqolzeJ ootbotlty oo cblef costomet offlcets ooJ tbe fltst to ptomote tbls tole os o cotolyst
fot competltlve oJvootoqe. ne ls tbe cteotot of tbe ccO kooJmop, o qtoooJbteokloq wotk cootololoq 100- ctltlcol
sttoteqles esseotlol fot costomet ceottlclty. As oo lotetootloool speoket, ootbot, ooJ coosoltoot, cottls ls posslooote
oboot cteotloq costomet sttoteqy to sostoloobly qtow teveooe, ptoflt, ooJ loyolty.
1oday's cusLomers requlre access Lo a company's offerlngs Lhrough many forms of medla ln order Lo
meeL Lhelr preferences and llfesLyles. lurLhermore, Lhey also requlre a conslsLenL cusLomer experlence
across Lhese channels slnce Lhey can easlly choose Lo change vendors lf Lhey do noL recelve supporL LhaL
meeLs Lhelr expecLaLlons. So mulLl-channel accesslblllLy and conslsLency of experlence across Lhose
channels have become essenLlal componenLs Lo wlnnlng Lhe compeLlLlon for cusLomers. More and
more, companles are recognlzlng Lhe flnanclal beneflLs of cusLomer saLlsfacLlon and lLs proporLlonaLe
relaLlonshlps wlLh loyalLy and proflLablllLy.
WlLh accesslblllLy and Lhe conslsLency of cusLomer experlence ln mlnd, many companles have Lurned Lo
creaLlng a chlef cusLomer offlcer (CCC) poslLlon ln Lhe C-SulLe. 1hls sLlll-emerglng and evolvlng role can
be deflned as: Lhe execuLlve responslble for Lhe LoLal relaLlonshlp wlLh an organlzaLlon's cusLomers. 1he
challenge has been Lo Lle Lhls poslLlon Lo flnanclal galns and losses Lo clearly [usLlfy Lhe lnvesLmenL. A
recenL sLudy conducLed by Lhe Chlef CusLomer Cfflcer Councll has shed some llghL on Lhe effecLlveness
of CCC's over a Lwo year perlod and Lhe numbers are compelllng.
1hls research shows LhaL 67 of evaluaLed companles saw poslLlve flscal effecLs durlng Lhe Lenure of Lhe
CCC, wlLh an average growLh excess of lndusLry of 3.98. Clven Lhe mlnlmum Lhreshold of $18 annual
revenue, Lhls represenLs a dlfference of hundreds of mllllons of dollars. Cn Lhe fllp slde, 33 of
companles experlenced an average of 3.2 decrease ln growLh excess of lndusLry. Clearly, noL all
poslLlve or negaLlve resulLs can be aLLrlbuLed Lo Lhe CCC. lL ls equally clear however LhaL Lhe lnfluence of
Lhe CCC ls poslLlvely correlaLed wlLh lmproved company flscal performance.
ln an efforL Lo ldenLlfy Lhe lmpacL a chlef cusLomer offlcer has on company flnanclals, Lhe Chlef
CusLomer Cfflcer Councll researchers narrowed a populaLlon of more Lhan 300 companles Lo a sample
of 31 CCCs aL 46 separaLe companles wlLh a CCC ln place for aL leasL Lwo years and wlLh nomlnal
revenues of one bllllon dollars (uS) ln 2010. lor each of Lhese companles, sales revenue, operaLlng
margln, and lndusLry sales daLa were gaLhered. Where posslble, daLa were gaLhered from flve years
prlor Lo Lhe CCC's appolnLmenL up Lo Lhe currenL Llme or end of Lhe CCC's employmenL, whlchever was
shorLer.

35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) 226-8675
curtis@ccocouncil.org | www.ccocouncil.org
2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

3
1o ellmlnaLe overall lndusLry effecLs from alLerlng Lhe analysls of Lhe companles' effecLlveness over a
perlod of Llme, company growLh excess of lndusLry was compuLed by subLracLlng lndusLry from
company growLh for each year evaluaLed.
Key Fi ndi ngs and I mpl i cati ons
1here are a number of key flndlngs and lmpllcaLlons from Lhls research, as follow:
Customer Centricity is a two-year investment
ueveloplng and lmprovlng cusLomer sLraLegy ls a proflLable buL longer-Lerm lnvesLmenL. Whlle Lhere
may be plenLy of low-hanglng frulL for Lhe CCC Lo plck ln Lerms of crlses Lo resolve or bad buslness
pracLlces Lo lmprove, lt tokes ot leost two yeots fot tbe ccO's octlvltles to flow tbtooqb tbe compooy and
make a slgnlflcanL lmpacL on Lop- and boLLom-llne resulLs. Cnce Lhese resulLs begln Lo maLerlallze,
however, Lhey appear Lo conLlnue Lo grow commensuraLe wlLh Lhe lnvesLmenL. 82C lndusLrles Lend Lo
see resulLs more rapldly Lhan 828. lL appears LhaL Lhere ls a correlaLlon such LhaL lndusLrles wlLh lnLense
compeLlLlon show helghLened lmpacL from Lhe CCC.
!"#$%%"&'()*$&+ cOs ooJ 8ootJs most commlt ftom tbe ootset to soppott ooJ lovest lo tbe ccO ooJ
bls/bet loltlotlves fot o mlolmom of two yeots to eosote tbe blqbest kOl. lo toto, ccOs most moooqe tbe
expectotloos of tbe cO ooJ 8ootJ to ollow fot tbls two-yeot ptobotloooty petloJ.
The CCO must show contribution to long-term revenue and profitability
improvements
Companles have demonsLraLed measurable lmprovemenLs ln revenues and proflLs whlle employlng a
CCC. ln some cases, overall revenue drops afLer Lhe CCC's deparLure. 1hls research shows LhaL Lhe CCC
can and should be accounLable for lmprovlng Lop-and boLLom-llne resulLs, alLhough Lhe lmpacL may noL
be measurable on a quarLerly basls.
!"#$%%"&'()*$&+ cOs sboolJ expect tbe ccO to ptovlJe, lo oJJltloo to lotetmeJlote mettlcs,
poootlfloble lmpoct oo teveooe ooJ ptoflts, ooJ eosote tbe systems ote lo ploce to ptopetly ttock tbe
ccO's coottlbotloo. 1be ccO sboolJ beqlo by ptovlJloq o cleot lloe of slqbt ftom bls ot bet octloos to
teveooe ooJ ptofltoblllty. lo some coses, tbe cO ooJ ccO moy oeeJ to beqlo by oqteeloq opoo oo
lotetmeJlote qool of Jtlvloq loyolty ooJ occept ocoJemlc teseotcb ptovloq tbot loyolty Jtlves teveooe
ooJ ptoflt. nowevet, tbls coo ooly be tempototy.
In absence of growth, the CCO may help prevent a slide
ln some lndusLrles LhaL experlenced negaLlve growLh, Lhe presence of Lhe CCC helped sLem Lhe decllne
suffered Lhrough compeLlLors and malnLaln revenues/proflLs Lhrough sLronger cusLomer relaLlonshlps
and LrusL.

35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) 226-8675
curtis@ccocouncil.org | www.ccocouncil.org
2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

4
!"#$%%"&'()*$&+ 1be ccO most "book" costomet ttost ooJ loyolty to ptotect costomets oqolost botJ
tlmes. cOs oeeJ to toke o less ttoosoctloool vlew of octlvltles tbot moy poy JlvlJeoJs ot o lotet Jote.
Everyone says they are customer centric
Lvery company clalms Lo be cusLomer cenLrlc, buL fewer acLually llve up Lo Lhe clalm. Many publlcly-
sLaLed company pollcles remaln company cenLrlc raLher Lhan cusLomer cenLrlc, and ln Lhe end, Lhose
whose acLlons are allgned wlLh Lhelr cusLomer needs are more successful.
!"#$%%"&'()*$&+ 1be ccO sboolJ, wltb tbe soppott of tbe cO, exomloe tbe pollcles, octloos, ooJ
testtlctloos to eosote tbot costomet oeeJs ote met oo bolooce wltb bosloess oeeJs.
Strength i n Numbers
1hls sLudy clearly shows one Lhlng: CCC's are addlng value Lo Lhe boLLom llne. Whlle growlng sLeadlly
from fewer Lhan 30 ln 2003, CCCs are Lhe newesL, and by far Lhe smallesL, componenL of Lhe C-sulLe.
Many companles look aL Lhe CCC poslLlon and quesLlon lf Lhey can afford Lo add lL Lo Lhelr C-SulLe Leam,
buL Lhe numbers Lurn LhaL quesLlon on lLs head and ask how Lhey can afford nC1 Lo do so.
WheLher you are a company looklng Lo creaLe a CCC poslLlon or currenLly a CCC looklng for resources,
we lnvlLe Lo you Lo explore Lhe CCC Councll (www.ccocouncll.org) Lo glve you and your company a Lrue
compeLlLlve advanLage.



35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) 226-8675
curtis@ccocouncil.org | www.ccocouncil.org
2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

5
-(.*/()*&/ )0" 1)$2% - ln Lhls arLlcle by CurLls n. 8lngham, feaLurlng Pelen 8urL, Chlef CusLomer Cfflcer of
Callfornla's largesL uLlllLy company, aclflc Cas & LlecLrlc, you'll learn four proven pracLlces for managlng
cusLomer crlses LhaL you can begln Lo lmplemenL befote crlsls sLrlkes.
uowolooJ yoot ftee copy toJoy ot www.ccocooocll.otq/excloslvetesootces/

About CURTIS N. BINGHAM
As LxecuLlve ulrecLor of Lhe Chlef CusLomer Cfflcer Councll`, CurLls 8lngham ls
Lhe recognlzed auLhorlLy on chlef cusLomer offlcers and Lhe flrsL Lo promoLe Lhls
role as a caLalysL for compeLlLlve advanLage. Pe ls Lhe creaLor of Lhe CCC
8oadmap, a groundbreaklng work conLalnlng 100+ crlLlcal sLraLegles essenLlal for
cusLomer cenLrlclLy. As an lnLernaLlonal speaker, auLhor, and consulLanL, CurLls ls
passlonaLe abouL creaLlng cusLomer sLraLegy Lo susLalnably grow revenue, proflL,
and loyalLy.

About THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCIL
1he Chlef CusLomer Cfflcer Councll ls Lhe flrsL of lLs klnd, a member-
led peer-advlsory neLwork offerlng unparalleled lnslghL lnLo Lhe
crlLlcal lssues faclng CCCs. lL was creaLed Lo provlde a safe
envlronmenL where CCCs can share ldeas, concerns, and bulld besL
pracLlces LhaL well help Lhem, Lhelr companles, and especlally Lhelr
cusLomers succeed. 1he Councll lncludes CCCs from dlverse
lndusLrles, purposefully cross-polllnaLed wlLh Lhe mosL forward-
Lhlnklng companles, large and small. lor more lnformaLlon, vlslL
www.ccocouncll.org, emall lnfo[ccocouncll.org or call 978-226-8673.


lor more resources from CurLls 8lngham and Lhe CCC Councll, lncludlng arLlcles, vldeos, and 1be
8loqbom AJvlsoty, vlslL www.ccocouncll.org.

Copyright Notice
All cooteot cootoloeJ lo tbls ottlcle ls copytlqbt ptotecteJ motetlol. keptoJoctloo, lo wbole ot lo pott, lo ooy fotm ot meJlom, wltboot tbe
exptess wtltteo petmlssloo of tbe cblef costomet Offlcet cooocll ls sttlctly ptoblblteJ. cootoct eoccocooocll.otq fot teptlots.