Marketing Profs

I've never seen a CEO who wouldn't sign up for customer loyalty, customer focus, and just plain improving things for their customers. It's getting them to drive the company to do something about it that's the challenge.

A number of telltale signs determine pretty quickly whether a company is serious about the job or not—beginning with the CEO and leadership and cascading all the way through the ranks of the company.

Specific leadership actions occur in companies that have taken the commitment past lip service. Understanding customer issues and what drives customer loyalty becomes the stuff of everyday conversations—not just when one soul has been lucky enough to get it on the CEO's staff meeting agenda! The issues are trended and understood and talked about. Building customer experiences and relationships is considered the true "work" of the organization—not something layered on the "real" work of achieving quarterly sales goals.

CEO has personal ownership

A CEO leader on a customer mission takes responsibility for driving value for customers and improving the customer experience. This is not something jobbed out to someone else. Although a lieutenant will be need to help drive the work (because the CEO has an entire company to run, after all), the CEO is an engaged and active participant.

In meetings and in communication, CEOs with this commitment seem to have an internal compass that allows them to steer company efforts in the right direction. They are not timid about challenging ideas or pushing separate operating areas to work out what appear to be potentially hazardous for customer experiences.

These CEOs demand engagement and will work hard to make sure that issues are worked out when there is potential confusion or dissent about changing direction or taking new, uncomfortable actions. These leaders have clarity about where they want to take the company and what they want it to become for customers. They inspire people directionally and don't do it with empty promises and a hand-wave or a proclamation of "just go make this happen, will you?"

Commitment Questions 1 and 2:

• Does your CEO clearly articulate what he/she wants the company to become for customers and constantly reinforce and drive the company in that direction?
  
  
• Is there a commitment for organizational transformation, not some one-off tactics and silver bullets?

CEO makes the customer champion an officer of the company

Because these leaders recognize that this is organizational transformation, they grasp completely that it will not happen with a public proclamation and a great kick-off memo. It's understood that they need an executive-level partner to bring the transformation about.