Jeanne Bliss

CEO’s no longer need to be convinced of the importance of developing relationships with profitable customers and keeping them around. What they need now is a way to accomplish this feat. Some are considering the creation of a C-level position to drive the action. However, beyond the notion that it’s a good idea, not many know how to structure the Chief Customer Officer role and its place in the organization. Here are some thoughts to help you proceed.

Suggesting a CCO may seem frivolous to leaders who believe they already focus on customers. There’s often a proliferation of tactics and projects underway…the problem is they don’t amount to anything significant for customers. So first decide: will leaders be okay with someone (other than themselves) driving consensus on customer strategy and deliverables? You may be saying, “We have consensus now.” I’m sure that you’ve had some good meetings, but how much of it stuck? When they were...

Creating a Customer Culture Starts with Hiring. You’ve got to know your higher purpose in customers’ lives. You’ve got to know what you stand for. And you’ve got to know what type of environment you are creating.

If you know the answers to these issues, your ability to find someone to fit and enrich your culture is yards ahead of most. It’s about being deliberate.

Leaders in beloved companies don’t worry about hiring a great employee and having him leave in three months. Instead they worry about hiring a bad employee and having him stay for three years.

In last year’s labor market, however, managers were grateful if they got any applicants for a job – let alone highly qualified applications. As of Sept. 2009, the employment rate was at 3%, meaning only 3% of new jobs open out there are new. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 3.0 million job openings on the last business day of May 2011. The rate of hires for U.S. nonfarm jobs...

Give customers peace of mind

Alma Rettew bought a holiday gift for a friend, and asked L.L. Bean, whom she bought it from, to get it to her friend on a specific date (the company has a service to do this). Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the system, and the gift arrived before the holiday, spoiling Alma’s surprise for her friend. When Alma called in to L.L. Bean to register her complaint, her fear and “dukes up” concern that she might have to fight to get her situation addressed was quickly disarmed by the quick and rapid response she received. Ms. Rettew was offered two options for solving her problem. She could receive a refund, or have a complimentary duplicate of her gift sent to her recipient at the correct time. In addition, she received a sincere apology and a promise that the company would contact her friend and explain what had transpired. The burden would...

CustomInk is a $70 million T-shirt shop that prints custom T-shirts for family reunions and group and business events. Because actual people at CustomInk personally review every single order, they know what events their products are being printed for. The company saw so many shirts being created for charities that they decided to become personally invested in these causes. So whenever a T-shirt gets printed by CustomInk for a charity event, they send a donation. Done initially as a casual gesture by Lori Mayfield, a CustomInk order analyst, now, Mayfield says, “we try to donate to every charity event that our customers hold close to their hearts.”

Giving Back to the Customer’s Cause

CustomInk wouldn’t feel right printing T-shirts for a charitable organization without giving back to their cause. With this one gesture they let their customers know they back their efforts. What’s most important...