The Chief Customer Officer: Your Next Career Move?

If you‘ve been in a sales, marketing, or customer service role for a while, you may be wondering: what‘s next? How can I continue to advance my career and make a bigger impact? One exciting possibility to consider is the role of Chief Customer Officer (CCO).

The CCO is a relatively new addition to the C-suite, but one that is rapidly gaining traction as more and more companies recognize the critical importance of customer experience. In fact, a study by the CCO Council found that the number of Fortune 100 companies with a CCO nearly doubled between 2012 and 2017.

So what exactly does a CCO do, and how can you position yourself to take on this high-impact role? Let‘s dive in.

The Chief Customer Officer: Responsibilities and Impact

At its core, the CCO‘s mission is to ensure that the customer is at the center of everything the company does. This means understanding customer needs, preferences, and behaviors, and using those insights to drive strategy, operations, and culture.

Some specific responsibilities of a CCO may include:

• Developing and executing a comprehensive customer experience strategy
• Analyzing customer feedback and data to identify opportunities for improvement
• Collaborating with other executives to embed customer-centricity across the organization
• Designing and implementing customer loyalty and retention programs
• Serving as the "voice of the customer" in high-level decision making
• Leading customer experience innovation and digital transformation efforts

The impact of a strong CCO can be transformative for a business. Research by Forrester has found that companies with superior customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80%. They also enjoy higher customer loyalty, greater wallet share, and more positive word-of-mouth.

Real-world examples of successful CCOs and their initiatives include:

• Sandy Rogers, former CCO at Orbitz Worldwide: Launched a "Customer First" program that improved net promoter score by 20% and reduced customer complaints by 50% in just one year.
• Tom McCabe, CCO at SAP: Led a global effort to increase empathy for customers, resulting in a 30-point increase in net promoter score and a 10% increase in renewal rates.
• Sue Nokes, CCO at Verizon: Implemented a "Customers First" training program for all 130,000 employees, contributing to a 15% reduction in customer churn.

As these examples illustrate, the CCO can drive tangible, measurable results that directly impact the bottom line.

The Path to Chief Customer Officer: Skills and Experiences to Cultivate

So what does it take to become a CCO? While there is no single path to the role, most successful CCOs share a combination of the following skills and experiences:

Skill/Experience	Why It Matters
Deep customer understanding	CCOs must be experts in customer needs, preferences, and behaviors. This requires a combination of analytical skills to derive insights from data and empathy to truly understand the customer perspective.
Cross-functional leadership	Driving customer-centricity requires close collaboration with leaders across the organization, from marketing and sales to product and operations. CCOs must be skilled at influencing without authority and building alignment around shared goals.
Business and financial acumen	To make a compelling case for customer experience investments, CCOs need a strong grasp of business strategy and financial metrics. They must be able to tie CX initiatives directly to revenue, profitability, and growth.
Change management expertise	Embedding customer-centricity often requires significant cultural and operational change. CCOs must be adept at driving transformation, overcoming resistance, and rallying employees around a customer-focused vision.
Digital savvy	In today‘s digital-first world, CCOs must be well-versed in emerging technologies and their potential to enhance the customer experience. This includes everything from AI and machine learning to VR and voice interfaces.

In addition to developing these core competencies, aspiring CCOs can set themselves up for success by:

1. Gaining exposure to multiple customer-facing functions: Rotations in sales, marketing, customer service, and product management provide valuable context for understanding the end-to-end customer journey.

2. Taking on customer experience leadership roles: Look for opportunities to lead CX initiatives within your current organization, such as developing a Voice of the Customer program or spearheading a customer journey mapping project.

3. Building a network of CX peers and mentors: Connect with other customer experience professionals through industry events, online communities, and local meetups. Seek out mentors who have successfully made the transition to a CCO role.

4. Staying on top of CX trends and best practices: Continuously educate yourself on the latest CX strategies, technologies, and case studies. Attend conferences, read industry publications, and participate in online courses and webinars.

By focusing on these areas, you‘ll be well-positioned to make the leap to a CCO role when the opportunity arises.

The Future of the Chief Customer Officer Role

As more companies wake up to the value of customer-centricity, the demand for skilled CCOs will only continue to grow. In fact, a study by Walker projects that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator.

This suggests that the CCO role will become increasingly critical and influential in the years to come. We may see more companies elevating the CCO to a true C-level position, reporting directly to the CEO. We may also see a greater emphasis on data and analytics skills as companies seek to harness the power of customer insights to drive growth.

Additionally, as customer expectations continue to rise and new technologies emerge, CCOs will need to be at the forefront of innovation. They‘ll need to anticipate and adapt to changing customer needs, and continuously experiment with new approaches to delivering exceptional experiences.

Conclusion: Is the Chief Customer Officer Role Right for You?

Becoming a CCO is not for the faint of heart. It requires a unique blend of strategic vision, customer empathy, and business savvy. It demands the ability to lead change, make data-driven decisions, and collaborate across functions.

But for those up to the challenge, the rewards can be immense. As a CCO, you have the opportunity to make a profound impact on your company‘s success and your customers‘ lives. You get to be the voice of the customer at the highest levels of the organization, and lead the charge toward a more customer-centric future.

If that sounds like an exciting and fulfilling career path, then the CCO role may be right for you. By starting to cultivate the necessary skills and experiences today, you‘ll be well on your way to making the leap when the time is right.

So get out there and start advocating for your customers. Listen to their needs, fight for their success, and never stop learning and growing. The C-suite will be lucky to have you.