We hear the following all the time: “We need our leaders to ‘obsess’ more about our customers and put customers at the center of their day-to-day decisions and work. What can we do to make that happen?”

Most of the people expressing such concerns already have tried the usual things, such as getting the CEO and other leaders to visit branches, spend time on the call-in line listening to customer inquiries and complaints, and tag along on occasional sales visits.

The fact that we’re being asked the same question over and over again, however, would appear to indicate that the “usual things” aren’t working.

The Customer Experience

We all know how important the customer experience is. As J. Christopher Westland of the University of Illinois Chicago pointed out in a recent journal article, some 30 years of academic research has shown a clear link between “superior customer experiences” and all of the following:

1. “increased customer loyalty and retention,”
2. more-frequent and larger customer purchases,
3. stronger brand value,
4. easier new customer acquisition—at lower cost,
5. “fewer complaints and returns,”
6. less attrition among customer-service employees, and
7. improved company agility and resilience.

But not every organization has figured out how to provide superior customer experiences on a consistent basis. And often, it’s because the organization’s leadership is focused elsewhere.

In fact, research suggests that most CEOs spend very little time with, or focusing on, customers. Data indicate that most already are working some 60-to-70 hours a week, and there’s only so much they can do. Meetings alone consume nearly three-quarters of the typical CEO’s workday.