Michael MaozWhat else are you going to do with your tight budget besides invest in processes that will bring you closer to the customer? Money in the bank earns nothing. Investors are already aware that your earnings and profits will come in low. But you could really incite them in a positive way if they were to see that you are fighting tooth and nail to keep your customers engaged. To keep them in contact. To show them you are listening. To demonstrate that you are winning their loyalty without raising costs?
Yet what we are seeing is that the CIO might not be the right place for innovation around customer processes. I’m not going to give you our survey results, but I will say that in speaking with end user organizations in customer service, web strategies, and in marketing department – on the one hand – and comparing that to what solution providers are telling us about who is signing the checks these days, and a picture emerges: IT is not the leader, but the supporter or the inhibitor. And I am not talking about 50% on way and 50% another way. Instead, over 90% of people sponsoring innovative projects around CRM are not in IT, but in a line of business.
Part of the reason IT is lagging in improving customer processes instead of leading is that IT has to live within the CapEx budget and has little discretionary money to spend. The other is that performance metrics in IT are not based on improvement to the customer experience. Who, in a similar position, would step out and drive projects for which there is downside but little upside?
The prognosis: sales, service, and marketing managers reporting to chief customer officers (whatever they are called) will continue to push innovation, while IT will play the role of follower and support. The best companies are bringing together both sides of the house, as customer process improvement powered by IT but driven by the business is proving to be a successful formula.
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