The Homa Files

Excerpted from HBS Discussion Leaders “How CEO’s Should Work with Customers” by John Quelch, September 22, 2008

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Customers are the source of all cash flow. Organic growth depends on developing relationships with new and existing customers. And future growth prospects are baked into stock market valuations of companies.

An increasingly high percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs have not come up the ranks through marketing or sales…actual customer expertise is typically a mile wide and an inch deep.

Marketing expertise depends on customer insights…To be customer-oriented, executives must get out and meet customers on their home turf – in their homes, on job sites, in their offices. in stores.   ..

Over time, the need for customer insights should mean a higher percentage of general managers coming up through the marketing ranks..

Edit by SAC

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Full article:
http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/quelch/2008/09/how_ceos_should_work_with_cust.html

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This entry was posted on November 21, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Customer Satisfaction - Loyalty, Management - General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.