Customer engagement is a top priority with CMOs

CMOs today are faced with a wide range of business-critical responsibilities. But none more pressing than the need to figure out how to best engage with customers.  In a new study released by the Korn/Ferry Marketing Center of Expertise, a majority (52%) of marketing executives say that customer engagement is their top priority.

The driving pursuit to better engage with customers is clear in the Korn/Ferry survey which polled 124 CMOs and marketing leaders from top U.S. companies. Execs pointed to creating sustainable and engaging customer relationships (30%) as critical for sustained profitability, and about quarter of the respondents (22%) point to a growing focus on managing the customer experience.

The lack of a unified approach to customer engagement seems to be a barrier, however; with many executives indicating that the organizational roles and responsibilities remain unclear. Indeed, 35% of respondents believe that the marketing department is solely responsible for customer experience and engagement; 31% believe it is a joint marketing and sales effort; 28% say it is a multi-functional task force; 3% say the job falls to no one.

Caren Fleit, Senior Client Partner and head of Korn/Ferry International’s Global Marketing Center of Expertise, said this about the study. “The marketing team is wholly tasked with engaging customers across multiple touch points to build brand value, and as a result business value. The best marketers will know how to leverage all the moving parts to create a unique, long-lasting relationship with customers that can ultimately be monetized on behalf of the business.”