Customer loyalty should be a top priority for any firm pursuing business growth, and can be assisted by CEOs and business leaders that are willing to personally connect with stakeholders via digital platforms such as their own social media feeds or blog.
Having a leader who understands digital media and the importance of listening, responding and anticipating the needs of customers and stakeholders on these platforms is proving key to encouraging a long-serving, sustained customer relationship.
Research recently conducted by Sitecore reveals that CEOs and business leaders who enter into this type of two-way digital communication, also known as the ‘Personal Touch’ leadership style, are more likely to manage organisations that have a healthy business-to-customer relationship.
This is fuelled by the general interest which surrounds CEOs and business leaders, with the research revealing that FTSE 350 companies embracing a Personal Touch approach benefit from an increase in online traffic. Furthermore, more than half of the Personal Touch firms have around 150 authors writing about them on the internet, compared to 33% of the companies that use a PR or marketing agency to manage their digital channels.
The research also reveals that the performance of Personal Touch firms since 2009/10 has exceeded all other firms in the FTSE 350. This is demonstrated by annual growth rates in turnover and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in turnover and profit. Additionally, Personal Touch firms recorded a CAGR of 27% from 2009 to 2012 and a rate of 30% for 2010 to 2012. This compares to a rate of just 9% from 2009 to 2012, and 13% from 2010 to 2012 by the next best performing group; corporate two-way firms, compounding the commercial advantages of the Personal Touch leadership style.
However, despite the benefits of this digitally connected leadership approach, just 7% of the businesses analysed are adopting it. This means that in sectors where building strong customer relationships are particularly vital, a large proportion of leaders are missing the opportunity to interact effectively with their customers or stakeholders.
Customers today expect to have direct contact with brands and their leaders through digital channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or company blogs. In the ever-changing digital landscape, where the number of social media users is continuing to grow, the majority of CEOs are missing out on a valuable opportunity to engage their stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue directly, and boost the commercial growth of their firm as a result.
If business leaders seize the opportunity to actively engage in conversations with consumers online, the wider customer base gains more insight into the brand and its leader and are more likely to trust the brand as a result.
More widely, across the organisation, listening, engaging and taking care of customers’ needs remains vital to building strong relationships. This can only happen when organisations have the ability to use the knowledge about their customer across all interactions - on and offline, using digital marketing systems that can manage these interactions. This ensures the dialogue is real-time and relevant to each customer.
Having a forward-thinking leader or CEO who is digitally connected is a relatively easy and effective way of enhancing customer loyalty and building relationships, which will stand the test of time.
By Shawn Cabral, Marketing Director, Sitecore UK
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