Customer expectation in the United States has held steady for the last decade, while customer satisfaction has deteriorated. To reverse this trend, many companies are now strategically leveraging all parts of their organizations to offer customer-centric approaches to increase customer satisfaction. CEOs can potentially serve as important customer service reps in complementary roles to frontline customer service, sales, and customer experience management personnel. But do the potential benefits of the CEO as customer service rep outweigh the potential drawbacks?
When CEOs Engage Directly with Customers
A look at the pros and cons.
November 22, 2022
Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
Summary.
CEOs can potentially serve as important customer service reps in complementary roles to frontline customer service, sales, and customer experience management personnel. But do the potential benefits of the CEO as customer service rep outweigh the potential drawbacks? The author explores the research on both sides.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Customer Focus Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Customer Focus. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to keep your customers—and their most important needs—front and center.