SHORT HILLS, N.J., July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In a study released
today, Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) revealed data that uncovers
the changing role finance leaders play in stewarding their
organization's customer experience, a mandate traditionally viewed
as one of the chief marketing officer. Because positive business
results are often fueled by great customer experiences, chief
financial officers are increasingly using data and analytics to
become customer-obsessed to ensure their organization's customer
strategy is rooted in insights that will drive favorable
outcomes.
The Customer-Obsessed Finance Leader, a study commissioned by
Dun & Bradstreet and conducted by Forrester Consulting,
found:
- Thirty-six percent of company finance executives surveyed were
identified as customer-obsessed Leaders, making customer-focused
initiatives a top priority this year and reporting increases in
customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction.
- Customer-obsessed finance Leaders reported year-over-year
increases in revenue, profitability, and cash-flow at a rate of 10
to 30 percentage points greater than their less advanced
peers.
- Data- and insights-driven companies are 39 percent more likely
to report year-over-year revenue growth of 15 percent or more.
- Seventy-nine percent of customer-obsessed Leaders indicated
that their organization will likely increase spending on technology
applications to support customer engagement.
- Implementation of a customer-obsessed strategy requires mastery
of seven data competencies that must be aligned across people,
processes, and technologies.
CFOs, with their leadership position, cross-organizational
perspective, and ability to understand complex sets of data, are
uniquely positioned to implement insights-driven behaviors and
processes within their organizations. Investing in the right tools
and technology, as well as augmenting internal data with
third-party data and analytics are some of the key actions leading
finance executives are taking.
Challenges to becoming truly customer-obsessed persist;
disconnected strategies within the organization, disparate data,
inconsistent metrics, and a lack of investment in technology are
among respondents' most cited obstacles.
The study further outlines seven critical data competencies to
master, qualities and resulting metrics that set customer-obsessed
finance leaders and followers apart, and how-to strategies to focus
efforts around using data and analytics to become a
customer-obsessed organization. Download a copy of the full study:
http://www.dnb.com/customerobsessedCFO
The survey, fielded within North
America, Europe, and
Asia Pacific in February 2017, included feedback from 250 finance
executives (CFOs or EVPs of finance) from companies in multiple
industries generating $150 million or
more in revenue.
About Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE:
DNB) grows the most valuable relationships in business. By
uncovering truth and meaning from data, we connect our customers
with the prospects, suppliers, clients and partners that matter
most, and have since 1841. Nearly ninety percent of the Fortune
500, and companies of every size around the world, rely on our
data, insights and analytics. For more about Dun & Bradstreet,
visit DNB.com. Twitter: @DnBUS
Contacts
Media:
Deborah McBride
Dun & Bradstreet
mcbrided@dnb.com
+1 973 921 5714
Louise Cavanagh
Dun & Bradstreet (UK)
cavanaghl@dnb.com
+ 44 (0)1628 492133
Investors:
Kathy Guinnessey
Dun & Bradstreet
Kathy.Guinnessey@dnb.com
+1 973 921 5892
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SOURCE Dun & Bradstreet