Published by Gbaf News
Posted on May 4, 2018
8 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Kris McKenzie, Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA at Calabrio
In a world of connected customers, building the right experience is every company’s top priority. Now more than ever, companies are turning to technology and data to better connect with customers in order to build loyalty and drive growth. In the fast-paced, ever-changing world of FinTech, it’s no different.
Kris McKenzie
FinTech companies like TransferWise are disrupting the traditional banking industry by combining easy-to-use products with a great customer experience. Now, many banks are falling behind—and for good reason. A recent survey from PwC found that only 53 percent of respondents from the banking sector believed they were customer-centric, compared to a whopping 80 percent of FinTech respondents.
This customer-centric shift is fundamentally changing the C-suite, and the roles of CEOs, Chief Market Officers (CMOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs)are more complex than ever before.CMOs and CIOs, in particular, are in the thick of trying to convert the surplus amount of customer data into increased revenue and business growth. As the FinTech industry grapples with these changes, the roles of the CMO and CIO are evolving. However, the key to driving growth and customer experience success requires a key addition to this duo: The Chief Customer Officer (CCO).
The modern CMO role has changed. CMOs are required to stay abreast of customer changes, and many now oversee the customer experience completely. This means that they either control or heavily influence customer-focused technology spending, all in an effort to acquire new customers and decrease churn. However, with that, the CMO is venturing into what has traditionally been the CIO’s territory. Typically, the CIO is the technology-enabler—overseeing deployment, security and support—and can potentially block new customer experience technology implementations. Given these dynamics, it’s no wonder that 47 percent of CMOs say that they don’t have the right tools in place to understand customer challenges.
To address those challenges, organisations must listen to their customers. The CMO and CIO are sitting on vast amounts of customer data, but it’s the CCO that holds the keys to unlocking the voice of the customer. Reason being, the CCO oversees the most human element in the entire customer journey: the contact centre.
The contact centre is on the front lines of customer relations and loyalty building. Every day, contact centre agents act as brand ambassadors during their hundreds, if not thousands, of customer interactions. And they get to hear first-hand what customers prefer and their challenges and desires.
However, 56 percent of senior leadership say they only sometimes or occasionally use customer interaction data from the contact centre to inform decisions—and it’s clear they’re missing out. According to McKinsey, customer interaction analytics give organisations rapid insights that can help build customer loyalty, improve employee morale and increase revenue 5to10 percent. With much of the information from the contact centre falling by the wayside, the CCO will play a critical role in bringing those insights into the C-suite.
This year alone, the number of communication channels is expected to grow from nine to 11, creating more opportunities for companies to hear what customers have to say. It’s the contact centre that’s at the heart of those interactions, and it’s the contact centre agents who have a firm grasp on customer sentiment via email, social, phone or any other method. However, without the right oversight, data becomes siloed and the value is lost. Not only does the CCO role demolish silos by placing one executive in charge of the end-to-end experience, the CCO is unleashing powerful pieces of information on an individual and aggregate level.
With the help of the CCO, this voice-of-the-customer data will become a fundamental driver of customer experience strategies.In the end, the CCO will round out the C-suite trifecta and bridge the gap between the CMO and CIO. Changes or trends in customer sentiment will inform marketing and customer experience strategies, enabling CMOs to make informed decisions and quickly measure reaction. In addition, the right customer insights can empower the CIO with the right information to validate the need for customer-focused technology implementations.
As FinTech companies continue to place increased importance on the customer experience and seek to truly become customer-centric, the roles within the C-suite will continue to change. Data is more important than ever to driving this change, but CMOs and CIOs mired in an influx of information. The CCO who can zero in on the voice of the customer in all the noise, and it’s these customer insights that provide the right context to data, and will ultimately increase customer acquisition, build brand loyalty and decrease churn. With the addition of the CCO, this new power triangle can transform the customer experience and drive real business results.
Kris McKenzie, Senior Vice President and General Manager for EMEA at Calabrio
In a world of connected customers, building the right experience is every company’s top priority. Now more than ever, companies are turning to technology and data to better connect with customers in order to build loyalty and drive growth. In the fast-paced, ever-changing world of FinTech, it’s no different.
Kris McKenzie
FinTech companies like TransferWise are disrupting the traditional banking industry by combining easy-to-use products with a great customer experience. Now, many banks are falling behind—and for good reason. A recent survey from PwC found that only 53 percent of respondents from the banking sector believed they were customer-centric, compared to a whopping 80 percent of FinTech respondents.
This customer-centric shift is fundamentally changing the C-suite, and the roles of CEOs, Chief Market Officers (CMOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs)are more complex than ever before.CMOs and CIOs, in particular, are in the thick of trying to convert the surplus amount of customer data into increased revenue and business growth. As the FinTech industry grapples with these changes, the roles of the CMO and CIO are evolving. However, the key to driving growth and customer experience success requires a key addition to this duo: The Chief Customer Officer (CCO).
The modern CMO role has changed. CMOs are required to stay abreast of customer changes, and many now oversee the customer experience completely. This means that they either control or heavily influence customer-focused technology spending, all in an effort to acquire new customers and decrease churn. However, with that, the CMO is venturing into what has traditionally been the CIO’s territory. Typically, the CIO is the technology-enabler—overseeing deployment, security and support—and can potentially block new customer experience technology implementations. Given these dynamics, it’s no wonder that 47 percent of CMOs say that they don’t have the right tools in place to understand customer challenges.
To address those challenges, organisations must listen to their customers. The CMO and CIO are sitting on vast amounts of customer data, but it’s the CCO that holds the keys to unlocking the voice of the customer. Reason being, the CCO oversees the most human element in the entire customer journey: the contact centre.
The contact centre is on the front lines of customer relations and loyalty building. Every day, contact centre agents act as brand ambassadors during their hundreds, if not thousands, of customer interactions. And they get to hear first-hand what customers prefer and their challenges and desires.
However, 56 percent of senior leadership say they only sometimes or occasionally use customer interaction data from the contact centre to inform decisions—and it’s clear they’re missing out. According to McKinsey, customer interaction analytics give organisations rapid insights that can help build customer loyalty, improve employee morale and increase revenue 5to10 percent. With much of the information from the contact centre falling by the wayside, the CCO will play a critical role in bringing those insights into the C-suite.
This year alone, the number of communication channels is expected to grow from nine to 11, creating more opportunities for companies to hear what customers have to say. It’s the contact centre that’s at the heart of those interactions, and it’s the contact centre agents who have a firm grasp on customer sentiment via email, social, phone or any other method. However, without the right oversight, data becomes siloed and the value is lost. Not only does the CCO role demolish silos by placing one executive in charge of the end-to-end experience, the CCO is unleashing powerful pieces of information on an individual and aggregate level.
With the help of the CCO, this voice-of-the-customer data will become a fundamental driver of customer experience strategies.In the end, the CCO will round out the C-suite trifecta and bridge the gap between the CMO and CIO. Changes or trends in customer sentiment will inform marketing and customer experience strategies, enabling CMOs to make informed decisions and quickly measure reaction. In addition, the right customer insights can empower the CIO with the right information to validate the need for customer-focused technology implementations.
As FinTech companies continue to place increased importance on the customer experience and seek to truly become customer-centric, the roles within the C-suite will continue to change. Data is more important than ever to driving this change, but CMOs and CIOs mired in an influx of information. The CCO who can zero in on the voice of the customer in all the noise, and it’s these customer insights that provide the right context to data, and will ultimately increase customer acquisition, build brand loyalty and decrease churn. With the addition of the CCO, this new power triangle can transform the customer experience and drive real business results.
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