Overview

Most companies' leaders declare their commitment to delivering value to customers. Many have adopted language such as "customer-centric" or "customer-obsessed." Companies that consistently earn top marks for customer loyalty in their industry deliver total shareholder returns 2-3 times the market average. Yet, even the companies most committed to customer loyalty often take actions that harm customer relationships, erode value delivered to customers, and in extreme cases, enrage them. Ultimately, this erodes not only customer value, but also shareholder value. Professor Markey's research is focused on understanding why this happens and developing management and leadership techniques for overcoming it. These include the exploration of changes to corporate disclosure rules, development of customer value reporting and analytic tools, and creation of operating models that align accountability and authority around the activities that deliver measurable value to customers.