Page 13 - HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategic Marketing

RUST, MOORMAN, AND BHALLA
Idea in Brief

Companies have never before had be made subservient to customer
such powerful technologies for relationships. And that means
understanding and interacting transforming the marketing
with customers. Yet too many department—traditionally focused
firms operate as if they’re stuck in on current sales—into a “customer
the 1960s, an era of mass market- department” by: replacing the
ing, mass media, and impersonal CMO with a chief customer officer,
transactions. cultivating customers rather than
pushing products, adopting new
To compete in an aggressively performance metrics, and
interactive environment, companies bringing under the marketing
must shift their focus from driving umbrella all customer-focused
transactions to maximizing departments, including R&D and
customer lifetime value. That customer service.
means products and brands must

Building relationships

Product-Manager Driven Customer-Manager Driven
Many companies still depend on What’s needed is customer managers
product managers and one-way who engage individual customers or
mass marketing to push a product narrow segments in two-way communi-
to many customers. cations, building long-term relationships
by promoting whichever of the company’s
products the customer would value
most at any given time.

Product Customer

Customer Product

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