Net promoter score, engagement, satisfaction. The list of customer metrics continues to grow, but which is the most indicative of a firm’s financial growth, and which is just a fad? Research by C-CUBES researchers points to a clear winner.
Microsoft appears to be coping well with the “WannaCry” computer “ransomware”, even as the company’s president sharply criticized a U.S. spy agency for its role in exacerbating a weakness in Windows. This vulnerability allowed hackers to steal and utilize it in order to launch the largest “ransomware” attack in cyber history. Contrast to the aloof and distant approach employed by airlines, Microsoft has done well to support its customers under the tough circumstances. Not only did Microsoft proactively issue solutions for lapses in its current software, it even did so for software versions that were no longer being supported. Thus, when it comes to customer safety, Microsoft excelled.
Customer-Based Execution and Strategy (CUBES) is research collaborative that helps executives maximize the value of their most precious asset—the company’s customer base.
Collaborative for CUBES is a unique, data-driven approach to developing and executing strategy in a way that helps a company’s initiatives to fully align with customer needs. Using a proprietary survey of customers and state-of-the-art analytics, CUBES can help executives answer critical questions to develop and execute strategy:
- What are the financial outcomes—sales, margins, EBITDA, stock price—of satisfying customer needs?
- What key strategic priorities will differentiate you from competitors?
- Within the key strategic priorities, what execution levers should you pull?
In the last few quarters Buffet has sold a large portion of his stake in IBM, while amassing Apple. He’s right, and data from the Collaborative for Customer-Based Execution & Strategy™ supports his decision.
VIKAS MITTAL, SHRIHARI SRIDHAR, AND TRANG DUONG
Microsoft has key competition like Google searching for answers on at least one critical metric—overall customer satisfaction. Microsoft’s most prominent competitors, particularly in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, are Google and Oracle. In a 2016 Interbrand study, Google ranked as the world’s second best brand, beating Microsoft at number 4. Oracle placed 17th.
BY VIKAS MITTAL AND SHRIHARI SRIDHAR
President Barack Obama recently stated the challenge: “We are a digitalized culture, and there is hacking going on every single day. There’s not a company … where somebody is not going to be phishing for something or trying to penetrate, or put in a virus or malware.” Over the last decade, high-profile information-security breaches, such as those at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, and Neiman Marcus have caused widespread customer dissatisfaction.
VIKAS MITTAL, SHRIHARI SRIDHAR AND TRANG DUONG
Even as Staples announced the closure of 70 stores on March 9 – those on the heels of 48 store closures in 2016 and 242 in previous years – CEO Shira Goodman said she had reason for optimism. “I am particularly proud of our ability to grow our delivery business by continuing to enhance our offering and satisfy our business customers,” she said in a meeting with investors.
