# How to navigate a seamless journey from CIO to Chief Customer Officer
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-09-16
Category: BUSINESS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business
Meta Title: Transforming CIOs into Chief Customer Officers for Enhanced
Meta Description: Explore how Chief Information Officers have transformed into Chief Customer Officers to deliver exceptional customer experiences through digital transformation
URL: https://financedigest.com/how-to-navigate-a-seamless-journey-from-cio-to-chief-customer-officerhtml

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_By_ [_**Rich Green**_](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.sugarcrm.com%2Fuk%2Fabout%2Fleadership%2F/2/0102017bc01a0449-25ebbb7e-7001-4a81-8525-d539889552a2-000000/103OHjaK9LN8sz2B-nCj0wJgClQ=234) _**,**_ _Chief Product Officer at_ [_SugarCRM_](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.sugarcrm.com%2Fuk%2F/2/0102017bc01a0449-25ebbb7e-7001-4a81-8525-d539889552a2-000000/XavJcS47FcCkiq-69J0Qn6EVyCA=234)

“ _The customer experience is the next competitive battleground_”.

Jerry Gregoire, former CIO of Dell Computers prophesised the future of the CIO in 1999 – although no one could forecast the rate at which technology would upheave the operation of businesses.

Previously, the CIO role had very little to do with customer experience, existing as more of a support function for the operation of other areas of the business. Traditionally it was seen as a back-office role, in charge of corporate technology and overseeing staff.

Fast forward to 2021 and the CIO’s [focus has shifted](https://www.financedigest.com/the-change-perspective-uks-financial-institutions-shift-focus-to-revenue-growth-in-2019.html "The Change Perspective: UK’s financial institutions shift focus to revenue growth in 2019"). The pandemic has accelerated the progression of technology even further, and the overwhelming reliance on IT has meant that the [CIO is now well and truly in every business](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-cfo-and-cio-collaboration-can-benefit-the-business.html "5 Ways CFO and CIO collaboration can benefit the business") strategy’s spotlight.

The growing dependence on digital and subscription [services is evidence of how the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/revolutionising-customer-service-three-sectors-that-are-leading-the-way.html "Revolutionising Customer Service: Three sectors that are leading the way…") is now intertwined with technology, drawing the CIO closer to their experience. Now [digital systems play a vital role in keeping the customer happy](https://www.financedigest.com/snap-happy-79-of-brits-ditch-digital-cameras-in-favour-of-phone-photos.html "Snap Happy: 79% of Brits ditch digital cameras in favour of phone photos"), the CIO’s attention has moved out of the office.

As a result, CIOs must slip seamlessly into their new role as chief customer officer (CCO), ensuring they safeguard brand reputation and loyalty by delivering on productivity and efficiency – essentially putting the [customers’ needs](https://www.financedigest.com/stay-ahead-of-the-curve-and-meet-your-customers-payments-needs.html "STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE AND MEET YOUR CUSTOMERS PAYMENTS NEEDS") first. So, how does a CIO accomplish this?

Digital transformation, staying ahead of competitors and technology, and fulfilling [customer expectations with a streamlined experience](https://www.financedigest.com/is-your-customer-experience-exceptional.html "IS YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE EXCEPTIONAL?") are the holy trinity for a CIO in their pursuit to be a successful CCO.

**Ensure fit for purpose systems**

Data-driven, high-definition customer experiences (HD-CX) are key to outperforming competitors, and so a CIO should ensure that their [company is moving away from outdated systems and keeping](https://www.financedigest.com/in-listening-mode-new-bayer-ceo-keeps-open-mind-on-company-split.html "In listening mode, new Bayer CEO keeps ‘open mind’ on company split") ahead of the curve.

Amazon’s recommendation algorithm is the perfect example of using personalisation to [stay ahead](https://www.financedigest.com/staying-ahead-of-risk-this-black-friday.html "Staying Ahead of Risk This Black Friday") of competitors. First introduced in 2010 and continually perfected since, their machine learning-powered algorithm uses input about a customer’s interests to generate a [list of recommended items](https://www.financedigest.com/myhermes-boosts-smes-by-revising-cover-model-and-excluded-items-list.html "MyHermes Boosts SMEs By Revising Cover Model And Excluded Items List"). Today, Amazon claims that these recommendations drive [35% of their sales](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fevdelo.com%2Famazons-recommendation-algorithm-drives-35-of-its-sales%2F/1/0102017bc01a0449-25ebbb7e-7001-4a81-8525-d539889552a2-000000/JDlkrOlFwfzYiCzuxvMtFQKpa8o=234).

Implementing a machine-learning system that can learn and adapt without explicit instruction [prevents staff from manually entering endless customer](https://www.financedigest.com/how-strong-customer-authentication-can-prevent-cart-abandonment.html "How Strong Customer Authentication can Prevent Cart Abandonment") details, and simultaneously allows the CIO to prevent human error.

CIOs [need to ensure no busy](https://www.financedigest.com/what-is-premises-liability-coverage-and-why-does-your-business-need-it.html "What is Premises Liability Coverage … and Why Does Your Business Need It?") work for employees by letting CRM platforms do the work, ensuring their systems automatically capture data, and present it in context to everyone who needs it.

**Embrace New Technology**

High-definition [customer experience relies on a 360-degree view of the customer, and to achieve this level of insight, a company must record every change in the customer journey](https://www.financedigest.com/how-artificial-intelligence-can-help-improvethe-customer-journey-in-insurance.html "How Artificial Intelligence can help improve the customer journey in Insurance") to reliably predict future outcomes.

Ever-developing technologies, such as AI, voice recognition, and personalisation are becoming indispensable to HD-CX. So, as they navigate their new customer-focused role, the CIO needs to become an evangelist of these tools.

AI can deliver exceptional predictions, even with incomplete [CRM data](https://www.financedigest.com/the-trend-is-your-friend-fuelling-future-growth-with-time-aware-crm-data.html "The trend is your friend – fuelling future growth with time-aware CRM data"). This is achieved by tapping vast external data to consider factors the limited CRM data doesn’t [cover](https://www.financedigest.com/how-insurance-providers-are-starting-to-use-adas-data-to-price-cover.html "How insurance providers are starting to use ADAS data to price cover") and surface insights that a company may not have known existed. These unparalleled predictions allow businesses to make confident decisions and focus on the highest priority activities across marketing, sales, [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/id-fraud-is-on-the-rise-can-financial-services-do-more-to-protect-their-customers.html "ID fraud is on the rise: can financial services do more to protect their customers?"), and more.

SugarCRM has built tools to incorporate AI into CRM, including HD-CX, a time-aware [customer experience platform](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-a-ccm-platform-can-help-improve-customer-engagement-in-insurance.html "5 Ways a CCM platform can help improve customer engagement in insurance") that allows companies to capture large amounts of data and feed it into an intuitive system that returns predictive insights to fuel their best business decision-making. The AI powered SugarPredict does not require the usual investment of time, cost, and technical expertise typically needed for companies to take advantage of AI.

A recent [McKinsey & Company survey](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.mckinsey.com%2Fbusiness-functions%2Fstrategy-and-corporate-finance%2Four-insights%2Fhow-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever/1/0102017bc01a0449-25ebbb7e-7001-4a81-8525-d539889552a2-000000/REkNNCK3mIr1bQF2FzF0usev-VE=234) found that executives are three times more likely now than before the pandemic to say that at least 80% of their customer interactions are digital in nature. It is becoming vital to keep up with [technological development to ensure that customers](https://www.financedigest.com/manchester-arts-centre-the-lowry-selects-logpoints-siem-technology-to-safeguard-customer-data.html "Manchester arts centre The Lowry selects LogPoint’s SIEM technology to safeguard customer data") aren’t swayed by competitors.

**Create a unified** [customer journey](https://www.financedigest.com/effectively-efficiently-build-financial-trust-customer-journey.html "Effectively and efficiently build financial trust on the customer journey")

In addition, CIOs need to break down the silo mentality and ensure a seamless user experience.

[Uber addressed its customer service innovatively](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.voxco.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-uber-mastered-customer-experience%2F/1/0102017bc01a0449-25ebbb7e-7001-4a81-8525-d539889552a2-000000/8oyOY4BrQhGF4dSxXw-i_4hLPWU=234) through implementing a support feature within the app itself – ensuring that users do not need to leave the app to resolve their issues. [Despite using a lot of anonymised data](https://www.financedigest.com/stocks-u-s-dollar-gain-despite-surprise-weak-china-data.html "Stocks, U.S. dollar gain despite surprise weak China data"), Uber successfully collects data in one place to analyse and meet high volume demands.

Although aligning silos seems like an impossible job, an advanced CRM system can [bridge the gap](https://www.financedigest.com/using-technology-to-help-bridge-the-widening-financial-advice-gap.html "Using technology to help bridge the widening financial advice gap") automatically and ensure no blind spots. By combining customer data, and identifying and [filling any gaps](https://www.financedigest.com/analysis-energy-hungry-europe-cant-look-to-u-s-shale-to-fill-any-opec-gap.html "Analysis-Energy hungry Europe can’t look to U.S. shale to fill any OPEC gap"), whilst pairing it with the right technology, CIOs can obtain the intelligence they need to make both vital strategic and tactical decisions.

Laying foundations like this and utilising in-depth, cross-siloed customer data will enable the CIO to excel in this new aspect of their remit, providing a clear and unified view of the customer and without putting a lot of [cost into the business](https://www.financedigest.com/green-initiatives-cut-self-storage-business-space-stations-energy-costs-by-75.html "Green initiatives cut self-storage business Space Station’s energy costs by 75%").

**Looking ahead**

In a fast-changing environment, it is fundamental that CIOs observe trends and embrace [digital transformation in order to successfully stay](https://www.financedigest.com/digital-technology-and-startups-during-a-recession-how-to-stay-afloat.html "Digital Technology and Startups During a Recession — How to Stay Afloat") ahead of the competition and future-proof their businesses.

Lifting the admin burden placed on sales teams, adopting technologies that make high-definition customer experience possible, and overcoming [data silos are the key steps](https://www.financedigest.com/10-steps-to-stop-lateral-movement-in-data-breaches.html "10 Steps to Stop Lateral Movement in Data Breaches") in a seamless transition towards becoming a strong CCO. This journey is not without its [challenges but focusing on these three areas will set](https://www.financedigest.com/how-barclaycard-scored-big-by-setting-customers-a-challenge.html "How Barclaycard scored big by setting customers a challenge") CIOs off on the right path.


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