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Business leaders face a critical paradox in today's corporate context: unique changes and transitions within the business landscape, including digitalization and disintermediation, have prompted a concession of power over corporate reputation and messaging from an elite group of senior managers to stakeholders, including employees and customers. This unprecedented degree of stakeholder empowerment presents executives with the realization that the voice of the customer - not the company - establishes deliverable value, and that internal standards of quality and satisfaction are instrumental in shaping these delivery strategies. Likewise, stakeholder empowerment means that measurable customer insights can (and must) be used to develop programming that drives internal priorities, investments, focus and alignment.
This new reality makes finding answers to two key questions (directed at customers and employees, respectively) imperative for business success:
Would you recommend this brand, product or service to a friend/colleague?
Would you recommend working for this company to a friend/colleague?
The crux of the challenge for business leaders is establishing a tangible connection between what the answers to these two questions represent: the degree of customer loyalty on an external level, and the degree of employee engagement on an internal level. The rational, emotional triggers derived from these questions are determinants for loyalty and commitment - both of which define and drive the success of brands.
This paper will demonstrate that the rational, emotional triggers derived from the aforementioned questions can not only be used as determinants for loyalty and commitment, but that they can also be measured in a macro manner through mathematical indexing based upon algorithms, econometrics and normative data. The resulting, quantifiable convergence of employee engagement and customer loyalty data enables a conclusive connection between internal and external motivations, and thus drives sustainable profitable growth.
With the establishment of this valid convergence based on employee engagement indexing (EEI) and customer loyalty indexing (CLI), the paper will then highlight the companies at the forefront of defining and shaping integrated business strategies based on this data to achieve the ultimate business outcome: profitability founded upon a connected workplace and marketplace.
The new business reality
Before exploring the revolutionary method of establishing a measurable connection between employee engagement and customer loyalty, it is important first to understand the business environment that necessitates this strategic...