Have you noticed more Chief Revenue Officers recently and wondered why this relatively new position the fastest growing title in America?
It might not be what you think.
I’ve read lots of opinions:
- CROs are there to break down silos, minimizing dropped handoffs between sales and fulfillment.
- CROs look at the full buyer journey, knowing the vital nature of recurring revenue to the modern business.
- CROs take a broader view, uniting the revenue generating functions of marketing, sales, and fulfillment.
- CROs aren’t wedded to the processes of the past, so they can do whatever it takes to generate revenue.
All of those are right, but only partially. And they all hint at the most important reason why the number of CROs is multiplying:
Your customer experience IS your sales and marketing.
You can no longer cover up a bad customer experience with mass advertising and customer acquisition. Every customer has the digital tools to tell everyone else who is expecting a great experience to accompany their products and services.
You can no longer wait for your customers to be customers before they experience the best you have to offer. Those customers who are expecting a great experience must experience it during the sales process.
So what does this mean for you? Especially if you’re a small company and the only “C” you have is a CEO?
You can have the benefits of the CRO without the title (and the salary). Understand the importance of a consistent customer experience across their entire journey. Know that sometimes the best thing you can do for sales is to commit to the success of your current customers.
In fact, you might be ahead of the companies who are adding CROs to their C-Suites. The big companies who add a CRO are unlikely to experience much change if that’s the only change they make.
Commit today to a great customer experience, a great sales experience, and a great team experience, and you will experience growth with or without a CRO.