November 25, 2008 (Palo Alto, CA) – The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council announced today the formation of a new authority leadership initiative “Giving Customer Voice More Volume.” The strategic research program will make a business case for the broader adoption and use of customer listening, feedback, engagement and advocacy systems.

Sponsored by Satmetrix, Genesys, and Portrait Software, the study will highlight how the lack of listening and prompt responsiveness to customer feedback can make a significant difference to brand perceptions and customer affinity. Further, the research will call attention to the need for closed loop systems to continuously monitor customer feedback that can provide actionable intelligence that influences customer experiences.

The program will include a comprehensive audit of senior marketing executives to benchmark how always-on, intelligent agenting and real time feedback systems that integrate, mine, process and analyze vast volumes of customer data are being rapidly deployed to optimize Voice of Customer (VOC) capabilities, improve customer experience and activate of word of mouth advocacy.

“Customer influence and expectations in the 24x7, Web 2.0 cyber-connected world have never been greater,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “There is a significant need to educate senior marketers and encourage them to embrace their contact center, help desk, telemarketing, consulting and agency partners into the process of integrating these VOC capabilities into mainstream operations and organizational fabrics.”

About the CMO Council
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council's 3,500 members control more than $100 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and it's strategic interest communities include over 6,000 global executives across 57 countries in multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council's strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), Brand Management Institute, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org.