ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM's
20th edition of its bi-annual C-Suite Study (NYSE: IBM),
"Build Your Trust Advantage," polled nearly 13,500 C-level
executives across the globe to examine how companies are achieving
market leadership by emphasizing trust in their use and sharing of
data.
The study, conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV)
in cooperation with Oxford Economics, surveyed C-Suite executives
who oversee leading brands across 98 countries and 20 industries in
today's increasingly complex, data-driven world. The study found
that market leadership is most frequently attained when an
organization establishes a high level of trust in the data from its
customers, its own business processes, and across its partner
ecosystem.
Through the quantitative and qualitative surveys issued, it
became clear there was a set of leaders, just 9 percent of the
total respondents – dubbed "Torchbearers" – that stood out as
understanding that transparency, reciprocity and accountability are
critical ingredients for earning trust among key stakeholders.
These leaders leverage data to build customer trust, create
cultures of data-based decision makers and are adept at sharing
data with ecosystem partners without giving away competitive
edge. This group was found to outperform peers in revenue
growth and profitability – delivering 165 percent higher results –
as well as in innovation and managing change.
These leaders have a deep understanding that building trust in
customer relationships is a strategic imperative and work hard to
earn and maintain it. In fact:
- 82 percent of leaders strongly believe data helps create a
strategic advantage in strengthening their level of customer trust
as well as their bottom lines.
- Leaders also outpace their peers by 22 percent in their
capacity to respect customers' data privacy as a core competitive
advantage.
This is critically important at a time when consumers report
more concerns than ever before in their willingness to share
personal information. A related IBM study on data privacy found
that 81 percent of global consumers say that in the past year they
have become more concerned with how companies are using their
data.
Fortunately, the same study found that there is also greater
willingness to share information with companies who are transparent
in how their data is used – 81 percent said they actively support
companies that are transparent about how they use their data, and
they avoid doing business with companies that don't. As a result,
organizations that have earned customer trust are more likely to
keep the data they have. They find their customers won't ask them
to purge it because they understand there's value in collecting
data to deliver new kinds of services in the future. In turn,
leaders report much greater success with 71 percent using data to
identify and deliver on unmet customer needs, compared to 28
percent of peers.
"Leading organizations that have put trust at the core of the
way they use data with their customers are creating massive
opportunities for greater success," said Mark Foster, Senior Vice President, IBM Services
and Global Business Services. "Today's businesses need to be able
to earn trust from their customers while also trusting the data
from their own processes and ecosystems, or they will quickly fall
behind their peers."
While the study focuses on the need for transparency on how
companies handle customer data, it also highlights the importance
of trusting data that's within an organization. Leaders were
found to take great pains to ensure that the data within its own
walls is accurate and clean so they can leverage it to make the
best-informed decisions on important business ventures, such as
developing new business models and entering new or emerging
markets.
- Eight in ten leaders say they and their C-Suite colleagues have
deep trust in data to perfect the quality and speed of the
decisions they make.
- 70 percent already extensively use data to develop new business
models (112 percent more their peers), while 66 percent already use
data to make informed decisions on entering new markets.
- 65 percent of C-suite executives believe that automation of
decision-making processes will increase in their business landscape
over the next 2-3 years.
The study also revealed an emphasis on the importance of
creating trustworthy ecosystems. Data that simply stays within the
organization is more likely to drift out of date than to grow in
value. Leading organizations are liberating their data while
simultaneously de-risking data exchanges in a shared ecosystem –
allowing it to circulate widely, without sacrificing their
responsibility to secure permissions and safeguard it. Deciding
what data to share for win-win propositions— and what data to
maintain as a proprietary advantage—is one of the most difficult
decisions organizations have to make. Torchbearers are ahead of
their peers:
- 56 percent of leaders are already acquiring and sharing data
extensively with network partners, and 85 percent expect their
partner networks will expand in next few years.
- Leaders expect the evolution of digital business platforms will
necessitate a new approach to data sharing. For example,
respondents from the most visionary banks shared that they expect
to earn an average of 58 percent of their revenues from platform
initiatives in the next three years.
- 62 percent of leaders are already integrating new modes of
monetization into their data strategies.
While the study provides the guidance that companies should
always practice transparency, reciprocity and accountability when
handling data and engaging customers and business partners, other
recommendations include:
- Strengthen relationships with customers by becoming trusted
custodians of personal data, demonstrating transparency by
revealing data about offerings and workflows, and using the trust
advantage they've earned to create differentiating business
models.
- Build confidence in data and AI models enterprise wide.
Stimulate a culture of true data believers and data-based decision
makers, and in turn, elevate experiences for customers and partners
along their value chains.
- Learn how to share data on business platforms without giving
away competitive edge. Turn the corner from amassing data to
determining how best to monetize it, including how to build
ecosystems to create new exponential value.
Access the full study findings here:
https://ibm.co/c-suite-study
About IBM Institute for Business Value
The IBM
Institute for Business Value (IBV), part of IBM Services, develops
fact-based, strategic insights for senior business executives on
critical public and private sector issues. Follow @IBMIBV on
Twitter, and for a full catalog of our research or to subscribe to
our newsletter, visit: www.ibm.com/ibv
Media Contact
Leslie Park
IBM Media Relations
Leslie.park@ibm.com
917-421-8933
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SOURCE IBM