Last Thursday I was invited to a lunch with 14 members of the Marketing Club at the University of Miami’s Graduate Business School. We talked about how business ideas come to life. Our primary focus was how core values affect the growth and profitability of a company.

    As a result, I suggested a new and important book: Satisfaction – How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer by James D. Power IV and Chris Denove.

    If you’re an automotive fan you’ll recognize the “J.D.Power” moniker. They’re a marketing information firm that conducts independent and unbiased surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality and buyer behavior. Their independent findings – The Voice of the Consumer – play a vital marketing role in many industries.

    In previous columns I’ve recommended, “Stop! Look and Listen” to your customers. Anecdotal evidence abounds! Most agree: Yes, it would be nice if our customers were pleased with our service.

    I’ve also challenged you to identify your most important asset: Customers. They are your best and least expensive source of new or increased sales.

    In essence, Powers’ book points out, “Successful companies address customer viewpoints from an enterprise-wide perspective and go beyond simply understanding customer requirements. They integrate the voice of the customer into all of their operations—from sales and production to marketing, call centers, service departments, and all customer touch points. They’ve made the link between collecting customer feedback and creating the commitment that increases margins and balance sheets.”

    But, as Powers points out, “When it comes to spending on intangibles like customer satisfaction, CEOs inevitably return to the memorable line from the film Jerry Maguire: ‘Show me the money!’ ”

    So, in your opinion, is customer satisfaction really intangible? Would you label it as something nice but much too difficult to define – though nonetheless perceived?

     Or, do you accept that customer satisfaction can be measured effectively? That positive customer satisfaction really generates growth and profitability? If your unequivocal answer is “Yes!” – please read on.

     Customer satisfaction — once a minor marketing component –– is now a fundamental core value within a successful growth strategy. Listening to customers and understanding their problems and aspirations now requires a more effective focus.

    The economic benefits gained by better serving customers have become obvious. As are the simultaneous threats to profits that occur if current practices are not improved.

    For a well-documented analysis, visit jdpower.com/corporate/library/specialreports/ – scroll down to Voice of the Customer Economics: Living in a Buyer-Centric World.

    Tony Quin, founder and CEO of IQ Interactive, also sees this change in marketing dynamics from another perspective: the Ad Agency.

    Writing in an article published in OMMA magazine, Quin notes, “In an Internet-centric world, the dynamics of how the consumer moves through the sales process from awareness to consideration to conversion is radically different, so how a brand attempts to influence the sales process must also change.”

    Quin forecasts, “The agencies of the future first must have a profound understanding of digital user behavior. They need to understand how to connect the dots, from strategy to creating awareness to designing persuasive consideration and driving conversion and retention.”

    What’s my guess? As a result of the Internet, customers today are better educated, more informed, and more assertive than ever before. Smart marketers will be quick to create powerful and unique customer service techniques. Ad agencies of the future are morphing from today’s interactive shops. They know how to navigate in the digital world and have mastered the simpler skill sets of traditional agencies.

Jack G. Hardy - Specal for Miami-Herald