I caught an article on Fast Company today about a recent IBM study with over 1,500 CEOs from across 60 countries and 33 industries.  While the article leads with how creativity is considered a key leadership quality, I thought the more interesting takeaway was that “getting closer to the customer” is a top business strategy and area of focus for these CEOs over the next 5 years.  In fact, 88% of the CEOs surveyed said this was a key area of focus, followed shortly thereafter by 76% saying that “insight and intelligence” is also a key area.

At first glance, this seems like great news for those of us in marketing research and consumer insights.  Without having seen the study itself, I wonder what has caused this shift and how this matches up with previous research on the topic.  One guess might be that the recession has forced many leaders to focus even more on loyalty and satisfaction among existing customers.  Increased interest in customer-driven innovation and the potential for competitive advantage through this type of innovation might also be a factor in play here.  Or maybe the intense interest in social media is making some realize that the ability to draw customers closer than ever before (in brand new ways) is now attainable.  Either way, I’m excited to see how this will play out over the next few years, and whether it will help research and insights folks finally get their coveted “seat at the table.”

What do you think?  What factors could be prompting this increased focus?