Only 6% of organizations are customer-obsessed. It’s not due to a lack of financial benefits, as customer obsession yields a 700%-plus return on investment. Rather, it’s because customer obsession is difficult to achieve and maintain. That’s why we want to recognize enterprises and leaders who’ve blazed a bold path to customer obsession. We’re proud to announce the finalists for the inaugural North American Customer-Obsessed Enterprise and Customer-Obsessed Leadership Awards.

For the enterprise award, we were struck by the comprehensive, organizationwide approach from each company. These companies demonstrated a tangible focus on customers across leadership, strategy, and operations. They understood that customer obsession isn’t a series of projects — it’s a way of doing business that fully aligns around the customer. We were also impressed by these companies’ ability to identify real business outcomes — like growth in revenue and profit. The finalists for the North American Customer-Obsessed Enterprise Award are:

Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii has spent more than 125 years serving the financial needs of Hawaiian people. Its deep ties to the community and commitment to customers’ long-term success have helped it grow to have the largest share of FDIC-insured deposits in the state of Hawaii.

Best Buy

Best Buy’s stunning turnaround from struggling retailer to highly profitable enterprise has been chalked up to its customer-focused transformation. Best Buy continues to thrive based on customer-first strategies and investments.

Prudential Financial

Prudential’s core purpose is to make lives better by solving financial challenges in a changing world. For more than 145 years, Prudential has stayed committed to customers, leading it to become a highly admired company worldwide.

We were equally impressed by the submissions for the Customer-Obsessed Leadership Award. The finalists rally their organizations around the customer to produce positive outcomes for customers, employees, and the organization. The finalists for the Customer-Obsessed Leadership Award are:

  • Elizabeth Killinger, EVP, NRG, and president, NRG Home and Reliant at NRG Energy.
  • Aarthi Murali, chief customer experience officer at M&T Bank.
  • Amy Summy, executive vice president, chief marketing officer, and consumer lead at Labcorp.

We look forward to interviewing all three finalists and hearing how they’ve pushed their organizations to new levels of customer obsession and business success.

Winners from both categories will join us onstage at CX North America. Register now to hear their stories and tons more practical advice on how to execute successfully across CX, digital, and B2C marketing. CX North America 2023 will take place June 13–15 in Nashville and on our digital experience platform.