Companies will in future be valued on how they report on dealing with - and keeping - their customers, serial entrepreneur and former Dragons' Den dragon, James Caan, said yesterday.
The businessperson was the keynote speaker at the conference of the Institute of Customer Service and told it: "The definition of how well a business is doing is how well it treats its customers. I believe this will have to start appearing more in a company's accounting/financial reports."
He added: "The more I try to understand what the constituent parts of a company's 'value' are, the more it is about how its people treat customers. It is a topic of study that hasn't had enough time in the boardroom."
He said this translates simply into how companies treat their staff. "When I walk around my own businesses and I see flat, low-morale people, I know I am probably taking a hit, because my staff are not dealing with customers properly. The key to good customer experience is providing an environment where staff feel happy and motivated."
