New research reveals CEOs see customers as the most important investment and intend to boost social media efforts to better engagement, according to new research.

The latest IBM Global CEO Study surveyed more than 1,700 CEOs from 60 countries and found that within the UK and Ireland, 75% of CEOs see improving customer understanding as the main priority for investment.

The study also showed that CEOs in the UK and Ireland intend to significantly escalate the level of social media engagement with customers over the next five years, with face-to-face interaction becoming less important.

According to the figures, 20% claimed social media is one of the three most important forms of interaction now whilst 57% said it would be in the top three in three to five years. Alternatively, 80% saw face-to-face interaction as one of the three most important forms of interaction now, but 67% thought it would be in three to five years, said the study.  

The report also revealed that UK and Ireland CEOs view customer relationships and human capital as the most important drivers of sustained business success.

One UK local gvoernemnt CEO was quoted in the report: “We will be spending more time focusing on our customers and designing services to meet their needs both efficiently and effectively.”

Whilst one UK banking CEO said: “I think fundamentally the only competitive advantage one has is in client knowledge. It is both an offensive and defensive weapon. The better we understand you, the more we can tailor.”