Our Team

Bryan Foss

Mobile: +44 (0)7802 214361 bryan.foss@customeressential.com

Foss's role within Customer Essential is two-fold – to act as advisor on projects at board level, and to provide the link to external bodies such as professional and academic organisations.

He says: "I Operate at board level and as a director in a number of organisations I have a strong understanding of the objectives of businesses in both the commercial and public sectors. That means understanding and representing all the stake holders in the business, whether they be customers or employees. My approach and risk appetite is measured but not constrained. I don't shoot from the hip and make rash judgements and I help people develop their own abilities and results through coaching".

And the full interview...

Bryan Foss first became aware of the real potential of customer management while working at IBM where he was helping the computer giant make the transition from being a product-based company selling hardware and software to becoming a solutions business.
The transition touched on every aspect of the business and opened up the enormous possibilities customer management can deliver, a theme Bryan has pursued with enthusiasm ever since.

He says: "I like customer management because it is a very practical discipline - and because it is both business orientated and people orientated. You need to gain insights into the customers that are out there, why they buy, what their needs are, how to meet those needs and how to service the customers with an appropriate experience - but at the same time within the business you need to look at what skills are needed to drive the business, what leadership, cultural change, training and development, and support the business needs from systems. In order words, how to change from being a product or channel based company to being a more customer led company."

In the process Bryan has become an internationally recognised expert in key account management, customer and customer experience management and has co-written six books on the subject and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars. Currently the non-executive director of several companies in the private and public sector including the UK Department for Work and Pensions, Foss's role within Customer Essential is two-fold – to act as advisor on projects at board level, and to provide the link to external bodies such as professional and academic organisations.

He says: "Operate at board level and as a director in a number of organisations I have a strong understanding of the objectives of businesses in both the commercial and public sectors. That means understanding and representing all the stake holders in the business, whether they be customers or employees. My approach and risk appetite is measured but not constrained. I don't shoot from the hip and make rash judgements and I help people develop their own abilities and results through coaching."

A key element of Customer Essential's approach is understanding the importance of working with a company over a long period, something which Bryan feels strongly about. He says: "It is no good leaving a plan and then disappearing. It is not about writing a report or leaving a recommendation and making a run for it with the cheque. It is about being around when required and doing whatever is right to ensure the right outcomes for their business."
Another useful skill Bryan has acquired during his years in business is an understanding of the system and technical skills required to deliver results. As he says: "I know what questions to ask and can make sure programmes deliver as expected."

He says that customer management has never been more relevant to business than it is right now. "If you talk to people at company board level these are the issues they really want to talk about because it is what is driving their business. And not just commercial companies, but public sector companies as well. Customer management is very much aligned to what they are trying to do, which is grow through understanding their markets and customers, through winning new customers who are going to be profitable, and then by keeping those customers and servicing them well and making relationships profitable and loyal over time by better meeting their needs."

However he points out that while business may have taken the step to recognise the importance of customer management, in many cases there is still a long way to go. "Where businesses are quite good at it often this is in isolated parts places and they can't necessarily join that up with other parts of their business or expand it across everything they do. There is much more that can be done."
What makes Customer Essential so special, he says, is that every member of the team has gained their experience from actually working within business instead of taking purely a consultancy route.

That has given the Customer Essential team a real ability to provide results. "For the last 10 years companies have done assessments of where they are today so that they can decide what to do next. But there has always been a big chasm between that assessment and actually making a change at a practical level. What Customer Essential has done is pull the whole thing together into a structured approach which avoids those gaps and pitfalls. It is absolutely unique in the market."

FACTFILE

Qualifications: Executive MBA from London City University Business School, Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, post graduate diploma in Marketing, Member of the Institute of Direct Marketing, Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the British Computer Society and Chartered IT professional with certified diploma in accounting and finance.

Particular skill: the ability to contribute at board level while at the same time being able to communicate and coach knowledgably at all levels.

Bryan is an independent associate of Customer Essential