A 2012 survey of Chief Marketing Officers by Forrester Research and Heidrick & Struggles revealed that increasing customer retention, customer lifetime value, and customer satisfaction were well below acquiring new customers as a top objective among CMOs. A prominent conclusion in the report was that CMOs are "blinded by acquisition while shortchanging customer retention and loyalty."

I couldn't agree more.

Unfortunately, the focus on customer acquisition at the expense of retention and loyalty pervades the offices of many C-level executives. It is not surprising then to see so few customer-related key performance indicators monitored at the senior level. Sure, revenue growth and profits are essential, but what about the underlying drivers of revenue and profit? There are numerous customer metrics that have been shown to be strongly correlated with financial performance. Here are five that we believe every customer-centric organization should track: