Customer Experience Management: the Value of “Moments of Truth”

The customer experience comprises of the product of the interactions a customer has with a company and its services. The overall experience reflects how the customer feels about the company and what it has to offer meaning the experience could either be a good or a bad one.

"customer experience is the next competitive battleground. it's where business is going to be won or lost." - Tom Knighton.

Regardless of how a business deals with its customers, the business has to always use a customer lens, which means the company looks through the customer’s eyes. The Walt Disney Company shines at customer service, and the reason is that the company, in constructing every consumer experience, gazes at everything through the eyes of the consumer. Every time the company comes into contact with the customer, they do it with an experience approach, not a task approach. When businesses enter into their customer connections as tasks rather than experiences, customers feel better handled through the system rather than just feeling appreciated. It is simple to descend into the task approach; it is the experience approach that enhances customer faithfulness.

An effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program can be used to identify, retain, satisfy and obtain customers by using technology to optimize strategies for understanding customers’ needs to manage business interactions with current, former, and prospective customers. Additionally, CRM also enables companies to maximize internal, external, marketing and customer service operations to better address the needs of the customer building a better relationship with customers that a more profitable. (Ahmad & Buttle, 2001)

Customer loyalty is much harder to obtain that customer service satisfaction. The most important first step is to satisfy the customer by meeting their expectations. Customers only give a company one chance and if they aren’t satisfied they will not do business with that company again, as well as tell others of their experience. The next step would be to exceed the customer’s expectations. If a business goes above and beyond to assist the customer they begin to build loyalty. The next step is to truly surprise the customer. In order to dominate the marketplace the company must find a way to make them selves stand out with their product or service, accompanied with phenomenal customer service. Once this has been done customer satisfaction and loyalty will be gained. “Acquiring a new customer can cost four or five times more than keeping a current customer” (Bestmark, 2013). So it’s essential to keep the current customer’s happy and coming back for more.

According to James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II (1998) in their article “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” they state, “Goods are tangible, services are intangible and experiences are memorable” (pg. 98). A truly impactful memorable experience cannot be bought. Imagine someone 's most valued experience; an experience that no matter how much someone would be willing to pay for that experience, it is so impactful that the owner of the experience would be losing a part of themselves if they were to sell it. To achieve the demand of an authentic experience, companies need to stick to their core values and be transcendent beyond other companies that only strive for customer service.

The book Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service, links together many critical aspects of running a successful business operation with the concepts we have learned this semester in Management 402. The book highlights three critical aspects/secrets to servicing and retaining high quality customer service levels or the Raving Fan status through the application of several fictitious businesses. According to Charlie, the Area Manager’s mentor, the three secrets to exceptional customer service are to decide what you want (create a personal vision), discover what the customer wants (find the customer’s vision), and deliver plus one (improve by one percent / go the extra mile). Throughout the semester, our class has discussed

Many companies continuously fail in customer service satisfaction for many reasons. As service failures are inevitable, it is important for companies, especially small businesses, to capitalize on learning the importance of reducing service failure. Just as the seed is the core of the fruit, customer service is the core of an organization; its meaning is the primary function for organizations to retain business and discover new ventures. Customer service is the primary source of business-to-customer communication and in many ways, handles company issues via phone, email or on site. Without customer service, it would be extremely difficult for organizations to operate or survive effectively.

It is imperative to satisfy customers and give them an amazing experience at the company. While it cost less to sell to existing customers and companies can increase profit by selling to the same customers; if customers are satisfied, there is more chance they will come back for more services or products. Satisfied customers are a free marketing for the company. However, it is the opposite if customers are dissatisfied. Dissatisfied customer will tell 8 to 10 people about his or her experience (O’Brien, A & Marakas, G. 2004). If by any reason, representatives see that the customer is not satisfy, they should act fast and fix the problem. Furthermore, there is more chance for sale representatives to sell to an existing customer that to a new customer. A good strategy for customer retention is to reward good customers. Companies can easily do

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty has become, throughout years, not only an important marketing tool but also an integrated part of a company structure. Competition has become fierce and competitors in a market are trying constantly to prove that their products and services are better than others. Therefore, being able to satisfy and retain customers will definitely create a competitive edge over competitors but will also reduce cost while creating long term relationship with customers.

A company must be able to maintain significant control of CRM, even if the call center is not physically an integral part of the business. That is because the choices made by a company depend on, among other things, the quality of the relations with their customers. Therefore, teams who will then be reassured about the sustainability of their business and their structure will be able to consider themselves as stakeholders of the organization and bring their best to the organization.

In a 2016 Marketing Week survey, 83% of marketers said they “believe customer experience is now more central to their role than it was five years ago.” Translation: Customers want to enjoy more than just products and services.

This paper discusses why building customer relationships is a key factor in the overall success of any business. The objective of developing customer relationships is to enable a business to learn who its customers are and what value they can bring to the business. As businesses look for new ways to strategically build their customers retention, a determined customer-oriented staff is imperative. It will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty because the entire service experience will be exceptional. Managers should therefore select, train, and reward employees who have developed great relationships with customers. This paper will show that when customer relationships are effectively utilized, results will increase profitability and greater customer loyalty, two key needs for any organization.

The Customer Experience Study: The purpose of this study is to gather sources on how customers view their

Experience focus on end-to-end customer Experience. It is not only product features but it is a better understanding of customers Journey. “In recent years, we’ve seen the most successful brands expanding their use of video throughout the entire customer journey to help them build better relationships, educate and convert buyers, and improve customer satisfaction.”(Vala, 2015) Therefore, the goal is to consider customers experience through their interactive videos.