Customer experience matters

Date: 29-03-2010 11:09 | Author: Derek Glen | Category: Change management | Tags: customer, retention, experience, CEM, transformation

Customer experience can suffer when budgets are tight. But customer experience matters more when whole industries are facing cost challenges: if customers are being more picky about how and where they spend their money or time, it's vital to provide a memorable service and stand out from the crowd.

It pays off in spades, too. Great customer experience means increased revenues. Forrester research shows that a 1% improvement in customer retention for Federal Express resulted in $100m revenue.

The same report cited Dell prioritising cost efficiency over customer experience in their call centre costs during the downturn of 2001. As a consequence they struggled to build that capability back up as the markets grew, and were still struggling to handle 45% of calls 5 years later.

Finally, shifting attention away from the customer experience leads to missed opportunities. If others are cutting back and retreating into their shells, there is a great chance to be bold, invest and come out ahead - just as the advice on marketing is to hold or raise your spend when times are tough.