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U.S. retailers just beginning to understand customer experience, report says

February 27, 2008 by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

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Forrester Research has published "The State of Experience-Based Differentiation," a summary of its recent survey of 287 customer experience decision-makers about the state of their initiatives.

Respondents were quizzed about the three key components in Forrester's "Experience-Based Differentiation" method: obsess about customer needs, reinforce brands with every interaction, and treat customer experience as a competence, not a function.

The report finds that "major flaws abound," and suggests that companies today are at the very beginning of understanding how the customer experience works and how important it is.

Key findings include:

• Despite the fact that most respondents say their executives consistently communicate the need to focus on the customer, less than 40 percent of those executives regularly have customer interactions themselves.
• Less than 40 percent of respondents said their employees fully understand key attributes of the company's brand.
• Only 32 percent said they closely monitor the quality of interactions with target customers.

About James Bickers

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James Bickers is the former senior editor of Retail Customer Experience, and also manages webinars for Networld Media Group. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist and innovative content strategist, with publication credits in national, international and regional publications.

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