"Understanding Customer Experience"

Christopher Meyer and Andre Schwager

Harvard Business Review

February 2007, pp. 117-126

The authors of this provide the following definition: "Customer experience is the internal and subjective response customers have to any direct or indirect contact with a company." Direct contact is most often initiated by the customer, and it occurs in the course of purchase, use, or service. Indirect contact refers to unplanned encounters with any sort of advertising, news reports, word-of-mouth or other references to the company, its products, or its services.

The article discusses three patterns of customer experience information:

• Past patterns—These assessments look at recent experiences that have already occurred. The intent is to improve transactional experiences, to track experience goals and trends, to assess the impact of new initiatives, and to identify emerging issues. Surveys or user forums are the most common data collection methods.
• Present patterns—These assessments have a broad scope, and may ask about perceptions of the company in relation to its competitors or new features the customer might desire. The intent is to keep a watch on the state of the current relationship, to look forward as well as backward, and to keep watch on more critical populations and issues. Direct contact, user forums, and focus groups are common approaches used.
• Potential patterns—These assessments try to check out receptivity to future plans or potential solutions to unique customer problems. Specific customers are sought out for their perspectives.

The authors state that customer experience includes every aspect of the company's offering, and especially the quality of customer care, advertising, packaging, ease of use, reliability, product features, and service features. Every function has a role to play in maximizing the customer experience: Marketing must capture, and circulate through the company, the tastes and standards of each important market segment. Service Operations must ensure that proper attention is given to every customer "touch point". Product Development should understand customer use and frustrations with use. Information Technology needs to organize and present customer data in a digestible way for employees. Human Resources should convey how Customer Experience Management should affect work and decisions.

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