Today, we’re told, customer experience management (CEM) is an inescapable imperative, the primary determinant of organizational success or failure, and the sole means of sustainable competitive advantage. The experience, moreover, concerns the entire customer lifecycle, from the first inkling of a desire through the purchase and into ongoing loyalty. And since “you’re only as good as your last interaction,” no exchange can be neglected, no matter how trivial.
There’s only one minor problem: Based on how it is normally defined and described, customer experience management is impossible. Because it is impossible, many if not most of the current efforts to achieve it are futile or, worse, dangerous and wasteful distractions. In this presentation, we’ll look at why it’s crucial to understand what CEM is and is not (and cannot be); where the imperative for CEM comes from, why this can and should inform your CEM strategy; and how your early, relatively simple steps can already be a huge advance in the journey to CEM excellence.
