Discovering the Service Imperative

The degree to which a company is or is not focused on their customers, and the successful outcomes of those customers, will define the financial success of that company and its ability to survive in the services economy. Having researched companies that have existed for 100 years, we have seen that these survivors differentiated themselves by having have formed closer relationships with their customers. This deeper relationship allows them to anticipate their customer needs better and...
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The degree to which a company is or is not focused on their customers, and the successful outcomes of those customers, will define the financial success of that company and its ability to survive in the services economy. Having researched companies that have existed for 100 years, we have seen that these survivors differentiated themselves by having have formed closer relationships with their customers. This deeper relationship allows them to anticipate their customer needs better and to react faster to changes in the market environment than do the market laggards. History is littered with examples of companies missing market trends and going out of business while their competitors thrived. The 'Customer Experience' is both an outcome and a strategy and it needs to be a core competency of all modern enterprises. Today's customers demand value and they only see real value in shared positive outcomes. Customer Experience means developing value based relationships with your customers, suppliers and partners in order to exceed their needs and not just their expectations. The model for business has changed from the industrial based models of yesterday to the value based models defined by the service economy. The emphasis of this book will be on demonstrating how to improve the service experience and fully integrate it into an organization by vigilantly and systematically determining and delivering what its customers are seeking.