Ebd_3Bruce Temkin delivered this morning’s opening keynote at Forrester’s Finance Forum in New York.  New Forrester research with American Banker indicates that 97% of banking executives indicate that focusing on customer experience is important to competitiveness over the next three years.

A great way to think about customer experience (CXP)?  It’s a production, just like a movie.  Successful firms practice "experienced-based differentiation" based on three key areas.

  1. Obsess about customer needs, not product features.  For example, Disney mobile and Best Buy’s Geek Squad.
  2. Reinforce brands with every interaction, not just communications.  I.e. make promises and keep promises.  For example, Westpac Bank.
  3. Treat customer experience as a competence, not a function.  E.g. Pret A Manger‘s manager hiring process.  Dell’s call center monitoring.  British Telecom‘s front line immersion.

So how do you get started?  Take the experience-based differentiation self-test.  Consider hiring a Chief Customer Officer.  Start a customer listening/VOC program.