The Customer Experience Index, 2008

Forrester asked nearly 5,000 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index for 113 firms in 12 different industries. Barnes & Noble and USAA topped the rankings, while Charter Communications and Medicaid came in at the bottom. Only 11% of the firms wound up with "excellent" ratings — and 38% were "poor" or "very poor." At an industry level, retailers and hotels ended in the top spots for all categories, while medical insurers and TV service providers ended up at the bottom. Led by U.S. Bancorp, SunTrust, and Citibank, banks made the largest improvement from last year. Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications had the largest decline. Even in an economic downturn, firms need to keep customer experience momentum and chart a course toward Experience-Based Differentiation.