How to Improve the Customer Experience

Efforts to improve the customer experience do little to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty because they fail to connect with customers and anticipate their needs.

Marketing, sales, customer service and CRM leaders can use this research and the related reports to learn how to be more successful.

Companies that have invested in CRM methods, training, reorganizations, processes and technology during the past 10 years have been able to reduce their sales, service and operation costs, as well as increase their sales and marketing productivity, in many cases. Although that's good news for companies, it's not necessarily good news for their customers.

To help determine what kinds of technologies to use, see "Technology's Important Role in Customer Experience Management." This research breaks a myriad of technologies down into two basic types: those that help deliver the optimal customer experience and those that help companies better understand the customer experience.