Companies of all sizes and in all industries interact with customers and prospects in many ways—Websites, newsletters, direct mail, call centers, e-mail, faxes, and more. With product innovation, maturation, and commoditization occurring at increasing speeds, the one perennial differentiator that is forever influencing customer loyalty and buying decisions is the way in which customers experience service—customer experience is the new corporate battleground.
At a time when the cost of acquiring new customers exceeds the cost of retaining existing ones, customer-experience solutions must integrate customer communications across all business functions. Today's demanding customers—who like to research, customize, track, or support their purchases 24 hours a day, seven days a week—expect a personalized, positive experience whenever they interact with a company. To increase customer satisfaction and loyalty at a time when cost-reduction is critical, companies must look at how Internet capabilities can provide effective, cost-efficient customer interaction.
Customer-experience solutions seek to address the challenge of cost-effectively gathering and managing information at various stages of the relationship, analyze it, and act upon it to tune the customer experience for maximum impact.
