A recent Bain & Company survey reveals just how commonly companies misread the market. They surveyed 362 firms and found that 80 percent believed they delivered a “superior experience” to their customers. But when they asked customers about their own perceptions, they found that they rated only 8 percent of companies as truly delivering a superior experience. Clearly, it’s easy for leading companies to assume they’re keeping customers happy; it’s quite another thing to achieve that kind of customer devotion.

 So what sets the elite 8 percent apart? Bain found that they take a distinctively broad view of the customer experience. Unlike most companies, which reflexively turn to product or service design to improve customer satisfaction, the leaders pursue the Three Ds of Customer Experience simultaneously:

 They design the right offers and experiences for the right customers.

They deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis on cross-functional collaboration.

They develop their capabilities to please customers again and again — by such means as
revamping the planning process, training people in how to create new customer propositions, and establishing direct accountability for the customer experience.

 Each of these “Three Ds” draws on and reinforces the others. Together, they transform the company into one that is continually led and informed by its customers’ voices.

Make It A Champion Day!