Towards the ‘perfect’ customer experience

The aim of customer experience management is to enhance relationships with customers and build customer loyalty. Research suggests, however, that service quality and customer satisfaction may actually be declining as customers often receive service and quality that falls well below their expectations. This paper examines the concept of customer experience and considers how an ‘outstanding’ or ‘perfect’ customer experience might be achieved at an affordable cost. Case studies from two leading companies are used to illustrate their approaches to creating the ‘perfect’ customer experience. Managerial insights from the case studies are discussed.