The document presents 10 common myths about customer experience and provides evidence to refute each one. Some of the key points made are: 1) 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience and poor experiences can cause customers to abandon transactions. 2) Customer experience is about more than just marketing - it involves the entire customer journey and meeting customer expectations at every touchpoint. 3) Managing customer experience requires a customer-centric company culture and leadership, not just customer service. 4) Improving customer experience does not need to be expensive and small details can have a big impact on the customer experience.

1. Investigators presenT:
10
Customer
Experience
Myths…
& the truth
uncovered

2. Customer experience
is just a
fad.
Myth
#1

3. Reality
86% of buyers
will pay for a
better experience
78% of customers
have bailed on a
transaction due
to poor experience
73% would consider
purchasing from a
brand again if they
had a superior
customer experience

4. Reality
78%
86%
73%
Even the CEOs are catching on:
In a recent IBM survey, 55% of the 4,138 interviewed said
customers were the single biggest influence on their strategy.
Have you done anything about it yet?

5. Customer experience
is
marketing.
Myth
#2

6. Reality
It’s not
only marketing.
American Airlines said their new
logo was part of their focus on
customer experience.
But what about…
…the seating comfort?
…the great snacks? (no longer
free on most flights)
…the boarding practices?
…the mobile app functionality?
“The new look … is a strategic
improvement that is needed to improve
our customers’ overall experience… “

7. J.D. Power & Associates 2013 released its North
America Airline Satisfaction Study and
American Airlines was ranked second to last
in the traditional airlines category
(To ensure the privacy of our investigators we’ve used this
appropriate meme to best reflect our reactions.)

8. Reality
Market by all means.
Just don’t forget to
deliver what
you promised
because
(For more customer memes see Fonolo blog.)
65% of customers find it frustrating when they come
across inconsistent offers, experiences or treatments
through different channels when shopping for the
same product or service.

9. Customer experience
can be managed
by
Myth
#3
customer service.

10. Reality
(Source: Watermark Consulting 2013 Customer Experience Study)
A customer-centric culture needs an
enlightened leader.

11. Reality
Motivational posters on the wall don’t cut it!
It’s up to the leader to…
•
Keep things in perspective for
employees, stakeholders, and
customers
•
Include a customer advocate
in every meeting
•
Reward long-term customer
retention and loyalty, NOT just
short-term customer acquisition
•
Communicate the brand
promise EVERY DAY

12. User experience and
customer experience
are separate
parts of the
Journey.
Myth
#4

13. Reality
Good technology is simpatico with humans.
NICE Systems
was rated one of
the top 50
innovative
companies by
Fast Company
“for making apps
smarter and more
sympathetic.”
(picture via fastcompany.com)

14. Reality
Forgot your password?
Again and again?
Podio gets it.
They care and know tea
is comforting for the
HUMAN user.
(Chamomile, anyone?)

15. Reality
Customer experience encompasses...
customer
service
employee
onboarding
navigation:
online &
in store
even your
mission
statement
user
experience
IT IS A
complex puzzle
that involves
a number of
moving parts.

16. Customer experience
is
linear.
Myth
#5

17. Reality
Stella
the
customer
Stella looks
for the
mobile
website/app
Visits
desktop
website
Change of
plans:
Stella leaves
the house
Clicks
on Call-ToAction for
coupon
Inconsistent
experience:
The CTA
button is too
small on
mobile
Calls a
friend for
opinion
Investigates
social
media for
reviews
Humans are emotional creatures who experience unexpected
twists and turns during the journey
.

18. Reality
Y
our customers are not part of an assembly line!
The journey is a jungle gym.

19. Reality
Understanding your customer's true journey
is the foundation to great customer
experience.
Time to invest in journey mapping.
Go low tech –
Post its, whiteboards, etc.
Or go high tech –
There are lots of simple and
advanced tools available for
mapping and drawing.
Or email
Jeannie@360connext.com
Click to
find out
What is a
touchpoint?
Connect
T get you
o
Started!
Or CX
Journey
Mapping?

20. Customer Experience
innovation &
improvement is
expensive.
Myth
#6

21. Reality
Doesn’t look like it.
Enough said.

22. Customer experience
is about the
Myth
#7
big picture.
(don’t sweat the small stuff)

23. Reality
This guy uses
about 2/3 of his
neurons searching for
negative experiences
The brain’s amygdala
“Positive experiences have to be
held in awareness for more
than 12 seconds in order for the
transfer from short-term
memory to long-term
memory to take place.”
-Rick Hanson, PhD.

24. Reality
The little things mean the most.
even donut holes!
Lou Mitchell’s is a famous Chicago
restaurant and bakery known for
handing out donut holes to
salivating customers waiting in line.
Sinful!

25. Reality
There’s even a whole TEDx talk about
sweating the small stuff!
Have you seen
Jeannie's TEDx talk
on
Meaningful
Microinteractions?
Jeannie Walters at TEDx

26. Internal processes
do not affect
the
Myth
#8
customer experience.

27. Reality
companies with
highly engaged
workers grew two
and a half times as
much revenue as
those with low
engagement levels.
GrubHub treats their
workers to a picnic!

28. Reality
Actively disengaged
employees erode an
organization’s bottom
line.
Within the U.S. workforce,
Gallup estimates this cost
to the bottom line to be
more than $300 billion in
lost productivity alone.

29. If nobody
complains…
Myth
#9
the experience
must be awesome.

30. Reality
Customer complaints
via social networks
have nearly doubled
since 2011,
from19% to 35%.

31. Customer experience
isn’t that
important
Myth
#10
if there is little
or no competition.

32. Reality
Disruption is now the norm!
You've worked hard to help your business grow but your
customers can easily defect.
Don’t find yourself baffled when a disruptive company gets really good at stealing your
customers.
And if customers leave dissatisfied, they tell an average of 28 PEOPLE.
These companies once thought they had loyal customers, too:
You can do better.

33. Reality
What’s it in for you?
Be this 1%
1% of customers feel
organizations
consistently meet or
exceed expectations
By not investing in customer experience, you
could be sabotaging your success and
missing out on the ROI of:
• Growth
• Employee engagement
• Job creation
• Delighted customers
• Higher profits and productivity
• Fewer ruined days for your customers
(That’s actually our mission statement!)

34. Need help launching your own
customer experience investigation™?
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The evidence in this presentation was gathered from
the following sources:
•
•
•
•
•
•
“18 Interesting Stats to Get You Rethinking Your Customer
Service Process” by Salesforce
Accenture 2013 Global Consumer Pulse Survey
IBM Study
Customer Rage Study via WP Carey ASU Business School
10 Stats to prove the “Importance of Customer Experience”
Watermark Consulting 2013 Customer Experience Study