1. 4 Disciplines That Consistently Drive Exemplary
Customer Experiences
This is the age of the customer. You're not going to succeed only through your manufacturing
power, distribution prowess or information mastery – these have all been commoditized.
Companies that want to succeed must do the work of building competence in delivering
extraordinary customer experiences. Irrespective of where you are in your customer experience
transformation journey, the thought of becoming irrelevant to your customers should prod you
to take action. Use the following golden rules to help your organization design and deliver
breakthrough experiences that create “wow”. Focus on:
 Moments of Truth
 Brand Values
 Technology and People
 Brand Ecosystem
MOMENTS OF TRUTH
‘The First Moment of Truth’, the first interaction between a shopper
and a product on a store’s shelf was a term coined by Procter
&Gamble in 2005. It was proposed as one of the most critical
marketing opportunities for a brand as P&G asserted, and others believed that shoppers make
up their mind about a product in the first few seconds after they encounter that product for the
first time.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

2. For customers of Starwood Hotels& Resorts, owner of the
“W” and Westin chains, the moment of truth comes when
customers first walk through the door of their hotel room and
see the bed. The bed (clean with sumptuous linens) is
believed to strike a powerful emotional chord with
customers, so much so that Starwood Westin now offers the
“Heavenlybed” for sale.
BRAND VALUES
Well-articulated brands find clear and compelling
differentiators that prompt customers to become impassioned
advocates. There are several companies such as Harley-
Davidson, Apple, IKEA that possess such strong differentiators that their customers connect to
them on an emotional level, creating “tribes”, “loyalists” and “followers”. The strongest tribal
brands evoke “loyalty beyond reason” – for e.g. this kind of loyalty persuades people to have
Harley-Davidson tattooed across their bodies; wait for 6-7 hours outside the Apple store to get
their hands and in the case of fans of the furniture brand IKEA – create fan art, write songs, beg
to sleep in the stores overnight and even get married at IKEA stores. These are the lodestars of
customer experience. In a world of competing alternatives, these brands make it easy for
customers to show allegiance to them.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

3. Witness IKEA. Everywhere you look in its stores, the company’s brand values are evident: the
company highlights its low prices boldly across all product merchandise. Products feature
superior design aesthetics, clearly distinguishing it from its rivals. Makes shopping so engaging
and interactive; armed with free paper measuring tapes, pencil and notepads provided at the
entrance, shoppers can make use of on-site childcare to shop in comfort. Everything in IKEA
reflects the brand, leading to a satisfying interaction for each of its store’s customers.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

4. TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
Technology is deployed to keep customers happy and coming
back. Tools are employed to profile the most profitable
customers and helps managers focus their people on keeping
them happy. For e.g. Harrah’s Entertainment,Inc
(Harrah’s) achieved a leadership position in the gaming industry use innovative use of
information technology to enable a keen focus on knowing their customers well, giving them
great service and rewarding their loyalty so they seek out a Harrah’s casino whenever and
wherever they play resulting in a 72 percent increase in the number of customers who play at
more than one Harrah’s property increasing customer retention and share of wallet.
CREATE A BRAND ECOSYSTEM
Customers also interact with a brand across
multiple channels or touch points such as
the store, website, email, call center, IVR and
mobile. While each touch point needs to
work in a seamless way to ensure brand and
delivery consistency, analyzing these
moments of truth as a constellation of
experiences that stitch together can provide opportunities for creating customer “wow”. For
instance, the Nike+ Fuel band ecosystem that includes the hardware, software and interactive
content that is designed to track your daily athletic activity and goals.
Designing an orchestrating great customer experiences is harder than you think. But the payoff
is immense – you will be rewarded with customers’ genuine affiliation and unwavering loyalty!
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com

5. About CXP Design
CXP Design (www.cxpdesign.com), founded by Rupa Shankar, is a platform for marketers,
technologists, designers and leaders to discuss and gain a deeper understanding of cross-channel
customer experience design, develop empathy for customer needs and learn how to create
products and services that deliver "wow" experiences for customers.
When we check into a hotel. When we shop on-line. When we buy a pair of shoes. When we get on
a flight. These are experiences by which we measure brands every day. However, most companies
are without the tools to purposefully design those experiences for maximum value. That’s where
CXP Design comes in.
Day in, day out, we live, sleep, eat, breathe and unravel the riddle that is human experience, leading
to more loyal and committed customers for our clients.
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Rupa is an Associate Director at Happiest Minds Technologies (www.happiestminds.com), a next-
generation IT Services & Solutions company at the forefront of Providing Advisory, Implementation and
Managed Services on Social computing, Mobility, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud computing,
Security and Unified Communications. At Happiest Minds, Rupa is responsible for uncovering and
activating innovative digital and social engagement strategies for its clients, spearheading the
development of frameworks and solutions for different industry verticals and enhancing the global go-to-
market strategy. She taps into her past work as both a design practitioner and marketer to help Happiest
Minds clients envision and define broad, end-to-end customer experiences.
© Rupa Shankar
www.cxpdesign.com