The Customer Experience Edge: Technology and Techniques for Delivering an Enduring, Profitable, and Positive Experience to Your Customers

Given the title, this book gives more space than most to some key, current issues in customer experience which will be of interest to most readers. There is a chapter devoted to B2B, one on technology as the core ingredient, adding disruptive technologies for a competitive edge, emerging markets and exporting a profitable customer experience, as well as insightful information in the appendices on the Bloomberg Businessweek survey on customer experience with survey questionnaire and methodology details. Unlike many books in this field, this one covers new opportunities through mobile devices and social media and incorporates the role of technology throughout the book.

This book provides less background or detailed theoretical framework on customer experience, but other books could be used for reference. The Four Essentials of Customer Experience is a useful framework, however seems oversimplified from a theoretical standpoint.  The Bloomberg Businessweek survey and their resulting “Four Essentials of Customer Experience” is also an oversimplification and somewhat situation-specific to the survey.

Globalization and advanced technologies have given ever greater power to the person who decides if your business will succeed or fail–the customer. Whether your company serves consumers or other businesses, you can no longer compete on price and quality alone. To gain profits and market share, you have to deliver an experience that makes customers want to come back–and that sets you apart from the competition. You need to seize The Customer Experience Edge.
The Customer Experience Edge explains how to combine strategy, leadership, organizational change, and technology to:

• Develop products and services that are highly valued by customers
• Form bonds that keep clients from turning to competitors
• Transform customers into your best advocates

It’s a new world of business, and customers are keenly aware that their loyalty is valuable currency. The Customer Experience Edge gives you a cost-effective, sustainable way to provide an unforgettable experience that builds loyalty and turns it into real, measurable profits.

Useful information on B2B, technology in CE, applications in emerging markets (with case study), and good examples of disruptive technology and preserving your competitive edge in CE.  For related material, see Customer Experience Strategy (Senteo review).