Giving Teeth to Customer Experiences

Visiting the dentist is associated with pain. This time, however, in addition to the usual prodding and pricking, I experienced another agony – the affliction of bad customer experience.

Instead of being treated like a seven-year regular, I was given the newcomer routine. The reception desk handed me a dense, two-page form requesting my name, address and other details like my email address - even though an email reminder from their office got me there in the first place!

Why do businesses invest so little in making customer interactions easier and more pleasurable? They clearly invest in advertising and marketing: sophisticated databases, algorithms and campaign rules routinely interrupt our enjoyment of content. Yet brands rarely apply technology to make doing business simpler and hassle-free.

Another example of a poor experience was being bombarded by emails to register for a conference right after I signed up. Not only is that inefficient, it’s really annoying. Unfortunately, these are not exceptions. Why?

Designing great customer experiences is hard. Being a truly digital business goes extending the customer experience beyond the sale to include the entire Customer Journey. Being digital requires that your product or service is interactive and intelligent.

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