Customer - Company Disconnects

Yesterday CRM Advocate had a great post on "The Grand Disconnect". They describe a study done by Accenture where they found three quarters of technology vendors felt they deliver an above average service, and half think they are best-of-class. In the same study, 78% of their customers felt they have average or below average service. Sound familiar?

Bain did a similar study where they found 80% believe they deliver a "superior experience" to customers. But when Bain asked their customers, they said only 8% are really delivering.

This is our reality. Companies need to get focused on improving their customer experience or they will feel the pain in future revenue and stock price. They need to build processes to listen to customers at every touch point and find ways to optimize for the customer's benefit, not their own. The cost cutting measures of offshore call centers, automated call routing, lower training budgets and reduced headcount are costing you money. You need to find the balance between managing your profitability and keeping your revenue.

Why do organizations remain delusional about their quality of service? Listen to your customers, not yourselves.