The effortless experience - Matthew Dixon

In their acclaimed bestseller The Challenger Sale,Matthew Dixon and his colleagues at CEB bustedmany longstanding myths about sales. Now they'veturned their research and analysis to a new vitalbusiness subject-customer loyalty-with a new book that turns the conventional wisdom on its head.

The idea that companies must delight customersby exceeding service expectations is so entrenchedthat managers rarely even question it. They devoteuntold time, energy, and resources to trying todazzle people and inspire their undying loyalty. YetCEB's careful research over five years and tens ofthousands of respondents proves that the "dazzlefactor" is wildly overrated-it simply doesn't predictrepeat sales, share of wallet, or positive wordof-mouth. The reality:

Loyalty is driven by how well a company deliverson its basic promises and solves day-to-day problems,not on how spectacular its service experience mightbe. Most customers don't want to be "wowed"; theywant an effortless experience. And they are far morelikely to punish you for bad service than to rewardyou for good service.

If you put on your customer hat rather than yourmanager or marketer hat, this makes a lot of sense.What do you really want from your cable company,a free month of HBO when it screws up or a fast,painless restoration of your connection? Whatabout your bank-do you want free cookies and acheerful smile, even a personal relationship withyour teller? Or just a quick in-and-out transactionand an easy way to get a refund when it accidentallyovercharges on fees?

The Effortless Experience takes readers on afascinating journey deep inside the customer experienceto reveal what really makes customersloyal-and disloyal. The authors lay out the fourkey pillars of a low-effort customer experience,along the way delivering robust data, shocking insightsand profiles of companies that are alreadyusing the principles revealed by CEB's research,with great results. And they includemany tools andtemplates you can start applying right away toimprove service, reduce costs, decrease customerchurn, and ultimately generate the elusive loyaltythat the "dazzle factor" fails to deliver.

The rewards are there for the taking, and thepathway to achieving them is now clearly marked.