:: adgruntie :: Consumer experiences

+ CIO reports on the "Are You Being Served" study done by Grass Roots using mystery shoppers. Big changes show that staff product knowledge (or what consumers think the staff should know) is down, but friendliness is up. It's somewhat interesting to see the results. I think it's put best here:

As we know, consumers do business as much with people as they do with institutions or brands. The slickest advertising and creative surroundings can only be effective if the customer experience lives up to the expectations they create. Retailers would do well to remember that marketing is not just about creating brand awareness; it is the entire customer experience.

Of course there are circumstances where this is not totally valid, such as purchases made online with no human interaction of any kind. But that still means that the packages need to get to the customer ontime, accurately,etc. And in those instances I suppose that would be the completion of the entire customer experience.

It is something that some companies leave by the way-side and don't pay as much attention to as they should. Just a good thing to remember.