It’s only 10 am, but already I’ve ‘experienced’ a number of companies.

I experienced Albuquerque’s Sun Tran Bus as it stopped, right on time, in front of my house. I experienced Starbucks—in store while ordering and again at home reading “the way I see it #299” printed on my cup. I experienced an auto service center, and the indifferent employee I spoke with about a faulty airbag sensor (my third actually). I experienced NPR. I experienced Diners Club, and the helpful call center employee who updated my mailing address.

The list goes on. And every experience is important. Dare I say, vitally important. Sun Tran, by being on time, improved my willingness to ride with them in the future. Contrarily, the service center, unmoved by my third airbag sensor problem, raised service and reliability concerns. Bottom line: the quality of these experiences matter. They influence brand perception, strengthening or weakening the customer/company bond.

While most companies would agree customer experience plays a vital role in their competitiveness, few enjoy the organizational capabilities and competencies to holistically understand, and more importantly influence, the state of these experiences.

To help, Peppers & Rogers Group partnered with SAS and Jubelirer Research to undertake the first in a global series of empirical investigations designed to understand, explore, document and assess concerns of customer experience. Their recently published research report presents insight into the forces reshaping marketing and expounds the Customer Experience Maturity Monitor, a 5-step tool you can use to assess and improve experiences of your customers.

If you are interested in learning more about this research there are a few options:

• First, you can register and download the free research report, which includes the 5-step 'Customer Experience Maturity Monitor' assessment and improvement tool;
• And second, you can register for a free on-demand AMA/SAS Webcast – Multichannel Mayhem: Tapping the Customer Experience for Competitive Advantage.