Executives Have No Idea What Customers Want

I saw this article on Forbes.com and felt that it was a valuable piece of information for managers and HR executives.

A new study shows a major, dangerous disconnect.

Andrea Ayre's company recently surveyed several thousand U.S. consumers across 10 major industries to find out what they really think about customer service. We also surveyed executives in each of those industries.

What we learned is surprising.

We learned that we've shifted from a service economy to the experience economy, where customers are in control, unsuccessful brands are commodities and successful brands create consistently superior experiences.

We also learned that company executives are woefully disconnected from their customers when it comes to delivering the customer experience. One result was truly shocking in its implications for consumer-driven businesses: While most company executives say they have a solid understanding of their customers' experience and expectations, consumers vehemently disagree.

In fact, consumers say that companies not only don't know their needs, they also don't care. Where executives would give their companies' customer service "B" grades, consumers give them "D" grades. What's even worse is that executives have no idea how this disconnect is affecting their companies' futures.

Nearly half of consumers (47%) say they don't believe company executives understand their experiences, citing problems such as rude customer service staff or employees who provide the wrong information or never solve the customer's problem. More than one-third (41%) of the customers who take the time to complain don't think companies listen to or act on their feedback.

But that doesn't mean customers are doing nothing. On average, more than half will defect--leaving a company flatly--based on bad customer experiences, without ever telling the company why.

And the problem doesn't end there. Nearly nine out of 10 customers will tell their friends and colleagues about their bad experiences, creating a negative ripple effect in the prospective customer base that has serious implications for a company's future success. Yet the executives we surveyed thought that only 20% of customers shared the news about their bad experiences--a significant mismatch with the customer view.

And the biggest misunderstanding among executives? If customers don't complain to them, it means they don't have a problem and everything is fine. This is the silent but deadly company killer.