S
,Lecture 1: Introduction to Customer
Experience Management
Why Customer Experience (CX) Matters
Companies increasingly recognize CX as critical: 93% of business leaders say that
delivering a relevant and reliable customer experience is essential for overall business
performance. At the same time, many firms struggle, only 15% report being very effective at
CX.
CX is important because:
● Happy customers return more often.
● Superior experiences differentiate brands beyond price and product quality.
● Satisfied customers share positive word of mouth, while poor experiences harm
reputation.
This reflects Abbott’s idea (1955) that people desire satisfying experiences, not just
products.
What Is Customer Experience?
CX is defined as a “Customer experience is a multidimensional construct focusing on
a customer’s cognitive, emotional, behavioral, sensorial, and social responses to a
firm’s offerings during the customer’s entire purchase journey. (Lemon & Verhoef,
2016).
CX includes every interaction: marketing communications, buying processes, product use,
problem handling, and even how the brand appears in the external world. For instance,
BMW does not only offer a car; it delivers a holistic experience including sales interactions,
driving moments, after-sales service, and brand perceptions.
CX Across the Customer Journey
CX emerges throughout the three main journey stages:
1. Pre-purchase: need recognition, search, evaluation.
2. Purchase: ordering, payment, delivery.
3. Post-purchase: usage, support, engagement.
Although models often show a linear journey, reality is far more
chaotic, more like “bumblebees” moving unpredictably between
touchpoints.
Touchpoints, Context, Qualities (TCQ) Framework
TCQ is a foundational framework for analyzing and designing experiences.
,A. Touchpoints (T)
Touchpoints are all moments of
interaction between customer
and brand. They differ along:
● Nature: human, digital,
physical
● Control: firm-controlled
vs. non-firm-controlled
(e.g., reviews, resale).
● Stage: pre-purchase,
purchase, post-purchase.
Touchpoints are driven by
customer goals. Customers
“hire” touchpoints to get a job done (Christensen et al. 2016).
Examples:
● Visiting a website to compare products.
● Using a helpdesk to “get unstuck.”
If another touchpoint accomplishes the job better, customers switch.
B. Context (C)
The same touchpoint can be experienced differently
depending on context, meaning the temporary conditions
shaping the customer’s state. Context types:
1. Individual: mood, physical condition, cognition.
○ Example: bad moods heighten sensitivity to
negative cues.
2. Social: norms, presence of others.
○ Example: crowded spaces increase mobile ad
response.
3. Market: competitor actions, available substitutes.
○ Example: competitor data breaches can spill
over negatively.
4. Environmental: weather, economy, infrastructure.
○ Example: sunny weather increases mobile ad
engagement.
C. Qualities (Q)
Qualities describe how customers experience a
touchpoint:
● Participation level: passive → active.
● Dimensionality: cognitive, emotional,
sensorial, social, behavioral.
, ● Valence: positive → negative.
● Ordinariness: ordinary → extraordinary.
● Timeflow: short → long duration.
Together, TCQ helps firms assess whether a touchpoint delivers value and how it should be
improved.
Using TCQ for Audits and Innovation
The TCQ framework informs:
CX Audit
1. Identify touchpoints and assess nature, control, and stage.
2. Recognize contextual influences.
3. Evaluate delivered experience qualities.
4. Benchmark, identify pain points, and prioritize improvements.
CX Design & Innovation
1. Define desired experience qualities.
2. Determine context data needed.
3. Configure the optimal set of touchpoints.
4. Experiment and iterate.
Managing the CX Challenge: The Homburg et al. (2015)
Model
CX management consists of three aligned layers:
1. Cultural Mindset:
○ Managers must adopt an experiential mindset, not just a product mindset.
2. Strategic Direction:
○CX should be designed to ensure thematic cohesion, consistency,
connectivity, and context sensitivity across touchpoints.
○ Examples:
■ Coolblue as a consistent brand across channels
■ Macy’s integrating online and offline seamlessly
■ Weather-based adaptation on websites
3. Firm Capabilities:
○ Ability to design, prioritize, monitor, and adapt touchpoints.
,Lecture 1: Introduction to Customer
Experience Management
Why Customer Experience (CX) Matters
Companies increasingly recognize CX as critical: 93% of business leaders say that
delivering a relevant and reliable customer experience is essential for overall business
performance. At the same time, many firms struggle, only 15% report being very effective at
CX.
CX is important because:
● Happy customers return more often.
● Superior experiences differentiate brands beyond price and product quality.
● Satisfied customers share positive word of mouth, while poor experiences harm
reputation.
This reflects Abbott’s idea (1955) that people desire satisfying experiences, not just
products.
What Is Customer Experience?
CX is defined as a “Customer experience is a multidimensional construct focusing on
a customer’s cognitive, emotional, behavioral, sensorial, and social responses to a
firm’s offerings during the customer’s entire purchase journey. (Lemon & Verhoef,
2016).
CX includes every interaction: marketing communications, buying processes, product use,
problem handling, and even how the brand appears in the external world. For instance,
BMW does not only offer a car; it delivers a holistic experience including sales interactions,
driving moments, after-sales service, and brand perceptions.
CX Across the Customer Journey
CX emerges throughout the three main journey stages:
1. Pre-purchase: need recognition, search, evaluation.
2. Purchase: ordering, payment, delivery.
3. Post-purchase: usage, support, engagement.
Although models often show a linear journey, reality is far more
chaotic, more like “bumblebees” moving unpredictably between
touchpoints.
Touchpoints, Context, Qualities (TCQ) Framework
TCQ is a foundational framework for analyzing and designing experiences.
,A. Touchpoints (T)
Touchpoints are all moments of
interaction between customer
and brand. They differ along:
● Nature: human, digital,
physical
● Control: firm-controlled
vs. non-firm-controlled
(e.g., reviews, resale).
● Stage: pre-purchase,
purchase, post-purchase.
Touchpoints are driven by
customer goals. Customers
“hire” touchpoints to get a job done (Christensen et al. 2016).
Examples:
● Visiting a website to compare products.
● Using a helpdesk to “get unstuck.”
If another touchpoint accomplishes the job better, customers switch.
B. Context (C)
The same touchpoint can be experienced differently
depending on context, meaning the temporary conditions
shaping the customer’s state. Context types:
1. Individual: mood, physical condition, cognition.
○ Example: bad moods heighten sensitivity to
negative cues.
2. Social: norms, presence of others.
○ Example: crowded spaces increase mobile ad
response.
3. Market: competitor actions, available substitutes.
○ Example: competitor data breaches can spill
over negatively.
4. Environmental: weather, economy, infrastructure.
○ Example: sunny weather increases mobile ad
engagement.
C. Qualities (Q)
Qualities describe how customers experience a
touchpoint:
● Participation level: passive → active.
● Dimensionality: cognitive, emotional,
sensorial, social, behavioral.
, ● Valence: positive → negative.
● Ordinariness: ordinary → extraordinary.
● Timeflow: short → long duration.
Together, TCQ helps firms assess whether a touchpoint delivers value and how it should be
improved.
Using TCQ for Audits and Innovation
The TCQ framework informs:
CX Audit
1. Identify touchpoints and assess nature, control, and stage.
2. Recognize contextual influences.
3. Evaluate delivered experience qualities.
4. Benchmark, identify pain points, and prioritize improvements.
CX Design & Innovation
1. Define desired experience qualities.
2. Determine context data needed.
3. Configure the optimal set of touchpoints.
4. Experiment and iterate.
Managing the CX Challenge: The Homburg et al. (2015)
Model
CX management consists of three aligned layers:
1. Cultural Mindset:
○ Managers must adopt an experiential mindset, not just a product mindset.
2. Strategic Direction:
○CX should be designed to ensure thematic cohesion, consistency,
connectivity, and context sensitivity across touchpoints.
○ Examples:
■ Coolblue as a consistent brand across channels
■ Macy’s integrating online and offline seamlessly
■ Weather-based adaptation on websites
3. Firm Capabilities:
○ Ability to design, prioritize, monitor, and adapt touchpoints.
