In Search Of Customer Experience Management In Service Industry The Importance Of Experiential Interfaces

Abstract

Customer Experience Management (CEM) is a strategic and valuable marketing mechanism yet underexplored in the service industry. Marketing literature offers two common approaches to managing service experience: managing the experiential aspects of service and managing service touchpoints. Since both approaches come with some limitations, this study attempts to understand how service firms effectively manage customer experience in practice. This research built on empirical data from the review of five best practices. The findings revealed the key role of ‘experiential interfaces’ in the success of these cases. The study also identified the key practices supporting CEM at two levels of core offerings and supplementary services. The study provides an empirical foundation for the conceptualization and operationalization of experiential interfaces for future research.