| | December 20168CIOReviewHow Positive Customer Experiences Deliver a Competitive Advantage for Networking VendorsBy Dan Adam, CIO, Extreme NetworksConsumers are faced with thousands of product and service choices every day-which gives them the power over which companies succeed in the marketplace. Now more than ever, companies are responsible for acknowledging, understanding and delivering on their customers' needs. A 2014 study conducted by a leading analyst firm revealed that 89 percent of businesses are expected to primarily compete over customer experience in the upcoming years. Organizations that take customer experience seriously will stand out from the noise, and secure customer loyalty. Our brand reputations are in the hands of our customers, which is why it has become necessary to place their needs at the core of our business models. Customer intimacy is job one. Know your customer and what will make them successful.Understandably, many companies find it difficult when deciding whether their products or services are more important. The answer is a combination of both. Offering products and services that meet customer preferences and changing needs will demonstrate that we exist to optimize the customer experience. Customers are savvy and have the power to choose between competing companies, which all offer varying levels of customer service from poor to excellent. A study conducted by Echo Research found that 70 percent of U.S. consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service to ensure a superior customer experience.From a technology vendor's perspective, the goal is to build a consistent, high-quality customer experience that meets or surpasses the standard that has been set in terms of what the company wants to deliver; because when executed correctly, customer experience will be a point of differentiation from competitors. Companies that focus on maximizing satisfaction, with regard to the entire customer journey have the potential to increase customer satisfaction by 20 percent, (Mckinsey, 2014).A company will ultimately face challenges if it fails to prioritize the customer experience, as a superior customer experience becomes a unique and valued offering. It is time to consider how the customer experience could be helping you to build stronger customer relationships, and ultimately achieve market excellence.As the marketplace becomes increasingly congested with more technology vendors that offer the same services and use the identical buzzwords, it's important to stand out through other means. Your competitors will claim that they too offer top-notch customer support and service, but if you achieve a 100 percent in-sourced technical support center with 24-hour service available seven days a week, you will hold a market advantage.As the CIO of a company that provides wired and wireless connectivity to venues ranging from college campuses, to Dan AdamIn MY Opinion
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