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Did you ever think about where the idea of customer experience comes from? It\u2019s such a simple idea – provide your customers with a great experience so that they will come back and buy again and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But as with everything in life, CX\u2019s origin story is messy and not that well known.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Only a few years ago you could say that \u2018CX\u2019 is just the current buzzword and that it wouldn\u2019t stick. Yet here we are in 2024, and CX is bigger and more important than ever. So in today\u2019s article, we will break down the evolution of CX and how it morphed into becoming one of the biggest business disciplines in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this era, customers had a personalised relationship with the shopkeepers, and transactions were often based on trust and familiarity. The concept of customer experience wasn\u2019t formalised, but personalised interactions were crucial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the beginning of the 20th century, \u201chairdressing salons, followed by courses to learn how to do one\u2019s hair, apply make-up, and walk with elegance\u201d appeared. This attracted wealthier customers. However, after World War II in 1945, people started to become richer. The US government provided returning soldiers with grants to buy homes and attend college. As well as this, advances in production techniques and technology led to increased employment opportunities and economic optimism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1947, the ISO (International Organisation for Standardization) was created and the customer gained more rights and the saying \u201cCustomer is always right\u201d was born. (The era of the Customer is King)<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Around the same time the Father of Quality Control, William Edwards Deming, and his principal theory dealt with the reason why manufacturing operations were flawed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTo go with his simple idea of ensuring quality before the product was created, Deming reasoned that the only way operations could be improved was if management was taking immediate action to do so, instead of pinning improvement solely on employees.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n From these new specialised quality control techniques, the Japanese industry post World War II, developed as management practices in the U.S. lagged.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1982 Deming published \u201cOut of Crisis\u201d including his 14 Principles of Quality Management and urged continual improvement over short-term financial goals, aligning with Japanese business strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the time when \u2018Customer Satisfaction\u2019 also took off along with \u201cconducting large-scale customer satisfaction studies\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The term \u2018Customer Relationship Management\u2019 gained prominence as technology facilitated better management and analysis of customer interaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1994, Lewis \u201cLou\u201d Carbone published his Marketing Management magazine \u201cEngineering Customer Experiences\u201d which introduces businesses to the idea of prioritising repeat business and incorporating customer experiences into their business design.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shortly after \u201cThe Experience Economy\u201d article by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore was published. They too focused on describing a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers. They explained that by staging the experiences, businesses will transform the value of what they produce.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This was the time when the idea of business differentiation through CX and the possibility of customers choosing to pay more for a great experience was introduced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A digital transformation including the rise of the internet, e-commerce and digital communication channels revolutionised customer interactions. This shifted the power from businesses to consumers, enabling online searches for products and allowing the customer to openly share their experiences in online forums.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was only at this time that businesses began recognising the importance of delivering memorable experiences. The term \u2018omnichannel\u2019 was introduced but it took a few years for it to gain traction.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Business leaders, researchers and marketers dubbed 2010 as the end of the \u201cAge of Information\u201d and the beginning of the \u201cAge of the Customer\u201d. Technology improved at a much more rapid rate and the rise of Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allowed customers to communicate with each other easier and faster. The danger of businesses losing thousands of customers just by someone making one bad comment about them online became a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The term \u201ccustomer experience\u201d started to be widely used as a formal concept. Companies began establishing dedicated CX teams and strategies to ensure a holistic approach to customer satisfaction and loyalty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At this time businesses already understood the many benefits of investing in excellent customer experiences and they were all in, with investment in CX growing every year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Today AI and machine learning technologies have been increasingly employed to analyze vast amounts of customer data. Businesses are leveraging AI for chatbots, predictive analytics and personalisation, providing more tailored and efficient customer experience than ever before possible on such a big scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The future of customer experience involves continuous innovation and a commitment to customer-centricity, adapting to emerging technologies and changing consumer behaviours. We cannot say exactly where it will be in 50 years but based on data that we gathered from many world CX experts we have made <\/span>our predictions for 2024 which you can read here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe late 1800s\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
1900s – 1950s\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
1980s<\/b><\/h2>\n
1990s<\/b><\/h2>\n
2000s<\/b><\/h2>\n
2010s<\/b><\/h2>\n
2015<\/b><\/h2>\n
2020s\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
The future<\/b><\/h2>\n