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Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses Customer Experience Management (CEM) as a new form of value creation in highly competitive environments. Findings from an empirical study of domestic and foreign-affiliated companies in Japan are presented to understand how experiences are planned, executed, and controlled.

Paper long abstract:

One of the key goals of the new economic policy advocated by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is to build a society that facilitates the birth of new services. This requires proper management of customer services, engagement, and success as companies move from selling products and services to fully-fledged solutions in this digital age. High expectations are being placed on Japan which has always been considered to have a high service quality standard, and Japanese customers evaluate a relatively wide array of service performance criteria (Khan, 2009). However, the mere introduction of new services and improvement of service quality alone is not enough to remain competitive in this globalized world.

In recent years, Customer Experience Management (CEM), or “the process of strategically managing a customer’s entire experience with a product or company” (Schmitt, 2003), has gained much attention from academics and practitioners. This management concept is seen as a way to evolve to the next step of value creation by offering unique experiences, to achieve competitive advantages and to develop customer loyalty. However, most existing studies remain conceptual and little insights are available from empirical research, particularly in the context of Japanese Management.

This paper proposes a holistic approach to measure and manage customer experiences and presents findings from semi-structured interviews with domestic and foreign-affiliated companies in Japan that explore how interactions between customers and companies are planned, executed, and controlled. Insights from this study will be used to develop an integrated model of CEM for managing the complex set of customer touchpoints across different channels and platforms. The implications of the findings from this study will also be discussed, particularly in the context of future business model development and how CEM techniques can be used to enhance the value for customers, partners, and society at large. These insights will become important for companies in Japan, particularly for those who struggle in global and competitive markets despite offering high quality products.