Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Shaun Smith, who has been a key catalyst in expanding management focus from the tactical issues of customer service to the much wider and strategic issue of customer experience. Shaun is also the author of “BOLD”. Find out more about him here.
What’s the biggest obstacle to implementing customer experience successfully?

‘Lack of strategy’ according to Forrester’s annual State of Customer Experience report 2011.

We agree, but strategy in itself – even if it is bold, differentiated and customer-centric – won’t guarantee success. Where we see most companies fail is in the execution.

In our work with brands around the world we see that there is a lack of coherent thinking about how brand positioning, marketing, customer experience and employee experience fit together, and, dovetail they must if you are to be successful. Many of you will be thinking about how to execute your customer experience strategy in 2012 so let’s see what we can learn from a topical example…
A tale of two airlines…
There are two major Asian airlines that have recently posted their 4th quarter results for 2011. They share some common features; both employ very attractive flight attendants dressed in smart red …

Vijay Mallya, often considered the Richard Branson of India, was recently interviewed by BBC on a range of issues concerning the Kingfisher brand. For those who’re not aware, he heads Kingfisher Airlines, as well as Kingfisher beer, under his UB Group. In this BBC interview, Mallya talks about starting new routes to London, airline bankruptcies and even how sponsoring the Indian Premier League was a huge success for Kingfisher, unlike what is generally thought. He starts by characterizing entrepreneurship as the ability to think creatively and do things differently. Enjoy watching the interview.

Source: BBC

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Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia, suffered a setback recently. Indra Setiawan, a former CEO of the airline was sentenced to 12 months in prison for his part in the mid-air killing of a human rights activist. From a branding perspective, this just rubs salts in the already-wounded brand image of Garuda – since it already has one of the worst airline safety track records in Asia. The airline is leaving few options for its customers to form a positive perception.
Probably the only way they can resurrect the brand is to win on price competition, while still remaining full service, and impress the customers – a tough bet, given their track record. May be the new planes they ordered at the Singapore Airshow recently will help them rescue the brand with new routes to US and Europe, at good prices (and of course, the new planes). Airlines – and other worthy brands (Apple?)- must always be vary of coupling themselves too tightly with an individual. Although this can be a huge X-Factor for the brand, which differentiates it with other airlines, it can be a risky proposition.