Technology as we know it empowers the "customer" – all customers – in ways that did not previously exist. New mediums, including the Internet, allow anyone to acquire significant information about and access to products, prices, costs and quality at the stroke of a key. Companies scramble to determine the best possible tactics to maintain and grow a loyal customer base in the wake of this faceless transaction.

Technology is a threat to the way business is conducted in many industries today. Truly, this information age has just begun and any current disruption in a company's customer base is small in comparison with the potential for disruption in the future.

We all want to receive good service, yet it often falls short of our expectations. If you can’t differentiate your business based on service, you are doomed to compete on price. And experience shows us that loyal customers rarely buy on price alone.

Providing good service is proactive, not reactive. Management needs to be committed to asking customers what is important to them and delivering on their needs and desires. They need to be the focus of our goals and strategies designed to achieve them. The commitment to exceptional service needs to be consistent and perpetual in order to maximize the benefits and value to organization. The entire system must be integrated with the constant reminder that if not for our customers, we would not be ...