Gaps in the Customer Experience: Where Brand Promises Fall Short
In their white paper «Mind the Gap,» Vay Communications and Ideenfabrik show how companies can identify, assess the business impact of, and close invisible gaps in the customer experience.
Gaps in the Customer Experience as a Business Risk
The most costly gap in a company is usually invisible: the gap between what a brand promises, what processes are designed to deliver, and what customers actually experience. Companies invest money in brand building, thereby creating strong external promises. However, according to the report, if the customer journey isn’t consistently aligned with this promise, it leads to friction, abandoned purchases, additional service contacts, and ultimately losses in revenue and profitability. This is precisely where the new white paper «Mind the Gap» comes in, systematically addressing the gaps in the customer experience.
In «Mind the Gap,» Vanessa Blattmann of Vay Communications and Nicole Kaufmann of Ideenfabrik show how companies can identify such gaps along the customer journey, quantify their economic impact, and pinpoint the most effective levers for growth and profitability.
«Through their brand, positioning, and communication, companies promise their customers a specific experience. But this promise must be fulfilled throughout the entire customer journey,» says Nicole Kaufmann.
Vanessa Blattmann adds: «Especially when it comes to AI, this gap can prove costly for companies. Anyone who automates processes now without first verifying whether the customer journey actually works risks exacerbating existing problems. That’s why the customer’s perspective must come first, before any automation takes place.»
In the white paper, the two authors use real-world examples from large and small Swiss companies to demonstrate how such gaps can be identified and translated into concrete improvements. The document is available at https://www.vaycomm.ch/ideenfabrik retrievable.
Understand, Improve, Automate
The joint approach taken by Vay Communications and Ideenfabrik follows a clear principle: understand, improve, automate. First, the actual customer journey is analyzed and compared with the underlying processes and the brand promise. Next, problem areas are identified, evaluated from a business perspective, and prioritized. Only then are solutions developed, tested, and—where appropriate—scaled through technology, automation, and artificial intelligence.
Vay Communications and Ideenfabrik combine two perspectives: the strategic power of a strong brand and the consistent design of a compelling customer experience. Vanessa Blattmann brings her many years of experience in branding, strategy, and communication, while Nicole Kaufmann contributes her expertise in customer experience, service design, and business development. Together, they aim to help companies not only formulate brand promises but also bring them to life and make them commercially effective throughout the entire customer journey.
For more information on the «Mind the Gap» white paper, visit https://www.vaycomm.ch/ideenfabrik.
