Traditionally, it was believed that customer experience is the summation of all the customer’s interactions with a bank at various touch points, over time.

But, few researchers like Steven Walden have observed that customer experience is the extraction of value from what the touch points mean to the customer i.e., some touch points weigh heavier in the experience than others. It is important to take the time to look at the bank’s own business practices comprehensively through the lens of their customers to understand how they measure up to their customers’ needs and expectations. Does each customer interaction live up to the brand experience that your bank is trying to create? Are you providing a more consistent and relevant customer experience than your competitors are? Which interactions are the most powerful for creating customer loyalty?

Think about a routine service event—say, a product query—from the point of view of both the company and the customer. The company may receive millions of phone calls about the product and must handle each one well. But if asked about the experience months after the fact, a customer would never describe such a call as simply a “product question.” Understanding the context of a call is key. A customer might have been trying to ensure uninterrupted service after moving, make sense of the renewal options at the end of a contract, or fix a nagging technical problem. A company that manages complete journeys would not only do its best with the individual transaction but also seek to understand the broader reasons for the call, address the root causes, and create feedback loops to continuously improve interactions upstream and downstream from the call.

In our research and consulting on customer journeys, we’ve found that organizations able to skillfully manage the entire experience reap enormous rewards: enhanced customer satisfaction, reduced churn, increased revenue, and greater employee satisfaction. They also discover more-effective ways to collaborate across functions and levels, a process that delivers gains throughout the company.