Book excerpt: We are in what many call “The Age of the Customer.” Customers are empowered more than ever before and demand a high level of customer attention and service. Their increasing expectations and demands worldwide have forced organizations to transform themselves and prepare for the customer experience (CX) battlefield. This landmark book addresses: What customer experience really means Why it matters Whether it has any substantial business impact What your organization can do to deliver and sustain your CX efforts, and How we got to this particular point in CX history This book is the result of exhaustive research conducted to incorporate various components that affect customer experience. Based on the research results, the authors make a case for seeing CX and associated transformations as the next natural evolution of the quality management system (QMS) already in place in most companies. Using an existing QMS as the foundation for CX not only creates a more sustainable platform, but it allows for a faster and more cost effective way to enable an organization to attain world-class CX.