Great Expectations, Failed Promises

Before we close, why don't you each share one tool or tactic that you can't live without.

Logan: You have to understand what your customer is looking for, and you have to build your business around that customer need.

Jackson: In creating a coherent experience from the company, you often have to please the customer and sort out the financials later. Conflict is inevitable wherever money and resources are involved. But that internal conflict should never affect the customer experience.

Rogers: We're in the covered-wagon stage. Customer service isn't just about the technology. The whole idea of building relationships can't be installed -- it has to be adopted. We have to adopt a culture that puts customers, not company-oriented values, first.

I find it both challenging and exhilarating that we're leaving a period in which products are incredibly differentiable. We're moving into an era in which our biggest long-term advantage is being able to track customers across time and channels. We have seen some real success stories, in both new- and old-economy businesses. There's real return on investment if we do things right. Great companies do something for their customers that other companies cannot or will not. As long as those great companies can keep the customer talking to them, they will win.

Anni Layne (alayne@fastcompany.com) is the Fast Company senior Web editor. Linda Tischler (ltischler@fastcompany.com) is the Fast Company managing editor of new media.