My feeling is that much of a great customer experience begins, as they say, at the beginning: with a great and well-defined brand, and with employees who understand the brand and feel passionate about delivering their own brand-aligned behaviors and have the tools to deliver on that brand.

I know from all the research, including our own, that employees are eager to understand their employer brands: a 2006 global survey found that the top two insights employees crave is information to help them be more effective on the job and insights on the brand. And aren't those often the same thing?

Not always. I can't help but remember instances where my own experience has trumped theory, where weak brands deliver great service, and great brands deliver weak service. For example, the time an employee at one of the lowest-rated airlines in the US took the time to escort me from the ticket counter through security so I'd be sure to catch my flight. Or the many times I've visited the award-winning retail store for one of the top brands in the world, and been told to make an appointment to ask a question about a faulty product. These are best outlined as touch points vs torch points. And companies who know the difference and act on fixing the latter end up ahead of the game.