Rounding out the Hi-Tech track, Tabitha Dunn, Director of Customer Insights for Citrix Online - the home of such celebrated projects as GoTo Meeting, GoTo Assist and GoTo Webinar - shared some insights about how NPS can be a driver of corporate priorities.

In the case of Citrix Online, the driver was product development and innnovation.

Tabitha gave us a veiled look at the projected numbers for a top-secret new project coming from Citrix Online. We were able to see the projections, but we don't know what the product is...yet. We got the distinct impression that the new product might hit digital shelves in about a month or so. Exciting!

Tabitha took the time to answer a lot of participant questions -- so much so that we had a mic runner in the room the entire time, but here are a few top-level take-aways:

• Make sure you ask what people really want. And when you ask, get to the bottom of why they want what they want. Delivering on the wrong want/need can deliver low NPS scores. Tabitha gave the example of Citrix Online's customers asking for a smart phone client for their GoTo MyPC product. On the surface, it appeared that people wanted to be able to visit their computer desktops from their smart phone. But, when asked why they wanted to be able to do this and pointing out that the screen would be very tiny, etc., it turns out that users wanted to be able to access files in case they forgot them while traveling, for instance. (I personally think that some sort of file transfer product is what Citrix Online is launching in a month or so - some sort of GoTo MyFiles or something - but I can't be sure and certainly have no inside knowledge of such. It would be a good move for them though.)
• Tabitha said, "The 'money' question is: how can we get from a 5 to a 10?" Meaning, the true value to a company's NPS program lies in figuring out how to drive improvement.
• After seeing the various financial models and NPS/CX programs they've built, I chimed in and asked how long it took them to achieve what they've done. Her answer: 11 months and 2 full-time active team members. Wow, way to go Citrix.

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Most companies have some sort of verbiage on their website that speaks about how important providing quality customer service is to them. They talk about how their service is top-notch, A-1, best-in-class, etc. And, this used to be impressive and convincing, but the time for that has passed. We've entered a new age.

We've entered a time when people expect experiences - and consistent ones - from your brand. It is no longer acceptable for one customer service rep to give one answer and someone else gives a different answer. This is where processes and procedures come heavily into play and can be a lifesaver for your brand.

It might seem like slight-of-word or semantics, but brands really need to make the shift from a service mentality to an experience mentality. Think relationship, not transaction.

Consider how you're treated when you shop at Nordstrom. When you purchase something, the clerk walks around the counter to personally hand you the item you've purchased. No one ever reaches over a counter at Nordstrom to hand you your shopping bag - at least they shouldn't. It's simply not the Nordstrom way. When you ask someone where something is in Nordstrom, they walk you directly to the item. There's no pointing and saying, "Over there." That's part of customer experience at Nordstrom. As are their signature blue shopping bags and gift boxes.

Compare this to your experience at the local corner store where you're told that vitamins can be found, "In the back on the right," and where your bag rips before you can leave the store with your item.

You might be inclined to think that this is about a price point. It's not. In fact, price point is the sad excuse many brands make when they want to explain away their poor customer experience.

Don't fall into this trap. Brands that offer products and services at lower price points should not focus any less on creating an experience, and in fact, they should focus more. Because an experience is about the totality of what your customer feels when they do business with your company; from how they are spoken to, to your return policies, to the cleanliness of your public restrooms.

The whole point of this year's Net Promoter conference is to take a good, hard, honest look at where your customer experience program is headed. Is it helping you to do swift business in this day and time of creating stellar customer experiences or does it have you stuck in the dark ages of transaction-based customer service?

If the former, come to the conference to see how you can learn from the best about how to make it better. If the later, well, I'll see you there