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Customer Engagement seems to have big buzz at the moment with the introduction of Web 2.0 (whatever that is?) and businesses seeing the raging success of the likes of MySpace, YouTube and Blogs.

A recent E-Consultancy Report shows what Companies deem the five greatest “barriers” to delivering the best possible customer experience:

1. Lack of resources / time (regarded as a “great barrier” by 66% of company respondents)
2. Disconnected systems & technologies (50%)
3. Lack of skills and training (38%)
4. Lack of finances (37%)
5. Lack of regular processes and / or suitable methodology (36%)

Dare I say, and this is a general observation, it’s as if businesses want something in return up front before committing. I’m not talking about finances (that’s not the deciding factor), but about time and training to create a better customer experience. We are talking about effort and commitment up front to build the ‘experience’ into a website and then build customer loyalty (’build ‘being the important word in the equation).

At the end of the day a website and it’s technology are just that, it doesn’t matter what you think it should do. it’s all about the experience as far as your customers are concerned and that is what you need to deliver. In exactly the same way as dealing with a Company on the phone, or a shop experience.

That may take a complicated Content Managed System, it might be one web page but… if as much effort was put into delivering the experience as it was to the platform, the design, or even "the features that my girlfriend reckons are good", you may end up with a lot more happy (and retained) customers.

Glad I got that off my chest.