Industry benchmarks aren’t the same right across the board. Knowing your Net Profit Margin, for example, is only as valuable as knowing what the NPM is for your industry.

You will want to consider industry norms for things such as costs, sales per employee, profit margins, and customer service standards. The industry norm is really just the average for the industry, and since most of us are busy being busy, we don’t feel driven to press beyond the average. But with a little effort, you could reach the top 25% and make an incredible impression on your customers.

So what should you think about when you are contemplating your customer experience?

• Think about your own experience as a consumer.

• Think about what businesses have created huge frustration in your life because they had horrible customer service. (Don’t do those things.)

• And think about those experiences that have just blown you away because they were phenomenal. (And definitely do those things.)