Key Customer Experience Metrics Your Business Should Be Tracking

It’s no surprise that paying attention to customer experiences in today’s market pays well, but the same attention to quality also extends to experiences in multiple areas. According to a 2020 Qualtrics report, “The Global State of XM 2020,” 89% of companies with highly rated  Experience Management (XM) performance in key areas—customer (CX), employee, (EX), product (PX), and brand (BX)—reported higher revenue growth compared to competitors. Nine in ten also reported better profitability and 84% said they had better employee retention.Given the interconnection among experience areas and their ability to drive success, businesses may consider applying customer experience metrics to help track and improve CX. Let’s take a closer look.

Customer Experience Metrics

Successful CX programs use customer experience metrics to gauge the degree of positive or negative emotions customers experience when engaging with brands. These key performance indicators (KPIs) work best when targeting a specific audience segment to produce an accurate reflection of customer experience.Some important CX metrics that are closely connected to business outcomes include conversion, revenue, and retention. Below, we discuss some of the most popular methods used to score CX in greater detail.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

As the foremost customer experience metric used in CX programs, the Net Promoter Score uses a single question as a quick check-up on customer satisfaction at any point in the buyer’s journey. Measured on a scale from -100 to 100+, the higher the NPS, the more satisfied customers are with a brand.A typical NPS question might read: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend brand X / product / service to your family and friends?”After sending the NPS system’s questions, brands can categorize respondents according to their scores:

1. “Promoters” return scores of 9-10, marking them as loyal customers.
2. “Passives” return scores of 7-8; though satisfied with the brand, they’re not keen on promoting it.
3. “Detractors” return scores from 6 to 0. These dissatisfied customers are unlikely to buy from you again and may also discourage others from engaging with the brand.

To calculate a Net Promoter Score, each response counts equally, despite the individual number. For example, a score of 1 and a score of 5 each count as one Detractor. After summing up all responses, subtract the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. Ignore Passive responses, as they do not factor in. Scores range from -100 (all detractors, no promoters), to 100 (all promoters, no detractors). The closer to 100, the better your company’s CX performance.Brands can use their NPS as a central KPI, or to see how customer perception changes over time. It also tracks the performance of various CX initiatives. For instance, if the NPS shows 20% of respondents are unhappy with customer support experiences in the past six months, the company can implement a strategy to address these concerns. After six months, the company can run another NPS survey to see if client perception has changed as a result of CX improvements.

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)

In contrast to NPS, the Customer Satisfaction Score measures customers’ immediate satisfaction with a brand, product, service, or experience. A CSAT survey is usually delivered within 24 to 48 hours of a customer’s engagement or transaction. A typical formula for determining a CSAT is:Number of positive responses / Total number of responses x 100 = CSATA CSAT score is particularly helpful for capturing candid customer perceptions, which give brands an accurate measurement of experience at the point of interaction.

Customer Effort Score (CES)

The Customer Effort Score gives companies an idea of how much effort customers must exert to achieve brand satisfaction. It measures variables like the difficulty in obtaining a specific product variant, or the number of calls they make to reach the right customer service agent. The CES score can help brands find obstacles on a customer’s journey toward conversion.  The typical formula to obtain CES is:Sum of all ratings / Total number of responses = CESLike the CSAT, a CES survey is best deployed shortly after a customer transaction to capture a genuine account of the experience.

First Contact Resolution (FCR)

The First Contact Resolution rate measures how often a customer issue gets resolved on the first call. The FCR number is popular among call centers, but can also measure brand experience in terms of company support or help desks. A typical formula to calculate FRC is:Resolved incidents on first contact / Total incidents x 100 = FCRThe FCR rate is critical for reducing churn from poor customer support experiences. Brands can use their FCR number to identify experience issues and work on systemic pain points that threaten to become a constant source of frustration for customers.

Early Cancel Rate (ECR)

As a customer experience metric, the Early Cancel Rate works well for subscription-based business models, SaaS players, and other companies that bind customers to a business relationship for a definite period of time.While no standard formula applies to all subscription models, companies can define the early stages of the agreement (e.g., the first 30 days of a 3-month subscription, first quarter of an annual agreement, etc.) and determine the ratio of customers who opt out within that time compared to the total customer base.Companies can use ECR to identify experience issues that influence a customer’s decision to churn. These can include user-friendliness, miscommunication, or poor after-sales support, among others. Tracking ECR allows brands to measure customer satisfaction after initial conversion.

Sales/Revenue

As the Qualtrics study mentions, companies that ranked “significantly above average” for customer experience performance reported higher revenue growth, better profitability, and even better employee retention than their competitors. Companies can tie CX initiatives directly into sales performance and revenue growth by analyzing customer journeys to reduce friction at different points of engagement.Tools like customer data platforms help unify customer data and track customers’ movements across channels so brands can have a bird’s eye view of their journeys. Advanced CDPs also employ multi-touch attribution models to correctly attribute a channel’s or brand action’s (like CX initiatives) contribution to a customer’s ultimate conversion.In summary, customer experience metrics help companies measure and track customer satisfaction with different brand aspects at various points along the journey. CX metrics can measure positive or negative experiences over time or at certain points, such as immediately following a transaction. Brands can also use CX metrics to determine pain points and improve customer experiences that drive results and increase revenue.

Improve CX With Treasure Data

Treasure Data Customer Data Cloud is an integrated suite of cloud-based customer data platform solutions. Treasure Data provides insight by collecting and centralizing customer data, unifying profiles, and analyzing journeys to surface hidden trends in customer behavior.Treasure Data’s enterprise-grade customer insights platform is trusted by Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies around the world to improve customer experience and orchestrate journeys toward conversion. See what you can do with Treasure Data:

• Collect and centralize customer data from all sources
• Unify customer profiles using online + offline data
• Analyze customer journeys
• Derive actionable customer insights using Machine Learning techniques
• Personalize customer experience at all customer journey stages
• Track and improve performance of CX initiatives
• And more

To learn more about how you can use Treasure Data Customer Data Cloud to improve customer experience metrics and boost results, consult an expert today. Want to learn more? Request a demo, call 1.866.899.5386, or contact us for more information.