Three Ways to Map Your Customer Experience Metrics to ROI

Imagine you’re heading up a team that just launched an ambitious customer experience (CX) initiative. You know you’re making a positive impact based on employee and customer feedback, but when high-level stakeholders ask about how your initiative is boosting the company’s bottom line, you don’t have an easy way to provide a tangible, quantifiable return on investment (ROI).

You’re not alone. According to Forrester research, just more than half (56%) of surveyed respondents report their organization measures the customer journey experience. But even though showing ROI can be a struggle for CX teams, the data proves that the consequences of a lacking CX strategy can be dire:

• Approximately one-third of organizations are receiving diminishing returns on relationships with existing customers.
• CX drives more than 66% of customer loyalty, according to Gartner.

Yet, despite 80% of business leaders reporting CX is a high priority and 90% of CX leaders saying customer expectations are at an all-time high, CX quality among U.S. brands fell for the last two years. That’s why prioritizing CX is one key factor that can help your business stand out in today’s competitive environment.

The most forward-thinking leaders realize that success comes not just from attracting new customers—you’ve also got to retain them. Creating customer loyalty establishes a foundation for your company to realize consistent returns on your CX investment. Read on to learn three ways to map CX metrics directly to ROI.

CX and Revenue Growth: A Direct Link

Statistics from Forbes reveal a compelling connection between positive customer experiences and revenue growth:

• An overwhelming 97% of consumers and 98% of contact center managers believe that customer service interactions significantly impact brand loyalty, according to Forbes data.
• Moreover, 61% of consumers are willing to pay more for good CX, and 60% would switch brands due to negative contact center experiences.

By creating CX ease and convenience, you not only retain customers but also attract new ones who value such experiences.

Building Real Evidence

To truly understand the impact of CX on your bottom line, it’s essential to build a cache of evolving, real-time evidence.

Use A/B testing to directly compare different CX strategies and their outcomes and be sure to leave an untreated group so you can use the change delta for ROI calculations for your various key performance indicators (KPIs). This approach allows you to integrate CX metrics with financial results, providing a clear picture of what works and what doesn’t.

Focus on quick, measurable wins and quantify the impact as you go by reporting these wins. Implementing real-time feedback can also significantly enhance brand perception.

Partnering with Experienced Players

Creating partnerships with other key stakeholders in your own company that link CX to ROI is another strategic move that can help prove your CX team’s value to decisionmakers. For example, partner with your customer care team to identify what their top initiatives are, and where your top CX initiatives overlap, then use your qualitative CX data to supercharge their business case, increasing the urgency and priority.

Forging the right mutually beneficial relationships with seasoned professionals can help your brand navigate the complexities of CX metrics. The right partner can gather and analyze the appropriate metrics, ensuring you’re measuring CX factors that support your business goals. They will then help you analyze the metrics that are important to your stakeholders and communicate them in an understandable, comprehensive format.

Gather and Analyze Evidence

Vetting the data with multivariate testing (also called A/B testing) is an essential step in calculating CX ROI.

Unless you test how people are doing with and without the solution, there’s no proving one strategy is better than the other. Keep these testing best practices in play:

• Use control groups: Show evidence with testing that accounts for external factors that impacted your day-to-day business, such as changing market conditions, competitor promotions or price changes.
• Select your test groups: By testing a small representative group of random customers before ramping up, you can exercise caution to help secure internal buy-in.
• Tailor your approach: You don’t see every customer the same way—so why should your testing be any different? Instead of taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach, implement a treatment exclusively on your most—or least—profitable customers without disturbing the rest. Adapt your strategy to the customer segment you want to influence.
• Get the data right: Industry averages can guide your investment but won’t compare to using your own organization’s data. Pulling your company’s real numbers is the only way to ensure that the test results can be applied to the bottom line.

Next Steps to Maximize Your CX ROI

As you embark on this journey, it’s crucial to forge partnerships with teams that can guide you through the process. This can help you determine the key metrics that mean success for your business and stakeholders, ensuring that your efforts are aligned with your overall business goals. By doing so, you can communicate the value of CX in a way that resonates with everyone involved.

Customer experience is not just a buzzword; it’s a vital component of business success. By mapping CX metrics to ROI, you can create a sustainable model that not only satisfies your customers but also drives revenue growth.