We are all coming to realise that in order to set yourself apart from any competitor, you need to invest time, budget and resources into delivering a positive customer experience (CX). Customers know where they can get good service, and they will gladly invest their hard-earned money with businesses that show them love.
According to research from Salesforce, “75% of people now expect a consistent customer experience wherever they engage with brands.” So, what constitutes CX success for your business? How do you know when you’ve won your customers over and how do you measure that?
We look into three different metrics that are commonly used to measure CX efforts. Are you using one of these and are they helping your business succeed?
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score, otherwise known as NPS, is a simple, straightforward measure of CX success that gives you quick results. Customers are presented with a single question, with the option to answer on a scale of 1 to 10, (1 being the worst and 10 being the best). Based on the answers, the business can gather insight into the level of success of the current customer experience, but not much more detail than that.
Example, the question could be posed as: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend our online store to your friends?” Positive results will imply that the online store is performing well but won’t tell you what aspects of it are at the fore. Asking follow-up questions can help you gain more detail into what exactly is working for your customers and what isn’t.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Very similar to NPS, CSAT also poses a single question to a customer: “How satisfied were you with your experience?” As with NPS, customers can answer on a scale that can be pre-determined by the company in question. The scale is usually set from 1 to 5, with 5 being very satisfied, 4 being mostly satisfied, 3 being satisfied, etc.
As with NPS, follow-up questions can offer much more value into what the customer really appreciated or what created a problem for them. These questions are usually posed to a customer to get insight into how the process unfolded after they took some form of action.
System Usability Scale (SUS)
This longstanding metric has been used to measure customer satisfaction for decades. Literally. The longevity of this measurement tool speaks volumes for its success, though it could still benefit from further elaboration.
SUS poses ten questions to the customer with five options of answering, ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. This gives the business a clear understanding of where the customer is experiencing difficulty, provided the questions are clear enough to create the opportunity for constructive answers.
Finding The CX Metric For Your Business
All business requirements are as unique as the business itself, so it’s important to find the CX metrics that work for your needs. Custom metrics and KPIs can also be identified based on what you need to understand about your customers and the way they interact with your business. What might work effectively is a combination of say CSAT and SUS to get more in-depth insight into the way your digital platforms are performing or how a customer navigates your checkout system.
The key with each metric is to use the information you gain to learn and evolve. If you’re finding that your customers are experiencing difficulties, you need to take steps to improve that area of focus. It’s pointless putting in all the effort to learn about your customers’ needs if you’re not then going to tweak things in their favour.
If you need further insight into CX metrics and how they can be applied to your business, get in touch with us today. We are more than happy to consult and advise, or we can set the wheels in motion for you.