Customer experience is one of the most important aspects of any business, and it's only getting more and more important.
So Let me ask:
How are you doing with your customer experience?
Do you measure the right metrics so that you can see how your business is performing and what needs to be improved?
If not, then it's time to start.
In this article, I will talk about the top customer experience metrics that need to be tracked by any company looking to stay relevant in a digital-first world.
What is a Customer Experience Metric?
A Customer Experience Metric is the metric or data that allows you to track and measure the customer’s experience while using your product. The key goal for Customer Experience Metrics is to make sure that your customers are satisfied, create a bond with the product, and recommend the product.
This is basically all I can say for defining CX metrics.
Let’s now take a look at 8 CX metrics that can help you monitor and improve the customer experience.
1. Net Promoter Score(NPS)
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a common metric for measuring customer experience.
Simply put, it measures your consumers' readiness to refer your company to others. It gives you a broad metric to see how satisfied your customers are with your company and its products or services.
To measure your NPS score, begin by asking customers to rate their likelihood of recommending your company or product to a friend on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being "very likely" and 0 being "not at all."
- Customers who provide a score between 0 and 6 are considered detractors.
- Passive customers are those with a score of 7-8.
- And customers who give a score of 9-10 are considered promoters.
To calculate your NPS, simply subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.
While NPS tells you where you stand, it doesn't tell you why you got that score. To get better information, add such questions that explore the customer’s thoughts.
Marketers can utilize NPS to quickly discover customer pain points, zero in on the company drivers that may be creating promoters or detractors, predict future churn trends, and take rapid steps to meet and exceed customer expectations in the realm of digital experiences.
2.Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
The average satisfaction score by experience is tracked by this measure.
The score is usually calculated via an automated survey that asks customers to rate a specific experience, such as product purchase or a service call.
Customers are frequently asked to rate their level of satisfaction on a scale of “very satisfied” to “not satisfied at all.”
This metric helps gather up-to-date feedback since it can be calculated fast, usually within hours or less following a customer's use of a product or service.
CSAT can be influenced by brand and product promises made via digital channels even before a consumer interacts with you. Therefore, it's best to underpromise and overdeliver to maintain high customer satisfaction rates.
Leading companies are constantly monitoring and evaluating their digital presence to identify what is working well so they can use the best practices while also identifying areas for improvement.
This allows them to quickly reduce any friction that might be affecting their business across all channels, ensuring optimal customer experience.
3. Customer Service Satisfaction (CSS)
CSS measures how satisfied your customers are with your after-sales service.
You can measure CSS by asking your clients for feedback every time they interact with your company.
Forms, pop-ups, live chats, and online surveys can all be used to do this. If you like, you can include a standard rating system and a few questions in these surveys.
Keeping these surveys consistent will make it easier to spot trends and patterns over time. This will assist you in identifying areas for improvement and prioritizing them.
While customer service satisfaction does not provide a complete picture, it does assist in identifying the most often asked questions and problems.
4. Customer Health Score (CHS)
Customer health score indicates whether or not a customer will stick with you over time.
Unlike other CSAT indicators, this one looks at behavior patterns over time. It is influenced by factors such as:
- Product usage period
- Product type (license level – free or paid)
- Number of interactions with the support team
- Money spent with your brand
- Their willingness to answer your surveys
These are just a few key parameters, and they may differ depending on the organization and the importance given to them.
The idea is to classify your consumers as weak, healthy, or at-risk based on these factors.
5. CES (Customer effort score)
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures the amount of effort required by a customer to execute a specific interaction on a relative basis.
Filling out an online form, looking for a product, or dealing with a technical difficulty are all examples of interactions.
A customer's response is usually obtained through an automated survey in which you ask the consumer to specify the level of effort required to complete an activity.
This metric helps improve the customer experience by showing places where improvements can be made to make things easier for customers.
It's critical to act quickly to make adjustments once you identify those areas.
For instance, you should provide a better digital experience for customers to delight them. If a certain area is causing a lot of pain for your customers, roll out adjustments quickly and with a lot of fanfare to show that you're listening to them and trying to give them the best digital experience possible.
6. Churn rate
The churn rate measures how frequently customers cancel their service subscriptions or cease purchasing products from your business.
This measure is particularly valuable for businesses that operate on a recurring business model, such as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) businesses that charge clients a monthly fee.
The process of calculating the churn rate is straightforward:
- You begin by choosing a calculation period, such as a year.
- Then, subtract the number of customers you had at the beginning of the year from the number you had at the end.
- Lastly, divide this number by the number of consumers at the beginning of the year.
Keeping an eye on your churn rate keeps you aware of potential issues with your customer experience strategy.
When you combine your churn rate metrics with other operational data, you can identify churn patterns, which can help you identify where your CX issues are.
Marketers for SaaS companies face a big problem with decreasing the churn simply because subscribers to the service are likely already aware of what it offers; thus, traditional marketing materials may not be effective.
This is where, once again, marketing agility comes into play.
Marketers in this scenario must communicate effectively across multiple channels, directing the users to the most popular content and features of the service, and they must do it quickly and consistently.
This strategy is all about staying on top of customers’ minds by providing consistent and seamless value across all channels.
7. Conversion rate
The Conversion rate is the ratio of conversions - or the acceptance of an offer or the purchase of a product - to the number of people who view an offer or click on a call to action box.
It allows you to assess how effective your marketing and presentation efforts are at getting your audience to sign up for an offer, purchase a product or service, or express interest in learning more about a product or service.
A small change in the color or positioning of a CTA button on a web page can significantly impact conversion rates.
Making small changes and analyzing the results can help you learn a lot about what inspires your customers to take action.
You can increase your conversion rates and get a competitive advantage by using a CMS that allows you to test and iterate quickly.
8. Average resolution time
This metric tracks how long it takes to reach a final resolution to a customer service issue.
You can calculate Average Resolution Time by dividing the total number of cases resolved during a period under analysis by the total number of "times to resolution" (from start to finish) from all service calls.
You can use this metric to track how quickly your employees can resolve customers’ issues.
Reducing the time spent on resolving issues should be a top priority for any business, as a faster average resolution time is strongly correlated with higher customer satisfaction.
Should You Measure All The Metrics?
No.
You should measure only the ones that are relevant to your business.
And, before you ask your customers for feedback, make sure you know what you'll do with it.
Choosing one customer experience metric and one related behavioral metric is best for most businesses. Increasing complexity rarely brings any benefits.
On the contrary, a basic survey design and a clear set of targets and metrics to track allow the company to focus on the essential things: solving problems and improving results.
Not all Customer Experience Metrics Are the Same
Companies can choose from a variety of customer experience metrics to help them improve their customer service experience.
This analytical data helps your company determine the type of customer experience that is most appealing to your target audience.
In today's business world, having a thorough customer experience strategy is essential to succeed.
It's important to note that not all customer experience measures are created equal. To optimize your website and content, you'll need to find the ones that are right for your company and represent the most up-to-date technology.
Conclusion
You’ve probably heard this before. “Measure what matters.”
But how do you know which metrics matter? And which ones don’t?
It can be hard to tell the difference between a metric that is predictive of your desired outcome and the one that isn't. That's why we've created this list of 8 customer experience metrics to track, so you don’t have to wonder anymore!
We hope these eight customer experience metrics will help you grow your business by giving you more insight into what customers want and need from their experiences with your company.
Use them wisely and make sure they are predictive of the outcome you are trying to avoid or promote!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are CX metrics?
Customer Experience (CX) Metrics are the metrics or data that allows you to track and measure the customer’s experience while using your product.
How do you measure KPIs for customer experience?
NPS, CHS, CES and CSAT are usually the most used KPIs to measure Customer Experience, but every company has its own needs and might want to use an additional metric in accordance with their primary metric.
How do you track customer experience metrics?
There are various tools that can help you track your metrics. Google Analytics is a good choice for starters since it's free. On later stages, or if required, a paid tool such as Mixpanel or Heap can give you more customized and detailed information about your metrics and KPIs.