How to Decide Which Metrics Should Matter Most

The customer experience is essential to the success of any business. Good customer experiences result in happy customers who are more likely to continue doing business with a company and act as advocates for the brand. Bad customer experiences, on the other hand, run the risk of driving customers away and harming a company's reputation. Because of this, businesses need to define what success looks like when it comes to managing the customer experience. But what metrics should businesses use to measure success? 

A recent study from Forrester Research found that while 85% of organizations say that improving the customer experience is a top priority, only 36% say they're good at it. 

Why is there such a disconnect? In many cases, it comes down to not having an effective strategy for measuring and managing customer experience metrics. 

Here's an example from my own experience.

I spent a few months as a temporary contact center leader at one of my consulting clients' sites.

They gave me a giant stack of reports that they said were due at different intervals. I asked a bunch of questions, of course, but they just wanted me to get this done. 

Speculating that not much was happening with the reports that I was putting together, I started printing out the reports and pulling out random pages. Every week, I whittled this report down further and further and further. Eight weeks in, I received a note to say that something was different about the report. But, they weren't sure of what was different. They just knew it was shorter.  

Behind this story lies another important lesson; metrics must inform decision-making. 

If a department tracks 25 metrics but only five effect changes, what are the other 20 doing? They have to be there for a reason, otherwise, their only function is wasting time.

To ensure that CX metrics have a purpose, align each with a company goal. Metrics will then reflect the business strategy as it stands today.

Getting to the Metrics That Matter 

There are a lot of opinions out there when it comes to defining, measuring, and delivering successful customer experiences. What metrics matter, and how will business leaders ensure that they effectively measure and act on them? It’s a matter of people, process, technology, and, above all, strategy. 

Get each of these areas right, and CX management takes a giant leap forward. Yet, as with most things CX, this is much easier said than done. Many struggle to set, measure and manage metrics across the entire organization. Business silos create problems, and different departments fail to build bridges. Distilling and clarifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) for customer experience professionals start by asking a simple question: how does your business define success? 

Answering this question requires looking inward at your organization and identifying what you want to achieve with your customer experience management program or initiative. Start by looking at your organizational objectives. Are you trying to increase market share? Drive operational efficiencies? Increase revenue? Improve customer retention rates? Once you know what your ultimate goal is, you can begin thinking about which KPIs will help you get there—and which ones you should ignore. 

Defining Your KPIs

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all KPIs are created equal. Some may have more impact on your bottom line than others. For example, if you’re trying to increase market share, measures like Customer Effort Score (CES) may be more important than average handle time. In general, we recommend focusing on three types of KPIs: 

Customer-centric KPIs: These are measures of how well you’re delivering on your promises to customers throughout their journey with your company. They provide insights into whether or not customers are happy with their experiences and whether or not they’ll continue doing business with you—or even tell their friends about you. 

Operational KPIs: These are measures of how efficiently your contact center or other customer-facing operations are running. They provide insights into whether or not your processes are effective and efficient and whether or not your employees have the necessary resources they need to do their jobs well—and stay satisfied and engaged in their roles. 

Strategic Impact KPIs: These are measures of how well your organization is performing financially or through other measures of the clear and tangible business value provided by the contact center. They often provide insights into whether or not your company is making money—and whether or not your CX initiatives are contributing to increased profits. 

Different businesses will place different levels of importance on each type of KPI depending on their organizational objectives—but all three types should be part of any comprehensive CX measurement strategy. As you develop your strategy, keep in mind that no single metric can tell you everything you need to know about your customers’ experiences or your contact centers' impact.

Instead, focus on creating a “balanced scorecard” approach that includes multiple KPIs from each category. This will give you a well-rounded view of both how well you’re delivering on your promises to customers AND how effective and efficient your operations are. Finally, don’t forget to tie your KPIs back to organizational objectives! This will help ensure that everyone in the organization understands why certain metrics are important —and help keep everyone focused on what matters.

Justin Robbins is a researcher, educator, and advisor who’s spent the past two decades helping businesses define and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Justin is currently the Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Evangelism at UJET, where he leads the Public Relations, Analyst Relations, Customer Marketing, and Thought Leadership programs.