Improve Your Customer Experience by Knowing Which Initiatives Are Most Important

According to the 2019 Gartner Customer Experience Management Survey, 86% of respondents stated that they would contend based on customer experience (CX) in the next two years. Today’s customers are well-informed than ever and are aware of their needs, and conduct adequate research before making purchases.

With the increasing competition and rise of online businesses, firms need to step up their game while ensuring customer satisfaction as a key strategy for subsistence, development, and success. However, in this process, the firms take on CX projects more than their resources are equipped to handle.

Gartner suggests six evaluation dimensions framework that can help firms prioritize customer experience projects. Firms must analyze each project’s performance on a scale of 1 – 5 points, with five being excellent and one being poor, within each category of the framework to decide its importance.

The Six Evaluation Dimensions of Customer Experience Projects

Consequence of Inaction

This criterion makes firms question what do they risk by not investing in the CX project. They also need to analyze whether holding back the approval for the project would result in new problem(s) or worsen an existing one. Projects that primarily respond positively to these questions are those that deserve the most points in this category.

Financial ROI/ Direct Payback

This criterion estimates the revenue gains or cost savings of a CX project along with the investment needed for project completion. Some of the key drivers for revenue gains from CX projects include:

• Increases in purchase frequency
• An increase in the amount spent
• Increase in number of units bought
• Additional services consumed

The revenue gains can often be estimated by disaggregating an organization’s top-line revenue into its component drivers, then assessing which of these drivers would change due to the CX project.

Ease of implementation

This criterion evaluates the projects that can be efficiently completed and the associated risks. It must take into account factors regarding the project such as:

• Its complexity
• The required level of efforts
• The resulting pressure on an organization’s technology, operations, and skillset
• The organization’s resistance to change

Strategic Alignment

This criterion makes the firms analyze if the CX initiatives undertaken are aligning with the firm’s strategy. It includes asking questions to understand better a CX project’s strategic alignment, such as if the project complements the firm’s branding strategy. Projects that affirmatively answer these questions must be considered.

Risk Avoidance

This criterion evaluates a CX project based on the risk that can be eliminated from an organization, compared with the additional risk which it brings in the organization, rather than considering project-completion risks.

Benefit to Customers

This criterion promotes the firm’s assessment of a CX project’s ability to achieve improvement in three areas: customer satisfaction, loyalty, advocacy, and conveys that the CX project should focus on positively impacting at least one of these areas.

IGT Solutions’ CeX 3.A framework offers the right mix of human and digital elements that redefine the future of customer experience. The three key levers Smart Agents, Smart Automation, and Smart Analytics, enable firms to achieve higher CSATs and efficiency.

View the full report by Gartner here.