Customer experience (CX) measurement tools help you improve customer satisfaction and, in turn, grow your business. There are a lot of different aspects of your customer experience that can, and should, be measured.
For example, the right customer experience management (CXM) software should help you track key metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Scores (CES).
However, the best tools will help you do a lot more.
Choose one that will enable you to measure and improve your churn rate, how quickly you close the loop, and how much revenue is at risk to customer churn.
Whether your business is B2B or B2B2C, a holistic view of these metrics will let you know where to focus your energies for improvement.
What to Look For in CX Measurement Tools
Measuring your CX has multiple purposes. It can expose the health of your business, define future goals, and better direct business investments. Rather than focusing on a single CX metric, Gartner recommends a consolidated view of CX measurement so you can easily see where you need to direct your attention.
CX tools should measure all aspects of your customer experience.
But, any CX measurement tool really worth its salt should combine CX metrics with opportunities for action.
The Key CX Metrics Your Platform Should Measure
Net Promoter Score (NPS). A core aspect of CX measurement, NPS helps you identify your most loyal customers, the passive customers who would jump ship for a better deal, and the unhappy customers who bad-mouth your business. That’s why it should be fundamental to your CX measurement. It can be used to report on the customer’s whole relationship with your company and help you prevent churn.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). Another widely used CX metric, CSAT uses surveys and direct questions to gauge what customers think of a product, service delivery, and any other interactions with your organization.
Customer Effort Score (CES). This metric helps you understand how easy it is for customers to engage with your business and resolve any issues. It’s a different facet of customer satisfaction, but an important one that gives a strong indication of customer loyalty.
Find out more: NPS vs CES vs CSAT: Which Customer Experience Metric to Choose?
Engagement metrics. It’s all very well and good sending out requests for customer feedback, but you also need to know who’s actually responding and engaging with your brand in general. Two-way conversations show your customers are engaged; one-way dialogues should ring alarm bells.
CX tools that can provide visibility on engagement metrics, such as NPS response rates or product logins, are particularly powerful.
Other Insights Your CX Measurement Platform Should Offer
There are basics that a CX platform should offer. However, if you’re serious about fighting churn and driving bottom-line growth, you should expect more.
Here’s some more data you should expect from your platform:
Customer churn and retention data. Whether predictive or retrospective, it’s important to get insight into the likelihood of keeping your customers. Alongside NPS data, participation in customer loyalty programs, lifetime value, and the frequency of engagement all feed into these metrics.
Data on closed-loop feedback. When customers take the time to give feedback, the courteous thing to do is respond. All feedback should be acknowledged and acted upon quickly. CX measurement tools with workflow capabilities and closed-loop case management let you do this with ease.
Insights into action. It’s one thing to measure your customer experience. It’s quite another to improve it. Some CX measurement tools analyze the feedback and deliver insights and suggestions for the best way to respond to help your business grow. For example, identify referral and upsell opportunities with CustomerGauge.
Revenue performance. According to recent research by CustomerGauge, 70% of businesses don’t have their CX linked to financial metrics. As a result, the majority of businesses are flying blind. A good CX measurement tool will track revenue performance for customers so you can understand each customer’s lifetime value (CLV), the financial data for each account, and the CX actions that can drive growth.
All customers want a good experience with the companies they deal with. As McKinsey notes, a customer-centric focus is just as important for B2B organizations as it is for B2C businesses.
Measuring CX is, of course, the first step.
What you measure, who you ask for feedback, and what you do with your data will differ wildly depending on the types of customers you have.
Rather than shoehorn B2B customer feedback into B2C customer experience measurement tools, you’ll do better to choose a CX management tool that suits your business from the outset.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five best customer experience management tools on the market.
1. CustomerGauge: Best in Class for B2B CX Measurement and Management
G2 Score: 4.6
If you’re a B2B or B2B2C organization, you’ll find no better customer experience measurement tools than CustomerGauge’s Account Experience (AX). Voted by Gartner as the top CX measurement and management tool for B2B businesses, no other software manages the complexities of B2B relationships better.
AX uses NPS as a central CX measurement tool. However, to build a holistic view of your B2B customer relationships, the platform uses a range of CX metrics, as well as engagement signals including product use, contact with support teams, and signal alerts are also used.
What’s more, CustomerGauge is the only CX platform to explicitly link CX data to the value it generates for your business. That means you can get live insight into referral and revenue expansion opportunities and see the largest accounts at risk of churn.
Strengths
Customer Gauge AX is tailored to support revenue-responsible CX managers, so customer feedback and insights are directly linked to revenue. This means high-value actions and opportunities are quickly and easily identified, so you can focus on building growth.
Combines customer relationship management with CX measurement
Additional support such as CX program playbooks, benchmarking, and account risk alerts.
15 times greater response rates for customer feedback requests
Clear monetization of CX ROI and evidence-based suggestions for customer follow-ups and action
Weaknesses
The strong B2B focus makes it unsuitable for B2C businesses
2. Qualtrics XM
G2 Score: 4.4
Qualtrics XM launched in 2002 and went public in 2021. Since their launch, they’ve acquired lots of other CX tools to strengthen their offering.
The software supports organizations of all sizes, from large enterprises to graduates in MBA courses. The software has a strong user base of financial service providers and retail businesses.
Qualtrics It allows users to collect CX feedback via surveys, websites, apps, voice assistants, and chatbots. AI and machine learning then direct that feedback to the right part of your organization so employees can close the loop.
Customers note that the interface is extremely flexible but can be complex putting workflows in place and customer feedback into action.
Strengths
User-friendly, flexible, and easy to get started
An incredibly wide range of reports and analytic tools
Innovative platform with a partner ecosystem
Weaknesses
Can be complex to pair the solution with organization's needs
Amount of features can be overwhelming and make it difficult to find simple functions
Expensive
3. Medallia
G2 Score: 4.5
Medallia is an award-winning SaaS platform that went public in 2019. A well-known, market-leading brand, Medallia helps larger organizations understand, manage, and improve their CX.
Like the others in this list, the software is designed to collect customer feedback from surveys, social reviews, employee feedback, and unstructured sources like customer agent’s notes. The AI of the system then detects patterns, anticipates needs, and predicates customer behavior.
What makes Medallia a little different is that it is focused on making life easy for employees.
For example, feedback is complemented by Suggested Actions which delivers recommendations and actionable suggestions based on deep learning.
However, this can backfire. For instance, software packages are bespoke to each Medallia customer, so self-service tasks can quickly become ones that require specialist assistance.
Strengths
Versatile software provider
Simple to understand user interface and dashboard
Ability to simply manage data for large, complex organizations
Weaknesses
Expensive
Individualized custom build for customers reduces self-service abilities
No online live support
4. SAS Customer Experience
G2 Score: 4.3
SAS have designed analytic software for the banking and financial sectors for more than 40 years. SAS CX is one of their latest developments, built to improve customer experiences and measurement, specifically for businesses in the financial services sector.
It delivers a holistic view of the customer experience by collecting feedback from all touch points. CX decisions can be automated, scaled across channels and journeys optimized for consistency.
The CX measurement tool is specifically for large and small businesses in the financial services space, leveraging AI and fintech to boost customer engagement and value. That means it won’t be for everyone.
Strengths
Easy to install and implement
Holistic view of CX and customer journey optimization
Dedicated to financial services brands
Weaknesses
Poor technical support
Outdated user interface
5. GetFeedback
G2 Score: 4.5
GetFeedback is another customer experience measurement tool that was acquired by the surveying brand, SurveyMonkey, back in 2019. It still operates as a separate software, due to its dedication to the Salesforce ecosystem.
The platform lets businesses capture feedback with CSAT, NPS, and CES templates (and more), which can be personalized and served via multiple channels. In itself, it’s a great surveying system, but if you’re not using Salesforce already, it won’t be for you.
Strengths
Fast and easy to get started if you’re using Salesforce
Easy to use conditional questions survey capabilities
Clean and simple user interface
Weaknesses
Expensive for full functionality
Cumbersome navigation for storing surveys
Action for customer feedback needs to be routed through Salesforce
CustomerGauge: The Strongest Performer for B2B Brands
Each customer experience measurement tool helps businesses understand their customers better. However, like all decisions, the option that’s best for you may not be right for someone else.
Of all the CX measurement and management tools reviewed, CustomerGauge is the only one developed specifically with the complexities of B2B and B2B2C business relationship management in mind.
Along with providing both birds eye and granular views of B2B accounts, CustomerGauge’s AX solution links specific customer experience actions to your revenue. That means that understanding which actions will have the greatest impact on your business's bottom line becomes simple.
Book a free demonstration today to see how you can expose new opportunities to enhance your customer’s experiences, measure what’s working, and act on areas for improvement in a way that drives growth.
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