Why Your CX Data Might Be Stale

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to grab a fresh bagel in New York City, you already know how quickly something delicious can go from perfect to fine to inedible. To some, “day-olds” are as good as spoiled, especially when it’s possible to get fresher food so easily. When it comes to CX data, things are much the same. Fresh data, delivered in real-time, is incredibly valuable. Data that’s a few days or weeks old is useful, but perhaps not as valuable. And CX data that’s stale? It isn’t worth your time or consideration.

What is it that makes CX data stale though? If it was just time, the solution would be simple – run more surveys, invest in more listening and data processing. The fact is, it’s not only time that makes CX data stale. Asking the same questions, failing to move the needle on NPS, CSAT and other key metrics, and lacking buy-in for change from upper management can also impact data freshness.

There’s good reason to care about whether your CX data is stale or fresh. When your team’s metrics rely on NPS improvements, customer satisfaction is stalling, or executive interest in CX is waning, fresh data is one of the only remedies available.

Let’s explore the common causes of data staleness, how to keep your data fresh, how to put the voice of the customer front and center in defining your CX strategy.

What’s Making Your Data Stale

As we alluded to, the lack of insights to real action is only one of many major causes of data staleness. While it’s critically important to collect data in real-time and turn that data into action quickly, there are three other causes of data staleness worth considering as well.

Your questions may be stale or failing to gather new information

Questions can be just as important as answers. That’s why so much effort goes into building the right scales, filtering by the right ages and survey design in general. But it’s not enough to be asking questions of your audience. To gather real insight into the Voice of the Customer, you need to avoid asking the wrong questions. Some common pitfalls include:

• Focusing on areas that are performing adequately.
• Asking the same questions for a long period of time.
• Using a one-size fits all survey design.
• Ask questions you aren’t prepared to act on.

Project based CX initiatives often fail to improve after completion

Has this ever happened to you? You get a pitch from a reputable survey company or other CX vendor. They tell you how much they can improve your NPS score, drive ROI and deliver value for your business. In the best of cases, they’re even right. There are noticeable improvements to your CSAT, NPS and even revenue. The project is a success.

But then it ends.

You’ve entered a new normal. Maybe your CSAT and NPS even stay at the new, higher levels, but they don’t continue to improve. The cx data that they brought in that was fresh at the time, eventually goes stale and new improvements fail to manifest until a new expensive project is underway.

Executive team buy-in is hard to garner with existing CX data and presentation

Sadly, many senior executives struggle to see the value of CX improvements and VOC. The reason for this is that over time voice of the Customer programs tend to produce diminishing returns, so it’s hard to justify additional spending or program growth. This can be a challenge for CX leaders who want to grow and improve the program. When a lack of interest in cx data arises, there is a significant increase in difficulty getting funding and approval for new improvements.

Fresher Data is Possible

If stale questions, project based CX, and low executive buy-in are the leading contributors to data staleness, then tackling them should be a top priority.

In terms of questions, the key is active listening and unifying . It’s not enough to send a survey out into the world and hope for the best. Even targeting individuals after a purchase or service event may be insufficient. Instead, you need to unify your CX data, including feedback from what your customers aren’t saying but rather expressing through their behavior and attitudes.

Moving beyond project based CX doesn’t mean abandoning the idea of “CX projects” altogether, but it does require re-aligning how you approach experience improvements. Your CX data needs to be updated regularly and dynamically. Only by being able to look at both the big picture of your customer base and the detailed view of how even one customer interaction can go right or wrong can you expect continual improvement.

Getting buy-in from executives is always a challenge, but there are a few techniques you can use to catch their attention. Show change over time, show how changes in your customer experience translate to business goals and make sure the data you’re sharing is in the easiest to understand and most compelling format possible. Whether this means using better dashboards, or just changing how you present information, moving the needle on executive buy-in is critical.

Better CX, Fresher Data, Voice of the Customer

Your customers are talking to you all the time and not just in the contact center or on traditional ‘CX’ channels. Their interactions with your employees, their behavior on the web and their experiences on-location can all impact the quality of your customer experience. Without the right data, it can be difficult to hear this hidden voice of the customer and even harder to move the needle on your customer journey.

The good news is that it’s possible to break free of stale CX data, and can help. With the power of the Verint Platform, powerful experience management capabilities and the constantly improving Da Vinci AI, you can keep data fresh and understand your customers on a deeper level than ever before.

Verint can help you move the needle on your customer experience, justify the value of your CX investments, speed time-to-value, and build an end-to-end customer experience that drives revenue, loyalty, and lifetime satisfaction.

If you’re interested in learning more about how Verint Voice of the Customer could help your business, don’t let your data go stale. Request a demo today.