Measuring Mobile Customer Experience Satisfaction: ABC Case Study Offers a View into How it Can Be Done

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Measuring Mobile Customer Experience Satisfaction: ABC Case Study Offers a View into How it Can Be Done

By TMCnet Special Guest
Eric Feinberg
  |  April 09, 2013

 This article originally appeared in the March 2013 issue of CUSTOMER Magazine.

Delivering a high-quality customer experience is more important than ever. With the rise of the Internet and now with a surge in mobile users, it’s easier and less costly than ever for customers to switch brands. In the past, consumers needed to travel to purchase alternatives – creating inconvenience loyalty, but now they can change brands with a few mouse clicks or finger taps.

In an era in which fickle consumers are empowered with always-on devices at their fingertips, creating brand loyalty is critical for organizations to remain competitive. Experience, however, is not just a one-time event; it builds over time and it’s based on experiences from all touch points, including in store, web, mobile, contact centers, e-mail and social media. Monitoring and measuring that experience across channels has become a critical business initiative.

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

Traditional measurement includes monitoring customers’ behaviors, including everything from transactions to clickstream analysis. Typically, however, these analyses are conducted in a silo, meaning that each set of data that is captured is examined independently, which fails to give an accurate picture of the omni-channel customer. Because today’s consumers use multiple devices and touch points when engaging with an organization, it’s difficult to understand what is driving their behavior without seeing the entire process.

A perfect example of this is the mobile-enabled customer. These customers will often research products with one device and purchase in store or with a tethered computer. When the mobile data is looked at in a silo, it appears that the shopping cart was abandoned, but in truth, it informed the consumers’ decision and even encouraged the purchase. This is exactly why a comprehensive picture of customer experience is so important, and why understanding the customers’ needs and how they interact with a brand is the key to improve the overall experience.

In a customer experience measurement initiative, there are three important questions to ask:

* How are we doing? This provides information about satisfaction, as well as insight into key drivers and desired outcomes.

* What should we do? This helps organizations define areas of focus that will have the biggest impact.

* Why should we do it? This question helps businesses understand the causal models that predict behaviors.

Customer Experience Analytics

Customer satisfaction analytics play a key role in helping organizations get a full picture of customers’ satisfaction with their brand experience by garnering information about people’s perspectives and channel priorities (i.e., in store, mobile, web), and what they were trying to accomplish. Modern customer satisfaction analytics provide insight into the whys of behavior and are able to predict what customers will do next – which can help inform strategic business decisions that will improve the overall customer experience.

 

However, in order for experience analytics to be predictive, they need to focus on a precise, reliable metric. Customers’ satisfaction with their experience has proven to be that metric. Several studies have demonstrated a direct connection between satisfaction and financial results.

Satisfaction Analytics for Mobile

Measuring the relatively new mobile experience channel is an important element of comprehensive experience analytics. Based on ForeSee research, highly satisfied mobile shoppers are 72 percent more likely to recommend a brand and 58 percent more likely to use it again.

ABC, which is known for its high-quality television programming and its leadership in providing programs via digital platforms, was the first network to provide viewers the opportunity to watch their favorite series on a mobile device through the ABC iPad app. With the rapid expansion of their viewership, ABC needed insight into who was watching programming via the iPad app and how to leverage this touch point to increase consumer reach and engagement.

Before ABC could evaluate improvement areas or make any business decisions related to mobile, it sought analytics based on consumer feedback to understand who was using the mobile app, and the impact the experience was having on consumer engagement. While ABC could track downloads and the millions of video streams viewed, it needed better insight into the viewers’ demographics and experience.

ABC turned to ForeSee to obtain viewer demographics and establish a reliable mobile app usage metric. The solution collects viewer feedback without taking them out of the ABC app. The survey’s intuitive touch, swipe, and tap functionality aligned with the experience itself, allowing ABC to achieve a response rate much greater than traditional web surveys.

Defining the Mobile App Audience (News - Alert)

ABC knew its mobile audience would vary from its television viewers and web viewers, but it wanted to establish parameters around the various groups that interacted with its app to inform advertisers and guide future improvements.

ForeSee analytics provided demographic and satisfaction data in aggregate, by demographic group, by device and by programming segment. This information delivered the research team customer-based feedback that could be used to identify app improvements.

The information on mobile app users and their viewing habits, as well as the insights and predictive nature of the analytics, allowed ABC to see how small updates could have a large impact on users’ likelihood to continue using the app and recommend or view ABC programming through another channel. The analytics were used to support the sales team in their efforts to promote advertising across platforms and management that was seeking reliable demographic information.

Identifying Overlooked Viewer Segments

ABC had expected most viewers were using the app to catch up on episodes of their favorite series or to watch their usual programming at a more convenient time, but the satisfaction analytics revealed that a large segment of users were using the app to view a television series for the first time. Further analysis revealed this important viewer segment had different needs and levels of satisfaction than more frequent users. First-time viewers were less aware of some ABC programs, identifying the need for content updates such as series overviews and episode description information. This insight allowed ABC to evaluate improvements that would encourage viewers to return to view more programming and in turn support the advertising value of the app.

Staying at the Forefront of the Mobile Channel

A usability audit review helped ABC assess the mobile app and identify areas for improvement based on mobile best practices. While the overall user experience was quite strong, there were still enhancements that could be made to help ABC stay ahead of the curve and make the experience easier and more enjoyable for viewers. The usability team provided actionable insights aimed to help ABC increase its reach by encouraging the discovery of new programming for both new and existing users.

Eric Feinberg is the senior director of mobile, media & entertainment at customer experience analytics business ForeSee (www.foresee.com).




Edited by Stefania Viscusi
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