Measuring how ‘digital’ an experience CSPs provide to their customers

We all know now that, to measure customer satisfaction (CSat), one has to ask the customers’ opinions. Various measures of CSat are in use in CSPs, usually measuring on a zero to ten-point scale. The new measure of Net Promoter Score, a simplified method, is gaining in popularity.

But these are after-the-fact metrics and are difficult to manage against. CSPs, therefore, are moving to new measures that try to use the operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that they use to manage their business every day.

These ‘customer experience index’ (CEI) solutions, algorithms that incorporate the KPIs, enable CSPs to manage the experience of each customer, as well as to manage their overall customer satisfaction scores, says Mark H Mortensen, practice head, Analysys Mason.

But, CSPs are embarked on a major transformation in their operational connection to their customers that requires more than these operational measures. They are moving from being communications service providers (CSPs) to competitive digital service providers (DSPs). To do so, they are using what we call the ‘DSP Equation.’

The D(SP) part of the transformation is the ability to measure how ‘digitalised’ the user experience actually is. To that end, Analysys Mason is developing its Digital eXperience Index (DXI).

What is the ‘digital’ experience?

The experience that customers will have with either digital retail companies or with DSPs will have four main characteristics:

• The digital interface is the main method of interaction between the user and the DSP. This can be via a computer, a mobile device, a ‘thing’ in the IoT, or a voice interaction with a virtual attendant.
• The interactions between the user and the DSP will be instantaneous, transparent and personalised.
• The services offered are contextual to the user and mass customised by user preference. Options are not just presented, they are presented based on a user’s current, past and expected future behaviour – and users are in control.
• Most importantly for users, they will feel in control. They will not have to adapt their behaviour to the systems they interact with, the systems adapt to them.

The DXI, Phase 1 results are shown in Figure 2, below:

These results are from an evaluation of the Customer Care part of the CSPs’ operations – the major contributor to the user experience. It also only includes the consumer business unit – what it means to be a digital service provider to enterprises is significantly different.

The DXI will evolve over time

The goal of becoming a DSP is not fixed – it is continuously moving, as the Internet companies enrich their capabilities and customers’ expectations rise. The definition of what it takes to be a ‘full’ DSP will evolve and, in light of this, we plan to upgrade the DXI in a number of ways, taking into account more than just customer care and differentiate between the consumer and enterprise experiences.

To be able to turn a desire into a goal, and then a plan, requires that there be a way of measuring ones’ progress. The DXI does that for the CSP to DSP transformation so critical to the success of CSPs.

The author of this blog is Mark H Mortensen, practice head, Analysys Mason.

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