Why Your Analytics Should Include “X” Data

Advancements in automation have given businesses faster, more efficient ways to access their operational data. Revenue targets, costs, traffic, and other KPIs drive us to grow and evolve. This operational or “O” data can paint a clear picture of both your strengths and areas for improvement. However, It doesn’t provide clear insight into how or why those measurements came to be.

“O” data and customer experience “X” data go hand-in-hand. With customer experience analytics, you can gain clear insights on why your strategies are working — or why they aren’t. Customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and click-through rates are just a few examples of metrics that you can use to improve your strategies and operational KPIs.

Here are a few reasons why you should be incorporating X data into your analytics.

It Inspires New Ideas

On its own, your operational data can only tell you so much. Topline revenue, for example, gives a clear view of overall performance. When revenue declines, you can infer that there is something wrong.

You may check your operational KPIs to investigate and find that returns are higher than average — but why? Is the product faulty? Does the website description fail to convey what that product provides to the customer? Did a negative post-purchase customer service interaction prompt the return or cancellation? Though these data points highlight problems, they seldom offer solutions. X data pinpoints problem areas and gives companies the information they need to drive real improvement.

It Helps Companies Stay Proactive

Sometimes, operational metrics don’t always line up with customer experience. Don’t let high traffic and sales fool you — they aren’t indicators that your customers are happy. By keeping tabs on X data points, you can quickly develop strategies for handling customer concerns or operational bumps before they begin to affect your sales numbers.

Customer feedback is also an effective way to keep up with and even stride past your competitors. With X data, you can gain powerful insights into what your customers love about your company, as well as what you could improve on. Some businesses even compile data on what their prospects appreciate about their competitors, as well as where those competitors fall short. As a result, companies can find constant inspiration for new ways to innovate.

Minimized Business Risk

Gathering X data is essential to making smart business decisions and solidifying a positive brand culture. In understanding the needs and values of your prospects, you can guide your business toward a clearer path to success, minus any harmful missteps. Without these insights, your business poses the risk of mis-marketing, advertising insensitivity, weak policies, and even social media misfires.

You Can Gain Employee Insights

Experience data doesn’t just help you find meaningful customer insights — you can use it to improve your employee experience. O data can brief you on retention rates, average hiring turnaround, and training times, but it can’t shed light on why retention rates are high, or why your job application turnouts are low. X data can help you find the causes, as well as solutions for how to improve your company culture.

Use X data to gain pivotal insights for real improvement. Modus partners with clients to conduct in-depth user research, sentiment analysis, validation, and more. Contact the Modus team for more information on how you can innovate your analytics.