Resolving a customer query is obviously important, but equally important is how the interaction made the customer feel and whether it strengthened their connection to your company.

Analyzing tone, response times, the complexity of the issues resolved, and even the language used can reveal much about the customer’s overall experience.

A well-rounded approach to tracking CX requires integrating advanced analytics, and strategic KPIs that reflect the true state of customer relationships in a  real-time feedback loop.

Top operational and strategic contact center KPIs  

To track and measure the good, bad, and in-between, customer experiences, you’ll need to strategically focus on metrics and KPIs that provide deep insight into customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall service quality – so you can consistently deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Let’s take a closer look at Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs.

While all KPIs are metrics, not all metrics are KPIs.

KPIs are metrics with strategic significance that help gauge success in reaching key business objectives. Let’s look at two types: operational and strategic.

Operational KPIs: Focus on day-to-day efficiency and performance, enabling quick adjustments and tactical improvements.

• Average Handle Time (AHT): Measures the average duration of an agent’s call, including talk time and after-call work.
• First Call Resolution (FCR): Indicates the percentage of issues resolved on the first contact with the customer.
• Service Level: Tracks the percentage of calls answered within a predefined time frame.
• Abandonment Rate: Measures the percentage of calls that are abandoned by customers before being answered.
• Call Volume: The total number of calls received within a specific time period.
• Average Speed of Answer (ASA): The average time it takes for a call to be answered by an agent.
• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): Measures customer satisfaction through post-interaction surveys.

These and many other KPIs can provide a clearer picture of your customer experience, but to drive long-term success, you’ll need to focus on strategic KPIs.

Strategic KPIs: Provide insight into long-term effectiveness and impact, guiding broader business decisions and aligning contact center performance with overall company goals.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Estimates the total revenue a business can expect from a customer over their lifetime.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Gauges customer loyalty by measuring the likelihood of customers recommending your service to others.
• Customer Effort Score (CES): Assesses how easy it is for customers to get their issues resolved or achieve their goals.
• Churn Rate: The rate at which customers stop using the service or leave the company.
• Revenue per Contact: Measures the revenue generated per customer interaction, helping to assess the profitability of contact center operations.
• Customer Retention Rate: Tracks the percentage of customers who remain with the company over a specific period.
• Customer Satisfaction Trends: Analyzes changes in customer satisfaction over time to gauge long-term satisfaction and identify improvement areas.

By identifying and tracking these key performance indicators, you can align your efforts with your overall business goals, making informed decisions that enhance customer satisfaction and foster sustainable growth.

Strategic KPIs are key to unlocking contact center performance

Unlike operational KPIs, which focus on day-to-day tasks, strategic KPIs are directly tied to a contact center’s long-term priorities. These can include areas such as growth, customer satisfaction, market expansion, or innovation. These KPIs are designed to measure performance over extended periods, helping contact centers track their progress toward achieving their strategic objectives and overall business goals.

Remember that KPIs should be flexible and adapt as your contact center’s needs and goals evolve. Establishing a feedback loop that regularly analyzes data and refines KPIs will allow you to support continuous improvement. You can further enhance this process by involving agents, sharing performance data and insights, fostering accountability, and empowering them to contribute ideas for enhancing the customer experience.

Together, they provide a holistic view of your contact center’s performance, helping leaders make informed executive decisions and strategic adjustments. 

Bridging the gap between KPIs and analytics

One of the biggest challenges in leveraging KPIs is turning data into meaningful findings. This is where advanced analytics come into play. While strategic KPIs guide long-term goals and measure progress, advanced analytics can transform these metrics into actionable insights, offering a deeper understanding of customer behavior.

Simply put, advanced analytics transform raw data into actionable insights, interpreting data in ways that will drive strategic decisions in improving customer experience.

Customer interactions generate a wealth of information, but the true value lies in how that information is analyzed and the insights then applied. Advanced analytics tools help contact centers move from reactive to proactive service models by uncovering patterns, trends, and predictive insights that aren’t immediately obvious.

Using historical data, future customer behaviors and needs can be forecasted. In contact centers, this can mean anticipating when customers might churn, or identifying when they’re likely to need support. By proactively reaching out or preparing for spikes in service demand, contact centers can enhance the customer experience and reduce operational strain.

By focusing on strategic KPIs, contact centers can prioritize initiatives that drive meaningful outcomes, such as enhancing the customer experience, and optimizing service delivery. These metrics will help identify gaps, track progress, and provide actionable insights that guide decision-making at all levels.

Harnessing data and KPIs for enhanced customer experience

Cracking the CX code requires focusing on the right KPIs that align with your contact center’s strategic vision rather than chasing every possible metric. Optimal tracking of customer experience involves leveraging your data to make informed decisions. By focusing on meaningful operational and strategic KPIs with advanced analytics, contact centers can gain actionable insights into customer interactions, proactively improve service delivery, create a more customer-centric future, and boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Learn how Inoria can help you crack the CX code.