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Quality customer service is becoming widely recognized as integral to a company’s success, but tracking what that actually means can sometimes be an issue.

Customer-centric companies such as Apple and Amazon are known to outperform their competitors across the board. By putting customers’ needs first and prioritizing customer experience over company-based priorities, they increase customer loyalty and reduce churn rates (the rate at which customer attrition associated with a certain service occurs over a given period of time).

Your company can take steps to place customer experience in the foreground and create a positive influence on retention, sales, and growth. In order to do so, though, you need to start with a way to measure customer satisfaction and quality of customer service.

Accurate measurement starts with knowing what exactly you want to measure. Start the process by implementing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) along different points in the customer experience pathway. KPIs are methods of tracking how well your company is accomplishing its stated goals. Applying KPIs to Customer Experience is an essential strategy to track how effective your team is at delivering stellar customer service each step of the way.

Here are five KPIs for Customer Experience you should prioritize in 2019. Each point includes the stated KPI as well as some suggestions for how to measure your team’s success.

Key Performance Indicators for Customer Satisfaction

1. Net Promoter Score

Your Net Promoter Score (NPS) tracks the loyalty of customers in your company’s customer relationships based on how likely they are to recommend your product or services to someone else. This is a means of measuring how effectively your company is leveraging its customers as brand ambassadors.

You can track your NPS by collecting direct feedback through customer surveys, and by setting up an affiliate program that encourages active participation and sharing of your brand. This allows you to identify areas for improvement in the Customer Experience, guided by the customers themselves.

2. Customer Satisfaction Scores

Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT) measure customer satisfaction with your company. This score can influence conversion rates along the funnel of customer acquisition, since satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat customers (as well as net promoters).

Consider tracking customer satisfaction through direct surveys tagged by category of interaction. This will allow you to paint a better picture of areas where customer satisfaction takes the forefront in your operations, and where it could use improvement.

For example, if your call center is repeatedly receiving complaints surrounding a similar issue, it’s important that you have a system in place to track feedback so you can identify where the weak points are and take appropriate action.

3. Customer Effort Scores

As the name implies, Customer Effort Score (CES) measure the average amount of effort customers must exert in seeking support from your agents as well as completing transactions with your company. Customer Effort Scores indicate areas where your customer experience is fine-tuned and clear and areas that may require reassessment.

One measure of CES is the number of pages per session for visitors to your website. If customers tend to submit a ticket even after navigating through your support pages, reevaluate the content for clarity. Avoid any jargon in support pages and offer customer satisfaction surveys at strategic points in the customer experience to evaluate the effectiveness of the support pathway.

4. Average Resolution Time

The average amount of time it takes for your team to address customer service issues reflects upon the image of your company and plays into customer acquisition. Research shows that most customers prefer live chat support to any other form of communication. Solving problems in real time in a format that is accessible to the customer goes a long way towards building and maintaining customer satisfaction. Customers also indicate that they value effectiveness over efficiency; having their issue resolved thoroughly is more valuable than having it resolved quickly.

Take this into account when designing your customer experience; clear support articles paired with an effective live chat software and well-trained agents is your recipe for success.

5.  First Contact Resolution

First Contact Resolution (FCR) is a measure of the rate at which customers seeking support solve their issues through first contact with the support desk.

This is an important measure of customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of your agents. When agents mark first contact as resolved, their records should also be checked against customer surveys to avoid discrepancies.

Focus on direct customer interactions. Anytime an employee is interacting directly with a customer, you have an opportunity to make or break a customer relationship. Agents who are confident salespeople and well versed in what your company has to offer can be an invaluable asset to building your customer base.

Make the Customer (Metrics) Your Foundation

Being proactive when it comes to customer service and placing customer experience at the foreground of your company priorities can set you apart from your competitors and pay dividends across the board. Assess your priorities in terms of delivering a quality customer experience and use those desired outcomes as the starting point for developing your KPIs.

Having a game plan in place to measure performance allows you to determine what tools will be most effective in tracking your team’s success in the areas that are most important.