Drowning in data, tangled in tech: the modern CX leader’s reality

“I never expected to spend so much time in the weeds.”

There has been steep growth in the volume and variety of data sources for Experience and Research teams: behavioural data, social posts, reviews, video transcriptions, text analytics, CRM records…

But more signals bring more noise: data are in different formats and time periods; it’s hard to join them together for analysis; and there are usually gaps and inconsistencies to resolve.

In the absence of a common data platform to combine and manage these inputs, teams spend too much time on data wrangling tasks. This usually means cleaning, formatting and importing CSV files. Repeatedly.

The data comes in so many shapes and sizes because of a related challenge: the rise of the so-called Frankenstack: the multi-headed beast of too many different software tools.

Large companies now use an average of 300 different SaaS applications[1];for some, the number is far higher. Experience, Insights and Research teams can choose from nearly 1,200 specialist software tools[2].

The result? Organizations often have multiple survey platforms, NPS tools and CX feedback solutions. Social listening, review management, text analytics and data visualization software are all similarly duplicated or overlapping.

For Experience and Research leaders, this is an even bigger problem than workflow and data integration. With so many similar tools, budget is inevitably wasted; data security becomes more challenging; and each system has its own learning curve and training requirements.

For these reasons, leading organizations with a strong HX vision are rationalizing software and consolidating data with common platforms.

Best Buy: giving Best Buy instant insights during the pandemic

When Covid-19 first hit, customer expectations and priorities changed quickly. For retailers like Best Buy, the challenge was to keep people safe while limiting the inconvenience. With almost 1,000 stores to adapt to a new way of working, they needed to improvise quickly and focus on changes that would best suit customers’ needs.

Best Buy quickly adapted its feedback process across all regions and touchpoints by adding new questions to surveys, combining sales with feedback data and delivering daily insights straight to the people who could act on them.

Using Forsta’s multi-touchpoint surveys, advanced analytics and live dashboards, Best Buy’s CX team was able to act on real-time insights, overcome pandemic challenges and even make innovations to pricing strategy, reporting processes and digital sales.

By August 2020, business performance was better than it had been pre-pandemic, and Best Buy was awarded ‘Best in Industry’ in the Ipsos Big Box Retail Awards.

“Forsta enabled speed and flexibility as needs shifted [during the pandemic], especially in regard to the numerous survey and reporting updates. These quick updates to surveys and reporting enabled us to bring Covid-specific insights directly to senior leaders.”

— Jaclyn von Oven, Director of Customer Experience Measurement and Insights, Best Buy

Read the full white paper

At Forsta we’re privileged to work with nearly 1,000 agencies around the world, from boutique specialists to the largest international networks.

Our most successful agency partners create value by connecting the worlds of Market Research with User, Customer and Employee Experience.

Download this white paper to find out how your organization can reap the rewards of better-connected data: free up time, get more from your budget and improve the experience of your customers.

Read the full Best Buy case study here.

Watch the Best Buy and Forsta webinar recording here.