Create a Business Case Using CX Research

Use rigorous customer research to build your business case and solve customer experience problems.

Create a CX Business Case

In building a business case for customer experience, I use the following template to demonstrate how I will answer critical business questions.

What is the business question and which research method is best to answer that question? Obviously, more than one research method can be used to answer the same business question. Here’s a simplistic example:

Business Goal

Instrument
Are customers able to complete their website task? True Intent
How much effort does it take customers to complete top tasks? CES
Why aren’t customers able to complete their top tasks? Usability Study

After conducting the study or gathering the results of each business question, next:

1. Conduct analysis.

So, what did you find out?

  • What percentage of website users are able to complete their intended task? (True Intent)
  • Which top tasks have the highest failure rates? (True Intent)
  • What prevents customers from being able to complete their top tasks? (Usability Study)
  • Which top tasks have high success rates, but are difficult to complete? (CES)

2. Quantify the opportunity.

If there is more than one opportunity uncovered in the analysis, identify which ones have the highest revenue or cost-savings potential.

Use analytics to quantify how often a problem occurs, and then calculate the gross revenue lost or profit lost.

Behavioral Research Example

If users are not able to successfully complete the task of “conducting a search” — multiply “number of unique abandoned visitors with unsuccessful searches per month” times “site conversion rate” times “average order value.”

For example: 6,500 unique abandoned visitors with unsuccessful searches per month X 2% conversion rate X $325 average order value = $500k lost revenue per year.

Attitudinal Research Example

Working with attitudinal data rather than behavioral data? Use segmentation to build your case.

For example, you might segment customers into 5 groups from highest CSAT score to lowest score, and then look at the conversion rates or average order value for each group. Do your happiest customers have higher conversion rates or higher average order value? Yes? Now you can make a business case that investing in improving CSAT scores has a return on investment.

CSAT Score

Average Order Value

Conversion Rate
5 $400 4%
4 $300 3%
3 $200 2%
2 $180 1%
1 $150 1%

3. Make your case.

Demonstrate that your recommended solution makes good business sense using quantitative data. Supplement your story with customer quotes, current state and future state diagrams, usability videos, or prototypes.

In the “unsuccessful searches” example, does the solution cost less than $500k to fix the problem? What is the cost and how long will it take to break-even?

In the CSAT example, what are your unhappiest customers unsatisfied about? What would it take to make them happier? Does it make more financial sense to work on moving the “Mostly Happy” group to “Very Happy” or moving the “Very Unhappy” group to “Slightly Unhappy?”

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Author: Kristine Remer

Kristine Remer is a CX insights leader, UX researcher, and strategist in Minneapolis. She helps organizations drive significant business outcomes by finding and solving customer problems. She never misses the Minnesota State Fair and loves dark chocolate mochas, kayaking, escape rooms, and planning elaborate treasure hunts for her children.