What is it? Customer experience (CX) refers to the perception of a brand, product or service formed by the interactions and experiences individuals have had across any touch points (e.g. e-commerce, social media, brick and mortar, fulfillment, logistics/procurement, customer service, messaging, etc). 

Customer experience research (CX research) refers to the practice of planning, collecting and analyzing data and insights about these perceptions and experiences. In some companies it sits under the market research and consumer insights’ team, and in other organizations it is its own discipline. 

The purpose of CX research is to inform the design and delivery of the optimum and consistent  customer experience across every channel and interaction with an organization, in order to meet, and ideally exceed, customer expectations. The goal is typically to increase satisfaction, retention, spend, brand advocacy, etc. and ensure the experiences delivered aligned with business objectives.

When is it best used? Customer-centric organizations collect and analyze data and information about customers and prospects through data science, and quantitative and qualitative research to understand behaviors, needs, opinions, pain points, etc., to identify improvements and future opportunities.

What does it entail?  Qualitative research methods may include ethnographies, contextual interviews (e.g. shopalongs), interviews, focus groups, and diary studies, etc.. Quantitative methods may include NPS, surveys, big data, usability tests, A/B tests, eye tracking, click tests, segmentation, and conversion analysis.

Interchangeable term: CXR

Use in a sentence: Customer experience research studies the customer journey across touchpoints with a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Related terms: Personas, Journey Mapping, Stakeholder Mapping, Empathy Mapping, NPS, A/B testing, market research, consumer insights

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