Almost one quarter struggle to demonstrate ROI of journey management

In mid-2024, CX Network and Alterian conducted their second research project into the state of journey experience among CX practitioners. The results confirmed that as many as 23 percent of respondents struggle to demonstrate any financial returns from journey management to their executive teams.

Between July 15 and August 26, 2024, 107 CX Network members located across the Americas, Europe, the UK and Ireland shared the greatest challenges they face when implementing and managing successful customer journeys; the roadblocks that prevent them from delivering the best customer experiences; and the metrics they use to measure success.

What is journey management?

Journey management is the practice of ensuring customer journeys are connected and orchestrated across channels to enhance convenience for customers and retention for the business. To do this, businesses must research, monitor, design and optimize, dynamically to ensure customer needs are met as their journey evolves.

These actions allow organizations to begin to understand how customers interact with them, why and when they purchase and how the current customer experience can be improved.

Importantly, journey management is not the same as journey mapping, which plots the route a customer can take to a sale. 

The problem with journey management 

When CX practitioners were asked how they prove the financial returns of journey management to their executive teams, the responses were largely positive, with 77 percent able to name a method.

As many as 27 percent said they demonstrate increased customer retention rates and their impact on revenue, 22 percent said they can highlight positive customer feedback and satisfaction scores without tying them to financial metrics, 19 percent said they showcase the cost savings achieved through improved operational efficiencies and nine percent said they demonstrate increased conversions through better designed journeys. However, 23 percent said they struggle to demonstrate any financial returns at all.

Commenting on the results, Bob Hale, CEO of Alterian said that although there is a greater emphasis on quantifying the financial impact of CX strategies, “many organizations still struggle to prove ROI”. He explained: “There is growing recognition of AI's potential in enhancing customer experiences, yet fundamental issues like data integration and communication gaps continue to hinder progress. Achieving a competitive edge will require overcoming these obstacles and further maturing customer journey management practices.”

How to measure the ROI of journey management

For this cohort of percent of practitioners to overcome the issue with proving ROI, Hale said the most reliable method should focus on linking journey improvements directly to business outcomes.

“By connecting enhancements in the customer journey to key metrics like cost reductions, reduced churn, increased revenue and higher customer satisfaction – for example, improved digital resolution and reduced call center volumes – practitioners can justify their investment in journey management,” Hale said.

Utilizing data-driven insights is another crucial step. Tracking metrics before and after changes allows practitioners to quantify their impact and demonstrate tangible improvements. “Prioritizing high-impact areas that directly contribute to revenue growth or cost savings, like shifting interactions from high-cost call centers to more efficient digital channels, further strengthens the case for ROI,” Hale added.

Overall, he said the ability to create a compelling business case is essential and that practitioners should outline the expected benefits, including cost savings through reduced call center volumes, revenue growth and enhanced customer loyalty.

“Including projections, real-world examples and success stories can make the argument more persuasive,” he says. Furthermore, regular communication of results is also important. “By continuously monitoring and reporting on the progress of journey management initiatives, CX practitioners can reinforce the value of their efforts and secure ongoing support for continued investment in customer experience enhancements,” he says.

Why is ROI a barrier to CX success?

The ability to prove a return on investment (ROI) is essential in business, yet in customer experience it has long been a barrier to progress.

CX Network’s research into the Global State of CX in 2024 found the ability to prove ROI is the most significant obstacle for CX investments (selected as a top-three choice by 42 percent of 282 respondents).

Elsewhere in the survey, 66 percent of respondents said the pressure to prove ROI is increasing, while 25 percent said it stayed the same when compared with 2023 and a mere one percent of respondents said it is decreasing.

The research also found that for 22 percent of respondents, the ability to link CX initiatives to ROI is one of their top three professional challenges.

The roadblocks that prevent the best customer experience

Although ROI can pose a challenge to investment plans, it is not the biggest barrier preventing practitioners from actioning the best customer experience.

In both 2023 and 2024, CX Network and Alterian asked practitioners to all five response choices that applied and both years siloed data and lack of integrated systems emerged as the most selected response, with 64 percent of responses in 2023 and 76 percent in 2024. Not only is this a persistent challenge, but year on year, it has become a challenge for even more organizations.

In both 2023 and 2024, the second most selected response was inconsistent CX across channels.

Smaller numbers of respondents told us their most significant roadblocks at present are a lack of real-time capabilities to respond to customer needs (41 percent in 2024), limited understanding of customer behavior and preferences, and insufficient personalization/individualization in customer interactions (both attracting 36 percent of responses this year).

Skander Tayach, senior advisor of client experience for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), says siloed data often prevents organizations from tracking an individual’s entire experience throughout the whole journey. “We need to acknowledge that each customer is not represented by each step’s aggregated data,” he adds.

“We often have access to data from different touchpoints at an aggregated level and this provides relevant and crucial insights to help us gain a strong understanding of the reality of each specific step, channel or interaction in the journey. However, data format, quality and structure differ depending on the context, for example digital vs in person. These differences

can include the format, the way data is collected, the timing of data collection and other factors.”

Read the full research in the CX Network report The state of customer journey success 2024-2025, available for download via this link.

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