By: Shehzad Bhanji, Head of Global Client Services: Marketing, Brand and Communications EMEAT & SEA, QNB Group

Shehzad Bhanji, Head of Global Client Services – Marketing, Brand and Communications EMEAT & SEA, QNB Group

Move over ROI, return on experience (ROX) is the new metric for business success! While we’ve seen massive buying pattern changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these changes were already on the way, and now they’re here to stay. This new world makes the consumer the promoter or canceler of brands, creating a new need to gauge brand impact through the comprehensive brand experience.

Let’s dive into the role and measurements of ROX so that you can direct your brand with confidence.

Why has ROX Unseated ROI?

ROI stands for return on investment, is calculated by a straightforward mathematical equation, and has been the gold standard for determining a business’s success for decades. ROX stands for return on experience, has no direct formula for calculating impact, and is dethroning ROI as the standard for business success― but why?

ROI fails to take a nuanced approach to the factors contributing to a consumer picking one brand over another. Instead, it only measures invested dollar impact on revenue generation. ROX, on the other hand, focuses on the holistic customer experience (CX) with your brand― including response to marketing campaigns, ease of purchasing multiple platforms, consumer interactions with brand content, and offers a complete story behind the brand.

This shift in metrics has been brought about by a shift in consumer habits. Consumers have more power over brands than ever before. Consumers research more of their purchases, care more about environmental impact, are better informed about employee plights, and prefer local brands more than ever. So while you are ultimately at the helm of your company, you are more likely to succeed by keeping a close watch on customer behavior towards your brand.

What Categories Fall Under ROX?

ROX is a measurement of how well the offered buying experience translates to customers― the more accessible or value the brand experience, the more customers you will attract and retain. Here are a few areas that affect CX.

Digital Offerings

Your digital presence and the flow of purchasing your product or service online is perhaps the largest component of ROX. This includes:

  • Making the shopping process easy: offer shop through linked social media accounts, shop in person, testing products digitally through augmented reality, and easy return process.
  • Chatbots to aid CX in shopping and problem resolution.
  • Nurturing clients through content offerings: video walkthroughs, ebooks, guides, and blog content.
  • Showcasing how the way you respond ethically to employee concerns and needs, as well as environmental impact.
Employee Experience (EX)

Company culture has been a hot topic for several years, and EX is beginning to explain the effect of culture on the consumer. Employees with support, proper training, and the technology they need to perform will translate to CX.

Leadership Experience (LX)

Of course, all product, web, and culture designs are driven by the leadership team. How well the customer responds to the buying experience shows how well leadership can view CX as a whole rather than unrelated components.

How to Measure Health ROX

You can think of ROX as total net benefit divided by total investment, although the benefit is not strictly revenue anymore. By having a pulse on the following categories recommended by Salesforce, you can get a good feel for the high-performing areas and what needs some work.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate has been a metric as long as ROI has been in use, and it still holds a high position in business success metrics. Calculate conversion rate by the number of visitors by the number of purchasers― the higher the rate, the more likely you have healthy CX and thus great ROX.

Client Advocacy and Promotion

Client advocacy is likely to be a high indicator of ROX because it measures how many of your clients are voluntarily promoting your brand. You can gauge advocacy two ways: referral rate and net promoter score (NPS). 

Referral Rate: Many online brands will poll new customers about how they discovered the brand. The higher the referrals, the more dedicated the client base, and the more likely your product/service translates to real value, generating a high ROX.

NPS: Regularly ask on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely the consumer would recommend your product or service. You want as many 9 and 10 responses as possible while responding to the concerns of 6 and lower.

Click-rates for CTAs

Another easy way to measure how clients feel about the brand experience you offer is through click-rates for your CTAs (calls to action). CTAs examples include subscribing to your newsletter, downloading an ebook, or interacting with a social media post. If you have low follow-through with your CTAs, your experience isn’t what your target consumer base is looking for.

Visitor Bounce Rate

Your bounce rate is the percentage of web visitors who leave your website immediately after landing on your page. A high bounce rate is a bad sign― either your keywords are misleading users, or you’re failing to convince clients that you are a solution to their search. If you want to lower your bounce rate, consider the following:

  • Is your landing page both attractive and informative? If it looks outdated, clients will look for someone who actively maintains their page. If it is flashy but lacks substance, viewers will find someone who can offer both.
  • How easy is your platform to complete a purchase? The gold standard is Amazon, which has made sales so easy it has become a one-stop-shop for almost every category. 

Customer Survey Metrics

Of course, one of the easiest ways to gauge ROX is to simply ask your consumers how they feel about your product or service and how easy it is to interact with your brand, website, and store. Regularly measure customer effort score (CES) by surveying current clients about how easy they find your website and give them a chance to offer recommendations. Your survey can include more general metrics, like how satisfied the consumer is and how likely they are to recommend you.

As you intentionally measure ROX for your client base, you are sure to see an increase in client base and resulting sales.