Stop Running from ROI Conversations – Tackling Return on Experience (ROX)
Return on Investment (ROI) is a fundamental business concept, yet it presents a significant challenge, particularly when quantifying the value of experience. Research from Forrester indicates that a majority of CX leaders struggle to demonstrate ROI while a recent survey from Marketing Week revealed marketers often fail to measure the impact of their campaigns on business outcomes. In today’s economic climate, justifying experience investments with concrete ROI data is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.
The difficulty often lies in measuring intangible value. Experience is frequently categorized as such, making it seem elusive and difficult to quantify. However, effective methods exist to evaluate, prioritize, and measure the attributed impact of experience initiatives. Imagine being able to present leadership with clear, dollarized attribution and a compelling ROI narrative. Imagine managing experience investments with the same rigor applied to financial investments, even incorporating an “experience ledger” into investor reporting. This level of accountability is achievable.
Consider these examples from our broader client work:
A large hospital system, grappling with revenue cycle challenges, invested in a new experience program. By partnering with their finance and operations teams, we developed a practical experience ledger, providing validated, line-by-line dollarized attribution and ROI. Within a year, this system demonstrably improved key metrics, including a 14% year-over-year increase in cash collections, a 33% improvement in first-year employee turnover, and a 30-point jump in Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS). This hospital system, without the extensive resources of a fortune 500, now leverages solid ROI data for strategic decision-making.
A regional bank sought to redefine how it measured customer loyalty. We collaborated with their experience leader to build a sophisticated statistical model that captured the often-overlooked intangible value of various initiatives, moving beyond simple top-level correlations. This model attributed significant value to CX investments, including a $420 million ROI over a 24-month period and a 2-point improvement in customer relationship loyalty over the same timeframe. Notably, this robust statistical attribution model was developed by a regional bank, not a large national institution.
These examples illustrate that meaningful progress in measuring the value of experience is possible regardless of an organization’s current resources or stage in the ROI journey. We’ve developed a model, ROX (Return on Experience), based on our cross-industry experience, to help organizations effectively measure and articulate the value of experience.
The ROX model progresses through three levels of abstraction depending on the maturity and readiness of the given organization:
- Level One, Qualitative Narrative: This entry point is ideal for teams just beginning to explore ROX. Often, these teams may lack readily available data or a clear starting point. We find it best at this stage to focus on qualitative research to uncover impactful anecdotes and identify patterns, pinpointing areas of friction, bottlenecks, leakage, and inefficiencies within the current experience design. This qualitative foundation provides essential momentum for subsequent quantitative analysis.
- Level Two, Quantitative Inference: For leaders seeking a more quantitative and defensible ROI approach, we recommend cross department collaboration to create a detailed ledger of actions, solutions, and outcomes linked to experience investments. In partnership with finance and operations, you can develop a simple attribution model, assigning dollarized value to each item in the ledger. This model, while accessible and practical, provides the level of detail and justification needed to gain leadership buy-in.
- Level Three, Full ROX Attribution: This level is designed for organizations already engaged in ROI measurement and aiming for best-practice standards. We recommend tight partnership with your analytics teams to develop a comprehensive statistical attribution model that goes beyond high-level driver analysis, drilling down into sub-drivers, specific initiatives, and precise dollarization.
In today’s business landscape, where a significant percentage of firms do not prioritize customer experience as a core brand identity component, leaders must fundamentally rethink how they maintain momentum and alignment for experience investments. ROX offers a powerful framework to achieve this critical alignment and drive demonstrable results.
Looking to take your ROI measures to the next level? Let’s talk. At Cortico-X we specialize in experience led transformations and creating compelling impact narratives. If you find this content interesting, please follow Cortico-X on LinkedIn for more insights on the future of experience and ROX.
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David Ducharme
is a Principal at Cortico-X with extensive experience in healthcare, financial services, and growth strategy.
Brandon Barrett
is an Associate Principal at Cortico-X with expertise in financial services, consumer products, and B2B strategy.