The evolution of experience management metrics

For years, brands relied on Net Promoter Score (NPS) as the go-to customer experience (CX) metric. While simple and widely recognized, NPS has limitations—it doesn’t explain why customers feel the way they do or what businesses should improve. 

Today, experience management has evolved beyond a single number. Brands need deeper, more actionable insights to drive meaningful change. By shifting toward overall satisfaction, key driver analysis, and AI-powered text analytics, companies can better understand and enhance the customer journey.

This article explores how CX measurement has transformed and why brands must adapt to stay ahead

The traditional approach: NPS and its limitations

Net Promoter Score (NPS) gained popularity after Fred Reichheld introduced it in his book, The Ultimate Question. It uses an 11-point scale to categorize customers as Promoters (9–10), Passives (7–8), or Detractors (0–6), and calculates a single score to measure customer loyalty.

NPS became widely adopted because it’s simple, easy to track over time, and provides a clear benchmark for customer sentiment. But despite its popularity, NPS has significant drawbacks. Because it fails to measure satisfaction with specific aspects of the experience, NPS doesn't help you understand why customers feel a certain way without reading customer comments. 

Even the comments section doesn’t always bring value. The traditional two-question NPS survey often results in sparsely worded, low-quality responses. That’s why SMG develops surveys that help prime respondents to think more deeply about their experience, which results in longer, more detailed, and more specific feedback.

It’s also challenging to understand the source of change without isolating promoters and detractors separately, making it difficult to interpret or influence NPS scores. Thankfully, experience management metrics have evolved to provide deeper insights.

Related article: Metrics that matter: Is NPS still relevant today?

The shift toward more actionable metrics

While NPS is a common metric, modern experience management best practices prioritize overall satisfaction because it provides a more direct measure of the customer experience. 

For starters, instead of an 11-point scale, SMG uses a 5-point scale to make it easier to interpret results and identify meaningful trends. This approach is more intuitive for respondents, which reduces confusion and survey fatigue. It also displays better on mobile devices. 

The truth is, unless a brand is really struggling, most customers report being satisfied or highly satisfied—with far fewer saying they’re dissatisfied. But the difference between satisfied and highly satisfied matters. SMG’s analysis, for example, shows that highly satisfied customers are three times more likely to return or recommend a brand than customers who are merely satisfied. Negative feedback still holds value, but in most cases the biggest opportunity is moving satisfied customers to highly satisfied.

Modern surveys go beyond a single question to measure specific aspects of the experience. This more robust approach helps pinpoints what’s driving satisfaction and, ultimately, brand loyalty.

A key factor in this shift is simplicity, especially for frontline teams. Many businesses rely on franchise operators who don’t always have a background in data analysis. To drive action, insights need to be clear and actionable. The simpler the approach, the easier it is for teams to adopt. 

In the past, identifying issues like speed of service, taste of food, or order accuracy required manually reading customer comments to understand what was really happening. With more advanced surveys that track overall satisfaction, key drivers, and open-ended responses, we can now pinpoint what impacts satisfaction most. 

For example, if order accuracy is a problem, we can dig deeper. Was an item missing? Was customization incorrect? This level of detail helps brands take targeted action rather than guessing.

Improved survey methods also drive employee experience (EX) management. If staff friendliness is a key driver of customer satisfaction and a location has low friendliness scores, we can look at employee engagement data. If engagement is also low, investing in better training or workplace improvements could be the solution. By linking EX and CX, we help brands understand how supporting employees directly improves customer outcomes.

Related article: 5 ways to help general managers turn CX into operational wins

The role of AI in experience management

We can’t talk about technology these days without mentioning the role of artificial intelligence (AI). It’s revolutionizing every aspect of the digital world, including experience management platforms, data capture methods, and strategies moving forward.

Today, AI-driven text analytics allow brands to extract meaningful insights from open-ended comments without increasing survey length. This means shorter, more engaging surveys that still deliver deep understanding. 

AI categorizes and analyzes feedback in real time, which helps brands quickly identify trends and areas for improvement. We can analyze whether customers mention issues positively or negatively and predict how fixing them—like by improving order accuracy—would affect satisfaction. We can even determine which specific products are most frequently mentioned or hone in on other details.

For example, a store-level manager can ask an AI assistant, "What do I need to do to improve the accuracy of my orders?" The AI tool will mine the data for their particular location and provide an answer.

AI-powered insights also help brands anticipate issues before they escalate. Instead of waiting for customer complaints to reveal a problem, predictive analytics can detect patterns in feedback, and allow businesses to take proactive steps to improve experiences.

SMG developed Ignite™, its AI-native experience management platform, with robust features that deliver results faster and more accurately. By integrating AI into experience management, SMG helps brands move from reactive problem-solving to strategic, data-driven decision-making that continuously enhances the customer experience.

Whitepaper: Putting customer experience insights to work

The future of experience metrics

AI will certainly continue to proliferate within the industry, but what role will it play? Traditional surveys will give way to real-time, embedded feedback mechanisms that integrate seamlessly into customer interactions. For example, instead of asking customers to complete a survey later, brands are exploring AI-powered chat interfaces that gather insights naturally during the experience. 

Today, organizations primarily use email invitations, QR codes, SMS, and similar methods to solicit feedback. In the future, AI agents will play a larger role in collecting feedback, becoming more integrated and seamless—and this effortless experience will be just as important as satisfaction. When interactions are easier, customers are more likely to return and recommend a brand.

The future of experience management isn’t just about customers—it’s about the interconnection among customer experience (CX), employee experience (EX), and brand experience (BX). Brands need holistic metrics that show how employee engagement influences customer satisfaction and how brand perception ties into loyalty. Businesses that align these insights will gain a competitive edge in delivering exceptional experiences. 

AI is powerful, but it has its limitations. In other words, technology won’t solve human behavior. There will always need to be a balance between AI-driven automation and human analysis.

That’s where SMG comes in. We have the most powerful AI-native experience management platform available, as well as seasoned experience management experts ready to help you turn your data into action.

Contact our team today to talk through your needs and to request a demo.  

Kurt Cederman | Research Director