QuestionPro is making a big addition to its QuestionPro CX product platform, with its soon to be formally announced acquisition of customer journey mapping provider SuiteCX.
Dash Research had an exclusive interview with Ken Peterson, President, CX, QuestionPro and Valerie Peck, CEO and Founder of SuiteCX to discuss the fit between the two companies, as well as the capabilities and benefits of using journey mapping to provide outstanding customer experience.
The QuestionPro-SuiteCX Match Up
Customer journey mapping is something Peterson has observed as a growing CX need for decades, and a tool that he believes is a perfect complement to the QuestionPro offering. “When I think about where we are as platform, we want to be about the entire customer journey,” he says. “We don’t want to just measure one big touchpoint like some companies do, or just keep adding survey questions on to get feedback on another touchpoint. We want to be able to look at the micro journeys in a customer-brand relationship and pull them all together in one CX platform. Internally, we have been talking about having a journey mapping solution that can overlay our platform for quite some time and SuiteCX is a great fit for us.”
QuestionPro was also seeing signals from the market that this type of solution would be of benefit. “We have had several clients bring their own mapping and request that they need measurements along identified touchpoints,” says Peterson. “From my perspective, there is a beauty in integrating journey mapping and our technology and being able to look at multiple touchpoints to tell a more comprehensive story. We really have a great fit with SuiteCX, both culturally and technologically. And being able to bring Valerie on board, with her deep expertise in the customer journey mapping field is something we are really looking forward to.”
Peck adds, “The combination of our solution and QuestionPro will bring it all together. Pulling in the voice of the customer, from a data perspective and arraying it in a linear fashion right across what the customer is doing in their actual life cycle allows all kinds of things to pop up that you wouldn’t see if that were all living in silos. “This is the perfect match for us as well. Being able to integrate the data QuestionPro collects, and the analytics helps to really fill in the pieces of a customer journey.”
The Benefits of Integrating Journey Mapping into CX Practice
Creating customer journey maps has traditionally been a tedious, manual process with limited usage due to the constant state of change. However, customer journey mapping, if done right, is not a static, scribbled diagram on a white board.
“I have been focused on doing customer insight driven strategy through execution my whole career,” says Peck. “I started with journey mapping using Visio and other tools, but it was one and done, not a living creation. The SuiteCX solution has evolved into a powerful tool to visualize a holistic experience from a customer point of view, seeing each interaction on its own and well as in concert with other interactions. It is flexible, easy to use, and allows for internal collaboration, which has become increasingly important as more teams are scattered geographically.”
Both Peterson and Peck note several areas where using journey mapping can particularly shine, some which are customer-focused and some which are more internal to a company’s processes. These include:
- CX improvement with targeted action
- Product development
- Better-informed messaging
- Technology reassessment
- Operational, workflow, and process improvements
- Strategy and planning
- Deeper customer understanding with the use of personas
From a CX perspective, problems that are causing friction can be identified down to a micro-moment which can provide the fuel for the roadmap to fix these issues. These improvements can lead to customer acquisition, retention, and growth.
Says Peck, “There are moments that matter and expectations from the customer’s perspective. Some of these are going well, and some are pain points. Maybe they aren’t terrible, but they need to be fixed. Then there is the company perspective in wanting to create not just a great customer experience, but smooth operations and efficiencies. It helps companies determine how they can best serve the experience, and sometimes, how can this best be done in the most cost-effective manner.”
Peterson adds, “I really like how journey mapping uncovers the disconnect between how a process is supposed to be vs how it may actually go in practice. Finding those often-hidden moments and taking action is powerful. The addition of SuiteCX into QuestionPro’s capabilities will be able to visually show – here’s what’s supposed to happen, here’s what is actually happening, and here are the metrics to back it up.”
According to Peck, sometimes a company might see a process not working well or a metric falling off, but they cannot figure out why. Looking at the data will tell you what is happening, and then combining the journey mapping and voice of the customer will bring you to the why.
On a Growth Path
According to Peck, SuiteCX has shown robust and sustained growth, even though the pandemic. The company invested more in improving collaboration, guest access, and controls as its base of users shifted from super-users to a broader base of participants. The company has seen strong traction in industry verticals such as insurance, healthcare, travel, automotive and utilities. These are all industries that also align well with QuestionPro’s customer base.
QuestionPro has been expanding its capabilities through product enhancements in its CX, research, and EX suites, as well as through acquisitions. The addition of journey mapping will be an opportunity to deepen relationships with current QuestionPro customers and serve as a potential growth area for customer acquisition. Both parties are excited and optimistic about their shared journey ahead.
Peck says, “I am really looking forward to working with the talented QuestionPro team, who have such a wealth of knowledge and technological expertise in the experience segment.”
Peterson adds, “I’ve been through my share of mergers and acquisitions, and this one has me really excited. This bringing together of both the operational and feedback/emotional side of CX is something we have been striving to accomplish for a while. It really brings the customer-brand relationship to life. Aside from that, Valerie and I have been in the CX industry for quite some time but haven’t had the opportunity to work directly together. I look forward to being able to work and learn from such an industry expert as we continuously expand and improve our offerings.”
SuiteCX is currently available via a standalone license but will be integrated into the larger QuestionPro CX platform, usable by customers via a single sign-on.
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
