For Customer Experience Professionals

Member Registration Plagues Health Plan Sites

Interviews Of 17 Health Plans Uncover The Need For Email Addresses

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 20, 2009

The Web is becoming a bigger part of health plans' member service and member communication strategies, but health plans struggle to drive adoption. Forrester recently interviewed customer experience professionals responsible for member service Web sites . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

PHRs: Scant Penetration And Lots Of Confusion

Consumers Report On Which Personal Health Records They're Using

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 4, 2009

In a recent Forrester survey, almost one-third of consumers reported having a personal health record (PHR) — the vast majority of which are from their health plan. Forrester doesn't believe it. These high adoption levels don't jibe with either past surveys . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Health Plan Provider Search Tools: It's Time For An Upgrade

by Elizabeth Boehm, October 29, 2009

Consumers tell us that online provider directory tools are convenient and reasonably easy to use but still fall short of helping them make decisions regarding where to get the best care for themselves and their families. To bring provider directories . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Chief Customer Experience Officers Gain Active Executive Support

by Megan Burns, October 23, 2009

To be successful, chief customer experience officers (CC/EOs) need a coalition of top executives who take an active role in transforming the organization. While most executives support the idea of customer-centricity, many fail to act because they don't . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

The Customer Experience Generation Gap

Customer Experience Index Scores Across Five Generations And 12 Industries

by Bruce D. Temkin, September 30, 2009

Across most industries, Seniors give firms the highest marks for customer experience, and Gen Yers give them the lowest. The most significant exception is that Older Boomers give PC manufacturers the lowest scores. The difference across generations is . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How To Survive The Browser Wars

Top Considerations When Designing For Cross-Browser Interoperability

by Harley Manning, September 17, 2009

The browser wars have turned hot! How can companies deliver a high-quality Web experience in a world of proliferating platforms — without breaking the bank? The answer lies in best practices for effective cross-browser design and testing. By embracing . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Do Site Owners Approach The Agency Selection Process?

by Vidya L. Drego, September 1, 2009

Finding the right agency partner can be a difficult and onerous journey. To help shed some light on the process, we surveyed 41 customer experience professionals, 40 of whom are working with or have worked with an agency in the past. Our respondents told . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Estimate The ROI Of A Better Online Customer Experience In Six Steps

by Megan Burns, August 27, 2009

Proving the business value of a better online experience is a top priority for Web customer experience leaders. To help, we've identified a six-step process that lets even financial novices model the ROI for Web customer experience projects: 1) document . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Consumers Respond To The Economic Downturn By Cutting Their Healthcare Spending

by Elizabeth Boehm, August 19, 2009

Congress is struggling with healthcare reform and debating issues like how to create a public plan and fund expanded coverage. But consumers have to make tough choices regarding their own health and finances today. Almost 40% of consumers report they . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Make Travel Customers Feel Valued Online

by Diane Clarkson, August 19, 2009

Making leisure travelers feel valued is more than a "warm and fuzzy" objective. There are significant business benefits to making leisure travelers feel valued — namely, these travelers are more likely to be loyal brand advocates. However, most travel . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Executive Q&A: Cross-Channel Reviews

by Adele Sage, July 31, 2009

Cross-channel reviews uncover flaws that prevent users from accomplishing goals when their paths take them across multiple channels, like Web sites and interactive voice response (IVR) systems. When companies fix these flaws they improve business results. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Who Wants Low Prices Or Good Customer Service?

Examining Four Segments Of Consumers Across 12 Industries

by Bruce D. Temkin, July 23, 2009

In previous research, Forrester found that US consumers looked for good customer service more often than lower prices. To understand this dynamic in more detail, we created four segments of consumers: Service Seekers, Price Seekers, Price & Service . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Five Mistakes To Avoid When Asking For Web Customer Experience Funding

by Megan Burns, July 23, 2009

The economic forecast for the 2010 budget cycle: tense. As Web customer experience professionals develop their budget requests for next year, they should take care to avoid five common but costly mistakes: 1) letting people think the current site is "good . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Auto Insurers' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Bruce D. Temkin, July 10, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large auto insurers — 21st Century Insurance, Allstate Insurance, Geico, and State Farm. Overall, the auto insurers performed fairly well relative to the . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Belgacom Establishes Itself As A Credible TV Brand

The Belgian Incumbent Telco Focuses On Customer Experience To Win Market Share

by Laurence Meyer, July 2, 2009

In 2005, the Belgian incumbent telco Belgacom needed to build a very strong position in the Belgian TV market in order to compete with multiple-play service providers. Four years later, Belgacom TV is a leading IPTV company in Europe and had a 30% share . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Small IVR Investments That Pay Off

by Adele Sage, June 23, 2009

With low phone self-service satisfaction rates, there's lots of room to improve IVR systems. Our research uncovered five low-cost techniques that improve routing, boost containment rates, increase automation, and reinforce the brand. To identify which . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Boosts Revenue

Modest Improvements Can Bring In $177 Million To $311 Million Per Year

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 22, 2009

Forrester's previous research has shown a high correlation between customer experience and three key elements of loyal behavior: willingness to buy more, reluctance to switch, and likelihood to recommend. But how does that affect a company's bottom line? . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Consumers Want Healthcare Change, Lack Consensus

by Elizabeth Boehm, June 18, 2009

Healthcare reformers in Washington claim that all options are on the table. But what do consumers want? According to Forrester's Q1 2009 Healthcare Online Survey, the US public remains as divided as its politicians. Consumers' top choice, at 30%, is expanding . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Health Plans Use Health Risk Assessments

by Elizabeth Boehm, June 18, 2009

Determined to bring medical costs under control, health plans use health risk assessments (HRAs) to inform interventions aimed at changing members' health status. In a recent survey of nine health plans, Forrester found surprisingly little consistency . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Index 2008 Snapshot: TV Service Providers

TV Service Providers Deliver Poor Experiences And Head In The Wrong Direction

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 11, 2009

Forrester asked more than 4,500 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index (CxPi) . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Index 2008 Snapshot: Health Plans

Health Plans Rank Last In Customer Experience Two Years In A Row

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 5, 2009

Forrester asked more than 4,500 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index (CxPi) . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Index 2008 Snapshot: Hotels

Hampton Inn and Marriott Top the List

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 4, 2009

Forrester asked more than 4,500 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index (CxPi) . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Index 2008 Snapshot: Investment Firms

Vanguard And Credit Unions Top List, Despite Overall Decline In Industry

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 4, 2009

Forrester asked more than 4,500 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index (CxPi) . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Customer Experience Index 2008 Snapshot: Insurance Carriers

USAA Leads Okay Performance By Insurers

by Bruce D. Temkin, May 29, 2009

Forrester asked nearly 4,600 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index (CxPi) . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Customer Experience Drives Word Of Mouth

Consumers Talk To More People About Their Bad Experiences

by Bruce D. Temkin, William Chu, May 28, 2009

Forrester asked more than 4,500 consumers how often they talk about experiences with companies in 12 industries. It turns out that more consumers talk about good experiences than bad experiences with eight of the industries. Retailers and banks have the . . .