Top Decision Criteria For Execs Who Approve Web Customer Experience Budgets

Who controls the checkbook for Web site improvements, and what those people think about when making funding decisions? To find out, we asked practitioners at leading firms. Our analysis of their answers shows that Web customer experience budgets are controlled by a steering committee made up of executives at the level of vice president or higher, representing marketing, IT, finance, and each of the firms' lines of business. Members of this committee consider six key factors when deciding whether or not to fund a project: economic benefits, competitive benefits, strategic alignment, risk, timing, and alternative ways to spend the money. Customer experience professionals should tailor their business cases to the target audience by uncovering decision-makers' top priorities, drawing a clear line between the proposed project and each groups' business objectives, and taking care to use language that will resonate at the executive level.