My colleague Megan Burns and I have just published our new report "Executive Q&A: Customer Experience Measurement" in response to all the great questions we’ve been getting about measuring customer experience. To measure customer experience (CX), firms need a framework that tells them not only how good their customers' experiences are but also how to improve them and what benefits to expect from doing so. Increasingly, companies are developing such a framework despite facing sometimes-major obstacles.

This report answers some of the most common questions customer experience professionals agonize over when it comes to CX measurement. 

One of those questions we are often asked is, “What does it mean to measure customer experience?” Here is the answer. Forrester defines CX as: how customers perceive their interactions with an organization. Therefore, fundamentally, to measure customer experience is to measure customers' perceptions of their interactions with a firm.

Check out the full report for answers to these additional questions:

• What types of customer experience metrics do we need?
• How can companies pick the right metrics for each section of their customer experience measurement framework?
• Which customer experiences should we measure?
• How can companies measure customer experiences that span channels?
• How should companies use the customer experience metrics they collect?
• What is different about measuring customer experience in a business-to-business context?

Are you interested in learning more about how to measure your customers’ experience? Please join our Customer Experience Measurement Essentials workshop on March 20th, 2013.

Are you interested in participating in Forrester’s future research on CX measurement? Currently, I am working on a new report called “How To Evolve Your Customer Experience Measurement Program.” It will share approaches that help CX professionals to evolve their CX measurement program to the next level. I would love to hear from CX professionals who can talk about their efforts in CX measurement. Please email me at mschmidt@forrester.com if you want to take part in this research.