Shane Atchison (of Zaaz) made a point in his keynote address at our True North conference that has had me thinking: you can use metrics to justify (and even encourage!) creative risks.
Creative types are sometimes the last people to want to rely on voice of customer feedback, but trust me, it can help make the business case for innovation. If, for example, you want to take some design risks or innovate a new feature or function on your site, your VOC analytics can show upper management that customer sat with those elements is low, and that changing them could have a huge impact on retention, loyalty, and purchase behavior. Then the proof will be in the pudding: make the changes and see how the numbers shift.
One of our clients, Ask.com tried their first "3D" redesign as an AB test against their existing site design. They were able to use our satisfaction data to register higher satisfaction and project higher loyalty and retention for the new design. They took it all the way to the top and used the satisfaction metrics in their business case because over the years, they've seen customer satisfaction be a leading indicator of loyalty and retention. They got approval to roll out the last design last April . . . to rave reviews. Satisfaction with their site continued to climb, validating the innovation from the site visitors' point of view.
