Customer experience management
The goal of customer experience management (CEM) is to optimize customer satisfaction at each touchpoint of the customer journey. Definitions in this glossary include terms about marketing and creating a customer-centric view of business, the use of AI and RPA in martech, capturing and analyzing customer feedback and contact center automation.AAR - DEP
- AARRR metrics - AARRR metrics are a measured performance analysis of a startup businesses statistics centered around the response of customers.
- abandoned call - An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center that is ended before any conversation occurs.
- acceptable spam report rate - An acceptable spam report rate is a metric set for how many of a company's marketing or status emails are reported as spam, also known as "junk mail," or unsolicited bulk messages sent through email.
- ad exchange - An ad exchange is a software-based automated marketplace that allows publishers to sell their ad inventory and advertisers to bid on and purchase the inventory in real time.
- ad fraud - Ad fraud is a type of scam in which the perpetrator fools advertisers into paying for something useless to them, such as fake traffic, fake leads or ineffective and misrepresented ad placement.
- ad fraud botnet - An ad fraud botnet is a distributed network of computers controlled by a botmaster to defraud advertisers.
- ad inventory (advertising inventory) - Ad inventory is the total amount of space that a publisher has available for advertisements at any given time.
- ad network - An ad network (advertising network) is an intermediary company that acts as a broker between advertisers who want to purchase inventory and publishers who want to host ads.
- ad server - An ad server is software that stores advertising content and delivers it to websites and applications.
- affinity marketing - Affinity marketing is a type of direct marketing in which a business forms a partnership with an organization to provide goods or services in exchange for access to a new market.
- age of the customer - Age of the customer is the concept that consumers are more empowered than ever because they can access information about products and services over the Internet in real time.
- agile marketing - Agile marketing is an iterative approach to marketing strategies that models methodologies used in agile software development.
- AI washing - AI washing is a marketing effort designed to associate brands and products with artificial intelligence, even though the connection may be tenuous or non-existent.
- AIDA marketing model - The AIDA marketing model is a marketing, advertising and sales approach methodology designed to provide insight into the customer's mind and represent the steps needed to cultivate leads and generate sales.
- Amazon effect - The Amazon effect is the ongoing evolution of the retail market, both online and in physical outlets, resulting from increased e-commerce.
- ANI (Automatic Number Identification) - ANI (Automatic Number Identification) is a service that provides the receiver of a telephone call with the number of the calling phone.
- Aura framework - Aura is a user interface framework for developing dynamic Web apps for mobile and desktop devices.
- autodialer - An autodialer is a software program that automatically dials telephone numbers from a list or a database.
- automatic callback - Automatic callback is a telephone system feature that permits a caller who gets a busy signal to instruct the system to establish the connection when the line becomes available.
- autoplay video - Autoplay video is audiovisual content that starts automatically when someone goes to the host web page.
- average handle time (AHT) - Average handle time (AHT) is a call center metric for the average duration of one transaction, typically measured from the customer's initiation of the call and including any hold time, talk time and related tasks that follow the transaction.
- B2B2C (business-to-business-to-consumer) - B2B2C (business-to-business-to-consumer) adds consumer e-commerce to the B2B (business-to-business) model, allowing a company to market its product or service more effectively by entering a B2B relationship with a company whose expertise is selling online.
- backfire effect - The backfire effect is the tendency of some people to resist accepting evidence that conflicts with their beliefs.
- Barnum effect (Forer effect) - The Barnum effect is the tendency for an individual to personalize a generalization that could apply to anyone.
- beacon (proximity beacon) - A beacon, in the context of location-based services, is a small hardware device that enables data transmission to mobile devices when the users are within a specific range of the device.
- behavioral economics - Behavioral economics is the study of economic decision-making by individuals and institutions.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB) - The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a non-profit accreditor of ethical businesses.
- big box store - A big box store is a very large brick and mortar retail location which sells a variety of merchandise, usually at a low price.
- blended agent - A blended agent, in a call center or contact center context, is an agent who manages both incoming and outgoing calls and applications as needed.
- brand equity - Brand equity is the perceived value a company gains by having a known name, logo or other identifier.
- brand essence (brand mantra) - Brand essence, also known as a brand mantra, is a short statement that expresses the core of what that brand represents or the image it seeks to project.
- brand experience - Brand experience is a type of experiential marketing that incorporates a holistic set of conditions created by a company to influence the feeling a customer has about a particular product or company name.
- brand journalism - Brand journalism is a mix of content marketing, public relations and corporate communications.
- brand personality - Brand personality is the association of human characteristics with a brand name so that consumers can relate to it.
- business technologist - A business technologist is an IT (information technology) professional with a combination of broad general knowledge of technology along with an understanding of non-technical aspects of a business, including corporate and competitive strategies, marketing and finances.
- buyer personas (customer personas) - A buyer persona is a composite representation of the attributes and demographics of a segment of a company's target customers.
- buying signals - Buying signals are behavioral cues that indicate the intentions of prospective or existing customers in terms of their readiness to buy.
- Call Center - A call center is a centralized department to which phone calls from current and potential customers are directed.
- call center agent (call center representative) - A call center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer calls for a business.
- call center schedule adherence - Call center schedule adherence is a common metric used in the call center to determine whether or not call center agents are working the amount of time they are scheduled to work.
- call center shrinkage - Call center shrinkage is a measure of how much time is lost in the call center because agents are unavailable to receive calls.
- call logging - Call logging (also known as call recording or call monitoring) is the practice of listening to, recording and assessing interactions between agents and callers.
- call to action - A call to action in marketing is an image, a line of text or a combination of the two that is aimed at encouraging readers, listeners or viewers to take the next step.
- callback messaging - Callback messaging, in a call center context, is a service that allows callers to leave a message (usually personal contact information, either spoken or through the number pad) so that an agent can call them back and they retain their place in the queue.
- Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL) - Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL) is enacted regulations that require marketers and fundraisers that communicate through email, text messages or social media to obtain permission from recipients in that country.
- charm offensive - A charm offensive is an intense and carefully plotted campaign to win over someone who may not be favorably disposed toward the campaigner.
- chat channels - Chat channels are technologies enabling companies to engage with customers in live conversations.
- chief customer officer (CCO) - A chief customer officer, or customer experience officer, is generally responsible for customer research, communicating with company employees and taking charge of customer experience metrics.
- click and collect - Click and collect is a hybrid e-commerce model in which people purchase or select items online and pick them up in-store or at a centralized collection point.
- click tracking - Click tracking is a method used by companies to observe and analyze how many viewers visit a website, and digest its content, over a specific period of time.
- click-to-callback - Click-to-callback is a Web-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology that enables users browsing a company's Web site to leave a phone number where a company representative can call them back with more information.
- click-to-talk (CTC) - Click-to-call (CTC), also called click-for-talk, is a technology that converts Web traffic into voice telephone connections using VoIP (Voice over IP).
- cold calling - Cold calling is the business practice of contacting a potential customer or client who has not expressed previous interest in speaking with a customer service representative or making a purchase.
- collaborative browsing (co-browsing) - Collaborative browsing (also known as co-browsing) is a software-enabled technique that allows someone in an enterprise contact center to interact with a customer by using the customer's Web browser to show them something.
- communication portal - A communication portal is a service that allows individuals, businesses, schools and government agencies to share information from diverse sources using unified communications (UC) media.
- communications-enabled business processes (CEBP) - Communications-enabled business processes (CEBP) is the integration of communications capabilities into software-enabled business procedures, applications and technologies.
- compliance gaining (behavioral compliance gaining) - Compliance gaining (behavioral compliance gaining) is the process of getting someone to do what you want them to do, despite any reluctance on their part.
- consignment inventory - Consignment inventory is a supply chain model in which a product is sold by a retailer, but ownership is retained by the supplier until the product has been sold.
- consumer panel - A consumer panel is a group of individuals selected by a business or organization to provide input and opinion on products and services for research on consumer behavior.
- consumer surveillance - Consumer surveillance is the monitoring and recording of people’s activities and data, either online or in the physical environment, for commercial purposes.
- contact center - A contact center -- also referred to as a customer interaction center or e-contact center -- is a central point from which all customer contacts are managed.
- contact center as a service (CCaS) - Contact center as a service combines the principles of contact center hosting and cloud-based contact center infrastructure.
- contact center infrastructure - A contact center infrastructure is a framework composed of the physical and virtual resources that a call center facility needs to operate effectively.
- contact center software - Contact center software is a technology tool that increases the effectiveness and efficiency of a contact center, with specific focus on interactions between customers and contact center agents.
- Contact Center: Glossary - Browse through contact center vocabulary in a handy printable glossary.
- contract theory - Contract theory is the study of how people and organizations develop legal agreements in situations with uncertain conditions, unknown factors and information asymmetry.
- conversational commerce (voice commerce) - Conversational commerce is the process of interacting with a brand or buying a product or service through non-traditional channels, such as voice assistants, SMS text and online and social media chat.
- conversion rate - The conversion rate is the rate at which website visitors or potential customers take a specific desirable action.
- conversion rate optimization - Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is any systematic method that user experience professionals implement to maximize the number of visitors to a website, blog, or other online landing page who become customers or perform another call to action.
- corporate activism - Corporate activism is a public stance taken by a major company to positively impact social change or legislation.
- cross-channel analytics - Cross-channel analytics is a strategy used by marketing professionals to study the methods by which customers are influenced to buy a product or service, especially when those methods are combined.
- cross-media queuing - In a call center, cross-media queuing describes the process of receiving and routing all incoming queries in the same way, whether the query comes in the form of a phone call, e-mail message, instant message, Web site submission, fax or interactive voice response (IVR) message.
- customer base - Customer base is the group of clients to whom a business markets and sells their goods or services.
- customer communications management (CCM) - Customer communications management (CCM) is the administration of outbound communications to customers that includes the creation, delivery and storage of all types of communications.
- customer data management (CDM) - Customer data management (CDM) is the centralization of customer information, such as customer experiences, demographics and feedback, into a single database.
- customer data platform (CDP) - A customer data platform (CDP) is a type of software application that provides a unified platform of customer information that can be collected, viewed or accessed by other systems.
- customer demographics - Customer demographics are categories of consumer populations that are relevant to a business' purposes, such as marketing and product design.
- customer effort score (CES) - Customer effort score (CES) is a system for evaluating how much effort is required on the part of a customer to achieve satisfaction in their experience with a company.
- customer engagement - Customer engagement is the means by which a company creates a relationship with its customer base to foster brand loyalty and awareness.
- customer experience (CX) automation - Customer experience (CX) automation is any technology that assists customers with common tasks, sometimes replacing the involvement of humans, to improve customer interactions.
- customer insight (consumer insight) - Customer insight, also known as consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and feedback into conclusions that can be used to improve product development and customer support.
- customer profiling - Customer profiling is the practice of organizing customers into specific groups possessing similar goals or characteristics.
- customer retention - Customer retention is a metric that measures customer loyalty, or the ability for an organization to keep its customers over time.
- customer satisfaction (CSAT) - In customer relationship management, customer satisfaction (CSAT) is a measure of the degree to which a product or service meets the customer's expectations.
- customer scoring models - A customer scoring model is a component of customer relationship management (CRM) programs that refers to various metrics used to help companies predict the long term financial value of customers.
- customer self-service (CSS) - Customer self-service is a type of electronic support (e-support) that allows end users to access information and perform routine tasks without requiring the assistance of a human.
- customer service and support - Customer service and support (CSS) is the part of a company's customer relationship management (CRM) department that interacts with a customer for their immediate benefit, including components such as the contact center, the help desk, and the call management system.
- customer service charter - A customer service charter is a document that outlines how an organization promises to work with its customers along with providing insights into how an organization operates.
- customer service chat (CSC) - In customer relationship management (CRM), customer service chat (CSC) is an Internet service that allows the user to communicate in real time with a customer service agent by using an instant messaging (IM) application that's built into the company's Web site.
- customer success - Customer success is a strategy to assure that a company’s products are meeting the needs of the customer.
- customer touch point - A customer touch point is any direct or indirect contact a customer has with a brand.
- dark post - A dark post is an inexpensive sponsored message on a social media website that is not published to the sponsor page timeline and will not display in follower feeds organically.
- data co-op - A data co-op is a group organized for sharing pooled data from online consumers between two or more companies.
- data-driven marketing - Data-driven marketing is a strategy in which marketers use statistics and metrics to assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and help make better decisions about future campaigns.
- demand generation (demand gen) - Demand generation (demand gen) is an umbrella term for customer acquisition initiatives that are designed to drive awareness and interest about a company’s product or service in order to attract qualified leads.
- demand-side platform (DSP) - A demand-side platform (DSP) is software that allows an advertiser to buy inventory from ad exchanges and manage advertising campaigns.
- deplatform - To deplatform someone is to remove their access to a channel for delivering messages to an audience.