CX centers are turning to omnichannel CX solutions to improve services while reducing the cost of operations.
However, investing in these solutions is not a “plug-and-play” operation because it is an expensive proposition that organizations need to carefully consider if they are to make a successful digital transformation.
To get this insight, organizations are turning to a comprehensive network of metrics to assess the viability of all omnichannel CX solutions.
One such metric is the total cost of ownership (TCO). The total cost of ownership enables CX centers to measure this by assessing how costly the platform is relative to the gains they have made.
Understanding what constitutes the total cost of ownership
TCO incorporates a variety of costly factors in acquiring, maintaining, and implementing a particular asset, such as an omnichannel CX solution.
The metric is a complex formula that often constitutes upfront costs, fixed operational costs, and variable costs, meant to give you insight into how much an omnichannel solution costs to acquire.
Variable Costs: These costs refer to unexpected expenses, such as emergency support, repair costs, and training.
Fixed operational costs: These are recurring expenses incurred at regular intervals. Software licenses and maintenance fall into this bracket.
Upfront costs: The initial costs of acquiring a new asset and cover expenses, such as down payment, insurance fee, and implementation expenses.
CX managers use TCO as a useful indicator of what type of CX solution they should use.
Using TCO to acquire the right omnichannel CX solution
However, while it is tempting to keep TCO as low as possible when investing in a CX solution, this should not be the case because it could harm the CX experience. Instead, they should account for other CX metrics, such as customer satisfaction.
They should be a positive correlation between TCO and critical customer metrics because it gives you a complete picture of how well the CX solution adds to the quality of customer service, so you can be assured that every cent spent improves performance.
TCO can be a metric for acquiring the ideal omnichannel CX platform provided the metric is used carefully.