Customers are vital for business success, and it absolutely necessary that you ensure these customers are happy. Why? Because happy customers mean repeat business – higher ROI. Which why Bill Gates said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” This quote beautifully captures the essence of Customer Experience Management (CEM).

What better way to do this than with a customer experience management tool, right?

In this blog, we try to help you narrow down your search for the right CX management tools. We have collated a list of 10 tools, describing their key features, pricing, limitations, and more.

Let’s delve into the list!

10 Best Customer Experience Management Tools

Customer experience management platforms come in all shapes and sizes (pun intended). So, it took us a while to narrow down this list of tools. Kindly go through each and see if the CEM tools are fit for your business or not.

1. SurveySparrow

Choose for: Customer feedback and management

Suitable for: Businesses of all sizes

If customer experience management is about unlocking deeper customer insights and driving satisfaction and loyalty, then SurveySparrow is the right tool for it. Its conversational and chat-like characteristics make the surveys more interactive and engaging. Therefore, enhancing survey participation and increasing survey response rate.

More response means more feedback. But feedback isn’t everything, right? Well, the tool offers a range of features to analyze this feedback and provide you with actionable insights. Read on to see why SurveySparrow is the best customer experience management tool.

Voice of Customer (VoC) Programs

SurveySparrow can act as the best conduit for capturing the voice of the customer. You know how engaging the surveys can be with SurveySparrow. But what you should know is the range of question types it houses and the type of surveys you can use.

It supports omnichannel survey distribution (10+ channels), including in-app, WhatsApp, and QR codes. Therefore, it can collect customer sentiment across platforms.

For feedback analysis, it offers dedicated sentiment analysis and AI-powered text analytics (Cognivue). Thus, it makes the VoC data more relevant and actionable.

Suggested Read: Top Voice of the Customer Tools for You

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

Tracking With SurveySparrow, you can monitor and track crucial satisfaction metrics through CSAT, NPS, and CES surveys. You can implement recurring surveys at crucial touchpoints to regularly measure customer satisfaction. The tool can do real-time analysis and reporting and can even alert you of any changes in these metrics.

Take a look at SurveySparrow’s customer satisfaction survey template to see how interactive it is. The template is free, so feel free to use it.  

Customer Satisfaction Survey Template

Preview Template

Use This Template

Product Experience Management

Believe it or not, SurveySparrow is considered an essential tool for product managers across the globe. It can help product teams prioritize development efforts, address user issues, and more.

The customer feedback loop ensures that user feedback is promptly attended to. Furthermore, you can do a follow-up survey when you have made the changes or improvements as per the feedback.

It also provides robust integration with project management and analytics tools. This includes but is not limited to Google Analytics, iAuditor, Asana, and Tableau. Here’s something to help you understand how SurveySparrow can be an effective product analytics tool.

Here are some other reasons why SurveySparrow is one of the best customer experience management tools.

• Apart from the tools we discussed, it also offers integration with CRMs, automation tools, and more.
• Support multilingual surveys, helping you reach a global audience.
• Advanced survey logic for a personalized respondent experience.
• Enterprise-grade security and complies with all national and international standards.
• White labeling feature to allow branding and customization of surveys.

SurveySparrow Pricing

The tool offers a free forever plan, which you can use to check its usability and efficiency. There’s a 14-day free trial for trying out top-tier features as well. As for the paid plans, they are threefold.

For individuals –

• Basic plan – starts at $19 per month
• Starter plan – starts at $39 per month

And for Teams –

• Business plan – starts at $79 per month
• Enterprise plan – starts at $249 per month

These are the prices for the plan when billed annually. The third option is for those who want a customized quote. For details regarding pricing, kindly visit their pricing page.

2. Qualtrics XM

Choose for: Advanced feedback analytics

Suitable for: SMEs to Large enterprises

Qualtrics XM (Experience Management) platform is one of the best in class for advanced analytics. It has an experience management directory that captures and organizes detailed customer profiles. These profiles include but are not limited to customer preferences, interactions, and feedback. You can use this directory to provide more personalized engagement and analysis.

Even though this is the case, its pricing is something not every business can handle. This is one of the reasons why people look for cost-effective alternatives to Quatrics XM.

Features of Qualtrics XM

• Unify data across all four experiences (CX, PX, BX & EX) for holistic insights.
• Predictive intelligence using AI and machine learning to predict customer behavior.
• Create custom reports based on specific business needs.
• Supports feedback collection across various channels, including web, mobile, and social media.

Limitations of Qualtrics XM

• Complex to use for new users
• Expensive pricing
• Need to manipulate data one by one manually
• Customization of the look and feel of your survey is limited

Qualtrics Pricing

There is a free version available, but the features are very limited. You have to connect with their team for a trial or demo. As for the paid plans, the starting price is at $120 per month for one user.

3. Medallia

Choose for: Customer behavior prediction and journey mapping

Suitable for: Large businesses

Medallia is another leading experience management platform to consider. It excels at capturing customer feedback in real-time across multiple touchpoints. It’s also best at customer journey mapping. It illuminates the various stages of a customer’s experience, pinpointing exactly where a business can step up its game.

Features of Medallia

• Uses advanced text analytics tools to understand customer feedback and find useful insights.
• AI helps spot customer patterns and predict their actions.
• Omnichannel experience management.
• Supports offline feedback collection (without the internet) and captures insights at any time.
• Gathers deep insights into what customers like and expect through VoC programs.

Limitations of Medallia

• Lacks an extensive library of survey templates
• Falls short in providing specific survey tools
• Steeper learning curve

Medallia Pricing

There is no free version or trial available. The pricing of their plans is available upon request.

4. Adobe Experience Platform

Choose for: Deeper data analysis

Suitable for: Medium to large businesses

Adobe Experience Platform is a part of the Adobe Experience Cloud suite. It offers a centralized and connected data foundation to deliver a personalized experience. You can use it to streamline the collection, management, and action of data across various applications. It also supports large-scale personalization.

Features of Adobe Experience Platform

• Real-time data collection and standardization across multiple channels.
• Accurate customer data for analysis and customer engagement improvement.
• Create customer profiles in real-time.
• Deep analysis to predict and optimize customer experience.

Limitations of Adobe Experience Platform

• Complex for first-time users
• Not suitable for smaller business needs
• Need technical knowledge to integrate some features

Adobe Experience Platform Pricing

There is a free option, but nothing much about their pricing details is available. Not available alone. You need to purchase the entire Adobe Experience Cloud for the platform.

5. Zendesk

Choose for: Omnichannel support

Suitable for: SMBs to large businesses

Zendesk is a customer service powerhouse that thrives on simplicity. With its omnichannel support, businesses can engage with customers across multiple platforms. It’s akin to a tireless assistant that never drops the ball on customer service. If the essence of customer service could be bottled up, it would probably be labeled ‘Zendesk.’

For businesses seeking a solution similar to Intercom, Zendesk stands as a robust alternative.

Features of Zendesk

• 1,000+ Apps and integrations, allowing businesses to tailor the platform to their specific needs.
• Incorporates AI tools that assist agents in generating responses to customer inquiries.
• Uses sophisticated chatbots that can handle a wide range of customer service tasks 24/7.
• Automate routine tasks and workflows, freeing up agents to focus on more complex customer needs.

Limitations of Zendesk

• Complex user interface
• The customization option is only available for enterprise-level plans
• Inconsistent messaging across channels

Zendesk Pricing

There’s no free version. However, you can get a 14-day free trial. Demo requests are also welcomed. The paid plans start for the support team at $19 per agent per month (billed annually).

6. InMoment

Choose for: AI-powered customer insights

Suitable for: Large businesses

The magic of InMoment is encapsulated in its name – it’s all about ‘the moment’. Leveraging real-time insights and feedback, it empowers businesses to swiftly respond to customer needs and sentiments. InMoment is the bridge that connects ‘what customers said’ to ‘how businesses responded’.

Features of InMoment

• Capture and connect unstructured experience data in every format.
• InMoment AI generates richer insights, unifies omnichannel experiences, and predicts customer intent.
• Text Analytics to analyze text feedback to uncover underlying customer sentiments.
• Use historical customer data to predict customer behavior.

Limitations of InMoment

• Very expensive
• Requires technical expertise for customization
• Limited cross-analysis and filtering

InMoment Pricing

Both the free version and trial are absent here, though you can get a demo. Details about their paid plan are available upon request.

7. HubSpot

Choose for: Customer Relation Management

Suitable for: Small to large businesses

It’s really doubtful if there is anyone who doesn’t know HubSpot and how comprehensive it is. From sales and marketing to website management tools, the platform has it all. The suite of tools it offers can help you attract, engage, and delight customers. It’s for this reason it’s considered one of the best customer experience management tools.

Features of HubSpot

• HubSpot Service Hub can connect with customers in real-time and efficiently manage and track issues.
• HubSpot CRM system helps businesses organize, track, and nurture their leads and customers.
• HubSpot Sales offers tools to improve productivity and context to deepen customer connections.
• HubSpot CMS enables businesses to create and manage their website content easily.

Limitations of HubSpot

• Price increases significantly as needs grow
• Once signed, contracts lack flexibility for changes or cancellations
• Technical support requires additional fees

HubSpot Pricing

You can sign up for free and even make use of their academy. They have different pricing for each product. The following are the starting prices of each product (billed annually).

• For marketing hub – $15 per user per month
• For sales hub – $90 per seat per month
• For service hub – $90 per seat per month

8. Zoho Desk

Choose for: Zia – AI-powered assistant

Suitable for: Businesses of all sizes

Part of the Zoho Suite, Zoho Desk is a context-aware customer service software. It offers a robust set of features to manage and enhance customer experience effectively. The platform streamlines customer support processes, increases agent productivity, and improves customer satisfaction.

Features of Zoho Desk

• Omnichannel supports to provide a seamless experience for both customers and support agents.
• AI-Powered Assistant – Zia – helps with ticket classification, sentiment analysis, and more.
• Set up custom workflows to automate common, routine tasks.
• Agents have access to a customer’s history, preferences, and past interactions within the ticket view.
• Supports multiple languages catering to global customer bases.

Limitations of Zoho Desk

• Steep learning curve
• Lacks common features in the ticketing system
• Very limited learning resources
• Hard to integrate non-Zoho products

Zoho Desk Pricing

There is only a 14-day free trial. The paid plans start at a meager $7 per user per month.

9. Podium

Choose for: Lead generation and conversion

Suitable for: Large businesses

Podium is a lead-generation tool that helps businesses capture and convert leads. So, how is this here? Being a lead generation tool, it collects all valuable information about prospects. This includes other preferences, requirements, and more. Therefore, businesses can use this info to tailor the customer journey – consequently enhancing the experience.

Features of Podium

• Consolidates messages from various channels into a single, easy-to-manage platform.
• Real-time communication and captures customer inquiries through a chat interface.
• Automate repetitive tasks and follow-ups with customers to keep them engaged.
• Collect valuable customer insights through planned feedback surveys at crucial touchpoints.

Limitations of Podium

• Very expensive compared to other CXM tools
• Poor customer support

Podium Pricing

You can sign up to get a free trial. The paid plans are quite pricy – $399 per month.

10. Birdeye

Choose for: Reputation management

Suitable for: Large businesses

Birdeye is a reputation and customer experience management platform for local businesses. It offers features to enhance online visibility and customer engagement across various channels. The aim of the tool is to help you improve your customer experience through AI-powered insights. Therefore, this is another customer experience management tool to try out.

Features of Birdeye

• BirdAI helps in delivering personalized experiences and elevates business outcomes.
• Advanced CX analytics to uncover opportunities to enhance customer experience.
• Supports customer interactions across multiple channels from a single platform.
• Ticket management system helps you track and manage customer inquiries efficiently.

Limitations of Birdeye

• Unreliable integrations with social media platforms
• Hard to set up
• Expensive than other CXM tools

Birdeye Pricing

No free version or trial is available, though you can get a free demo. The paid plans start at $299 per month. You can also get a customer quote upon request.

Why Are Customer Experience Management Tools Essential for Businesses?

As we discussed at the start, customers are the cornerstone on which each business thrives. Therefore, it’s crucial that you find a way to engage and entertain them. But most importantly, offer the things that they are looking for. For that, you will need customer experience management tools.

The following are some key benefits that give you a complete idea of the necessity of CEM tools.

We hope these benefits did the trick in helping you understand the importance of CX management tools.

Takeaway

As it is for all business tools, here also, choosing the right CXM tool is crucial for your business growth. The customer experience management tools we discussed offer unique features, each helping in its own way. Therefore, to choose a tool, you must start by understanding your needs and requirements.

Why? The effectiveness of CEM tools lies not only in their features but also in how well they align with your business.

We encourage you to use this overview as a starting point for your research. Dive deeper into each tool’s capabilities, request demos, read case studies, and, if possible, trial a few options. If possible, connect with customers who have used the tools to get first-hand reviews.

Start with SurveySparrow! It offers a free version and a 14-day free trial for you to gauge the tool’s efficiency.

Remember what Jeff Bezos said? “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts.” So, choose the right CEM tool and make your ‘party‘ unforgettable.

Kate Williams

Content Marketer at SurveySparrow