MX is the New X: Managing the Multi-Experience

With many exciting changes happening in the world right now, there is a new ‘X’ that is gaining strength in the conversations. After CX, UX, EX, HX, it’s time for MX.

MX or Multi-Experience refers to a user’s whole experience with one application across a variety of digital touchpoints—websites, mobile apps, chatbots, augmented reality/virtual reality, wearables—using a combination of interaction modalities, like touch, voice, vision, and motion. The purpose is to support a seamless and consistent user journey.

As new modalities and device types emerge, touchpoints increase in frequency. In a digital world, with companies constantly competing for the attention of their consumers, multi-experience is well on its way to becoming the future. MX is important because it enables users to interact with technology in a more intuitive, natural and seamless way.

It is the very purpose of technological advancements. They fit effortlessly into users life; users don’t take ‘extra’ efforts to adapt – only the natural next step.  MX will provide customers with a more personalized and engaging experience. It makes so much sense with the numerous benefits it offers – consistency, integration, speed, personalization, accessibility, security, simplicity and so much more.

For organizations, MX improves customer engagement, increases customer loyalty, and provides a competitive advantage. It can also help businesses streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve employee productivity. Overall, MX is important because it helps organizations to stay relevant and competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The purpose of technology is to aid or elevate human experience and strengthen the digital connection between individuals and organizations. MX puts the experience into perspective by looking at interactions through a richer lens. It’s like looking at the bridge at a molecular level and ensuring all atoms come together to create a desired effect. We want each touchpoint to deliver its format specific outcome, yet they fit in seamlessly with the other touchpoints to create a collective result as well.

Another way to think about it is how each spoke of a wheel performs its individual function and also delivers to the overall purpose of the wheel. If each of the spoke doesn’t fit in its respective space, we might risk compromising the perfect round circle needed to roll, defeating the purpose of building the round wheel.

If Egyptians created the perfect angled Pyramids in 2000 BC, it should not be so difficult to build a digital wheel of experiences serving the desired digital experience of today. The only challenge being each brick we have today is unique and self-encompassing. A user might interact only with one brick all their life and hence it needs to be solid enough in itself.

I could shop from Amazon through its website or its app. I expect the core imprint of Amazon to be same across both touchpoints, yet I expect platform or device level advantages to stand out and enhance the individual experience as well. As we go into VR, or wearables or any other future touchpoint, the core imprint + a little ‘X’tra is what needs to be designed and delivered.

It is an interesting and beautiful problem to solve. To create a live ecosystem of interactions between these different touchpoints and ensure the experience meets horizontal as well as vertical standards of delivery.

Users want to be able to interact with digital products and services in a variety of ways that suit their preferences and context. It is extremely critical to understand the expectations of the platform or device along with the end benefit of the product. For example, users expect to interact with Google Home handsfree using Voice assisted technology. The product is still delivering the core imprint of Google – providing information like weather or dishing out results like playing music or controlling their home devices, yet it does so while meeting expectations of the device.

Expectations from a Google search on web are extremely hands-on. Users want to type and read and click and absorb information all at once. And google designed its web search accordingly. With the ability to open multiple tabs and scroll on each individual page, the user gets to fully optimize their website experience. With Gmail on mobile, it is a different expectation of being able to scroll with one hand and users can successfully navigate through it using only one click at a time.

All platforms still maintaining their horizontal expectation of delivering information. With AR & VR, it is a matter of time before we can get a ‘feel’ of the weather or ‘look’ at how our holiday site is going to be like before we actually book it. We would be able to experience the intensity of rain or snow; not just know what the numbers say.

Measuring experience itself is tricky and measuring the success of multi experience can be a complex task, as it involves assessing user satisfaction across multiple touchpoints and channels. However, there are several metrics and approaches that can be used to gauge the effectiveness of multi experience design.

1. User engagement

One key indicator of success is user engagement, or the extent to which users are interacting with and using the various touchpoints and channels of the multi experience. This can be measured through metrics such as pageviews, click-through rates, or time spent on site. This can be tricky as some of the metrics might contradict a traditional metric like success rate, which is how quickly did user get to the end result they wanted.

As we create more depth in each experience, the time spent on each touchpoint might mean higher success despite users spending more time on it. They might just enjoy the experience of ‘snow’ or ‘rain’ even after knowing what the initial answer or number is. It is an important context we will have to look at while evaluating MX.

2. Conversion rates

Another important metric is conversion rates, or the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. By tracking conversion rates across different touchpoints and channels, designers can identify areas for improvement and optimize the user experience.

3. User Loyalty

Understanding whether users love the experience and will be an ambassador for it is an important metric and will continue to remain so. What we have to be conscious about is the nuance of the atom vs. the molecule. We might be meeting the overall purpose but not the expectations of the device or vice versa. We have to strike the right balance to induce stickiness and if we are failing, we have to understand exactly which spoke of the wheel needs mending. I might promote the wheel that I love but still want to improve the rusty spoke that is about to break.

4. Return on investment (ROI)

Finally, measuring the ROI of multi experience design can provide a high-level view of its overall effectiveness. This might involve tracking revenue generated or cost savings achieved through the implementation of multi experience design. Measurement of return on design is a challenging subject. It is trying to measure the role of influence and emotion in a purchase decision. Some of the returns on design are so intangible that it’s like air; you notice it only when it smells bad. This topic needs an article of its own. For now, reliance on tangible metrics like sales, profits, cost reductions will have to do as the closest substitutes.