When customer journeys break , it's rarely because of one bad email or a poorly timed push notification. It's because the entire experience-across channels, touchpoints and time-isn't working together.

Think of this in terms of an onboarding journey. Suppose a new customer signs up for a service and gets a welcome email, but the app login fails. They receive a promotional SMS before they've even completed setup. The customer goes to the help center, but instead of seeing beginner-friendly resources or setup guides tailored to their account status, they're shown generic FAQ content that assumes they've been using the product for months.

If a lot of customers are abandoning this onboarding process (which they sure might be), which touchpoint would you say is the biggest contributorto that?

1. The difficult login
2. The mistimed promo
3. The unhelpful help center

It could be any of these, a combination, all of the above-or something else!

The point is, if your business is like most, you're only able to guess at which factors are breaking the journey.But fixing broken customer journeys requires more than educated guesses, or even isolated A/B tests to find improvements. It demands a way to test entire journeys as opposed to just individual elements. That's what multivariate testing (MVT) is for.

What Is Multivariate Testing?

Multivariate testing (MVT) is a technique used by businesses to test multiple variations of an interaction to determine which one performs the best. While most people know MVT to be used for traditional marketing tactics (i.e., A/B testing email templates for conversion), the capabilities of MVT far surpass that.

What Is the Difference Between Multivariate Testing and A/B Testing?

MVT and A/B testing are both methods of experimentation used in marketing, product design and user experience research. The main difference between them is the number of variables they test at a time.

A/B testingcompares two versions of a single variable (A and B) against each other to determine which one performs better. It's commonly used to test changes in headlines, copy, images or colors. For example, an e-commerce company may test two different versions of a product page-one with a red "buy" button and another with a green "buy" button-to see which one generates more sales.

Multivariate testing, on the other hand, evaluates multiple variables simultaneously to identify the best-performing combination. It's especially useful when several factors could affect customer behavior, and it's unclear which variable makes the biggest difference. For example, a retail brand might test combinations of cart layout, discount messaging and payment options to see which configuration reduces cart abandonment and increases purchase completions.

MVT goes beyond A/B testing because it can optimize an entire experience. While A/B testing is suited for isolated changes, MVT can compare entire journeys using machine learning. Testing SMS versus email as engagement channels, for instance, allows adaptive learning to identify the "winner" and automatically orchestrate customers toward the most effective experience.

Multivariate testing vs. A/B testing comes down to scope: MVT can optimize entire experiences while A/B testing is best for isolated changes.

How Can Multivariate Testing Be Used to Optimize Customer Experience?

MVT helps to optimize experiences at the journey, channel and action level using machine learning.

Action Level

At this level, MVT tests variables that directly influence customer behavior and decision-making. Think of this as traditional marketing testing. For example, by experimenting with different versions of a call-to-action button, businesses can identify which one drives the most conversions.

Channel or Timing Level

MVT can run channel-specific tests to determine which variables matter most for each channel-email, SMS, app, web, etc.-and optimize accordingly. It also supports time of day or day of week testing, helping businesses understand how timing of outreach can shape the overall experience. This leads to better journey outcomes as the orchestration can guide customers based on how they actually prefer to engage.

Journey Level

Here, MVT evaluates entire customer journeys to find the most effective combination of variables across touchpoints. It helps pinpoint which moments have the greatest impact on behavior and uses ML to recommend strategies for improvement. This includes optimizing cadence, tone and sentiment. For example, if you're promoting a premium offer, MVT can ensure the messaging feels exclusive and exciting-whereas a collections notice might require a firmer, more direct tone.

How Does Multivariate Testing Help Improve Customer Journeys?

MVT is a powerful tool for customer experience optimization: it helps organizations identify the most effective combination of touchpoints, messages and content across the entire customer journey. Instead of testing one element at a time, MVT allows you to assess how multiple variables interact. That way, you can optimize not just individual moments but the full experience.

Here's how MVT supports journey-level optimization:

1. Optimization of Touchpoints

MVT helps pinpoint the most effective combination of touchpoints to guide customers through each stage of the journey. For example, you can test different variations of landing pages, emails, text messages and content to determine which combination is most effective in driving engagement, retention and conversion.

2. Personalization

By testing different combinations of content, timing and messaging, MVT enables tailored experiencesbased on individual customer behavior. It helps you understand which variables resonate most so you can deliver more relevant, personalized journeys at scale.

3. Continuous Improvement

MVT supports ongoing refinement. By regularly testing new variations, you can identify areas for improvement and implement changes that drive better outcomes over time. It's a way to keep your journeys adaptive, responsive and aligned with evolving customer behavior.

How Is Traditional Marketing Multivariate Testing Different from Journey Orchestration Multivariate Testing?

The key difference between traditional marketing multivariate testing and journey orchestration multivariate testing lies in the scope and personalization.

Traditional marketing MVTfocuses on testing different versions of individual campaign elements, such as the headline, images or call-to-action buttons. The goal is typically to determine which version of each element generates the most clicks, conversions or other desired outcomes. This type of testing is often used to optimize specific campaigns or website pages.

Journey orchestration MVTtakes a broader approach. It tests different versions of the entire customer journey, spanning acquisition, engagement, retention and beyond. It builds on insights from traditional testing-such as preferred day of week or product features-and applies them across multiple touchpoints and channels (email, app, web, etc.) to evaluate how full experiences perform.

Rather than testing a single campaign element, journey orchestration MVT evaluates combinations of interactions based on individual customer behavior, preferences and context. This helps businesses deliver highly personalized, adaptive journeys that go beyond campaign performance to drive long-term outcomes.

CSG Xponent: Experience Optimization Through Multivariate Testing

CSG's Xponent provides data-led actionable insights for a deeper understanding of customer interactions, supporting customer experience optimization by helping you enhance customer journeys and overall CX. Going beyond just understanding traditional campaign performance, Xponent takes MVT a level deeper, analyzing customer interaction across a variety of channels, touchpoints and messages to drive customer action.

What sets Xponent apart?

• Journey Analytics:Isolated campaign metrics only tell you so much. Xponent helps you reach beyond them, revealing patterns and drop-offs across the full customer lifecycle. It helps teams continuously improve engagement strategies based on real behavior, not assumptions.
• Real-Time Decisioning:Customer needs can change on a dime. That's why Xponent leverages live data to dynamically adjust journeys, suppress irrelevant messages, and deliver personalized experiences at the moments customers prefer.
• Omnichannel Coordination:Journey interactions are tough to track across channels-unless you're using Xponent. It helps teams manage communications across email, SMS, voice, app and morefrom a single platform, ensuring consistency and brand continuity.

Does Your Customer Experience Optimization Need Some… Optimization?

Isn't it time your organization took that next step in experience optimization-moving from insights to action? Whether you're looking to reduce friction, personalize experiences or boost customer lifetime value, CSG Xponent gives you the tools to test and improve at scale.