An Introduction To Digital Customer Experience (CX)

Why Is Digital Customer Experience (CX) Important?

Digital disruption is rising, single-handedly revolutionizing consumers’ expectations and behaviour globally. Today’s consumers don’t make decisions based on slick sales pitches, dazzling store displays, or catchy jingles (though itravel2000.com’s jingle lives rent-free in my head). Instead, customer journeys have evolved to be more iterative as they take into account multiple touchpoints and brands. To win hearts and minds, brands need to deliver more. More personalization, more in-the-moment responses, and more delight at every turn.

What Is Digital CX?

Digital customer experience (CX) encompasses every online touchpoint your customers will have with your brand. From chatbots and social media to your website and mobile apps, your customers make their purchase decisions based on the full experience of your offerings. In fact, 88% of customers claim that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. And in a recent report from Verint, 79% of consumers under 45 gave an above-average rating for how important it is to have good experiences on digital channels.

The benefits of providing customers with a seamless and effortless experience are evident. According to Verint, customers who receive a great customer experience are:

• 44% more likely to purchase products or services again,
• 43% more likely to provide a recommendation to friends and family, and
• 34% more likely to write a positive review.

On the other hand, 39% are more likely to tell family and friends not to purchase from a brand, and 37% are more likely to switch to a competitor after a bad digital experience.

How Can I Improve My Digital CX Offering?

With more purchasing options than ever, modern consumers hold more sway than their predecessors—and they’re not afraid to make shrewd decisions (i.e., they will jump to a competitor without looking back if they receive a bad experience). Keep your customers loyal and win the trust of new ones by popping the hood of your current digital strategy. Look for opportunities to better understand your customers so you can deliver more purposeful and personalized connections with them.

Revamping your digital customer experience can be daunting—and it should be. In the words of someone (maybe Henry Ford? TBD), “Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Here are a few tips on where to start:

Get To Know Your Customers

I mean, like, almost Netflix's The Watcher level of knowing. In 2018, Salesforce research found that 76% of customers today expect companies to understand their needs and expectations. And, to understand them, you’ll want them to weigh in. Let your customers tell you who they are and what they want by collecting feedback through surveys (looking at you, Net Promoter Score), focus groups, or email.

Conduct Usability Testing

Do your customers like using your website? If you answered yes, do you know that for sure, or do you just think people do because you like it (and/or you spent a fortune to develop it)? Take your blinders off and consider conducting usability testing to determine how much customers actually enjoy using your digital products.

Learn To Embrace Change

Your digital strategy needs to grow at the same pace as your organization. Build space into your strategy to allow iteration and adaptability as technology advances and customer perception evolves.

What Tools Can I Use To Strengthen My Digital Strategy?

A strong digital strategy is best, but personalization technology is bestest (I know, don’t @ me). In Verint’s recent survey, more than half of survey participants said personalization technology will have the biggest impact on their customer experience strategy. Personalization is no longer a “nice-to-have” for brands. It’s imperative to future-proof your strategy. (Work smarter, not harder, amiright?)

Enter the Digital Experience Platform (DXP). Gartner defines DXPs as an integrated set of core technologies that support the composition, management, delivery, and optimization of contextualized digital experiences. In layman's terms? “Digital experience platforms offer organizations an integrated suite of tools to foster meaningful relationships by speaking and listening to customers, prospects, partners, employees, and other audiences,” says Sitecore.

DXPs can provide fully integrated and seamless digital experiences for your customers across all digital channels and throughout the entire customer journey. This means you can deliver tailored customer experiences at every touchpoint that feel authentically you. Moreover, DXPs provide unparalleled content flexibility, better personalization (leveraging machine learning to power deep insights), and future-proofed adaptability so you can easily integrate new technologies as they emerge.

Want to learn more about how you can elevate your digital customer experiences with DXPs? Explore Sitecore’s Digital Experience Platform.