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Customer Journey

13.02.2023

7 minutes read

What is Digital Customer Experience? [FREE CHECKLIST]

You know the saying, 'first impressions are everything'? Yeah, not so much anymore. Thanks to technology, customers have evolved, and they expect the best.

List of Contents

1.

What is Digital Customer Experience (DCX) and what does it mean?

2.

Why is Digital Customer Experience so important?

3.

What makes good Digital Customer Experience?

4.

What is Digital Transformation?

5.

What does DXP stand for and how does it work?

6.

Conclusion

You know the saying, 'first impressions are everything'? Yeah, not so much anymore. Thanks to technology, customers have evolved, and they expect the best. From the moment they interact with your brand to the final goodbye, a positive experience is a must. Anything less, and they'll be out the door faster than you can say 'bad customer service'.

We'll be diving into this concept known as Digital Customer Experience (DCX) and explore the different elements that make up a good DCX. We'll also discuss the importance of digital transformation in enhancing customer experience and explain what DXP stands for and how it works.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to improve your existing digital strategy, this guide is for you. Let's get started!

What is Digital Customer Experience (DCX) and what does it mean?

The digital customer experience (DCX) also known as the digital customer journey refers to the online interactions a customer has with a company and the resulting impressions they walk away with, such as on a website or app. This is different from Customer Experience (CX), which refers to all interactions a customer has with a company and does not need to be online. Today, we will focus on the digital aspect of the customer experience.

Customer Journey Digital Touchpoints

Why is Digital Customer Experience so important?

The importance of providing a positive digital customer experience is growing as technology advances, and customer expectations change. In e-commerce, a positive customer experience can lead to three times more customer visits. However, a single bad experience can cause 32% of customers to leave their favourite brand, this highlights the importance of understanding the customer journey. Here are a few reasons why DCX is crucial for your brand.

1. Multi-channel availability

One of the main reasons why it is so important is that it allows you to engage with customers on their own terms, wherever and whenever the customer chooses. This means that brands need to be available across all digital channels. A multi-channel approach (web, social, mobile, email) can help build trust with customers who are more likely to become loyal customers.

2. The Power of Personalisation

Creating a personalised experience is important as today's customers expect brands to know what they are thinking and what they want before they do. This can include anything from personalised products, recommendations, tailored content or custom offers. This can be done by mapping the customer's journey and using the customer data to create more personalised experiences. This can lead to the customer feeling understood and valued and, more importantly, make the purchasing process more efficient. When customers feel valued, they are more likely to become repeat customers and brand advocates. In the end, the power of personalisation lies in the ability to create a deeper connection with the customer.

2. Using analytics and data

As technology advances, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to stay ahead of the curve to understand their customers' digital journeys. This requires assembling a large amount of data. Still, it is crucial to focus on data that is relevant to your business goals, it's no good focusing on purchase value if your goal is to build a clean email list.

One effective way for brands to gain insights into customer behaviour and preferences is through the use of analytics tools and data gathering. Brands can build conversion funnels to track these events and see where customers convert or drop out.

By pairing this data with heatmaps, businesses can identify the most significant actions on their pages and find opportunities to increase conversions rather than relying on intuition. Ultimately, by collecting data on customer behaviour and preferences, brands can gain valuable insights into what customers want and how they interact with the brand.

Graphic presenting two different kinds of heatmaps

What makes good Digital Customer Experience?

It's more than just a well-designed website or fast loading speed. We have listed what we believe to be the three starting points to include in your digital strategy to ensure your customer has a 10/10 digital experience with your brand.

  1. Make sure your website or app is easy to navigate with clear calls to action so it's simple for customers to find the info they need and complete what they want to do.

  2. Adding a chatbot or live chat feature to give instant help and support to customers as they use your digital services.

  3. Using personalised and targeted marketing efforts to give customers relevant and valuable content throughout their journey with your brand.

Overall, a good digital customer experience is about understanding what customers want and need and meeting those needs efficiently, personally, and in a user-friendly way. A well-crafted digital strategy centred around customer experience will help businesses achieve these goals and provide a positive Customer Satisfaction and customer loyalty.

What is Digital Transformation?

Many brands are starting to catch on to the idea of "Digital Transformation" these days. But what does it actually mean, and how does it relate to the digital customer experience?

Basically, it's about using technology to make all aspects of a business run smoothly. Think about it like giving your company a digital makeover. It's not just about updating hardware and software, though. Digital transformation is about rethinking how a business operates from the ground up. It means looking at every step of the customer journey and figuring out how technology can improve it.

Amazon is one example of a brand that is truly embracing digital transformation, They have taken what was essentially a retail business and turned it into a tech powerhouse, offering lots of new services like cloud computing and advertising + using automation and AI to streamline the customer and internal process (Source).

Digital transformation and its impact on the customer journey aren't limited to just big businesses. Here are some examples of how a small business like a restaurant can utilise digital transformation to enhance the digital customer journey.

1. Online Ordering: Creating an order and payment platform on their website to track and streamline the ordering process for customers and manage them internally with ease.

2. Mobile Apps: The exact process for web orders can be done with an app, along with adding a menu and any other features that could benefit your audience.

3. Social Media: Creating social media accounts on platforms where your customers are and adding features so they can connect with you around the clock, this is also a great channel to collect customer feedback.

4. Data analytics: By tracking customer data with a customer journey mapping tool, the restaurant could analyse customer behaviour, preferences, and feedback to make informed decisions about menu options, pricing, and marketing strategies.

Digital transformation is the driving force behind good digital customer experience. The end goal of digital transformation is to create a more seamless and efficient experience for customers while also streamlining internal processes within the company.

What does DXP stand for and how does it work?

With a clear understanding of digital customer experience and digital transformation, you may wonder how to apply it to your brand and what digital tools are available to assist you. This is where a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) comes in. Now you might wonder, "What exactly is a Digital Experience Platform and what does it do?"

The short answer is that digital experience platforms provide a software solution that helps brands create & manage personalised digital experiences of the entire customer journey across multiple channels and devices. A DXP typically includes content management systems, analytics tools powered by machine learning or artificial intelligence. Integrating data from different systems such as CRM, analytics and e-commerce, a DXP can deliver personalised and relevant experiences to give brands a competitive advantage.

DXP.png

So, if you're a business looking to improve your digital customer experience, a DXP could be a game-changer for you. There are a variety of DXP providers out there, so it's worth researching to find the right one for your business needs.

Conclusion

We've covered a lot of ground. In summary, digital customer experience is becoming increasingly important as technology evolves and customer expectations change. A positive DCX can lead to more business, but a negative one can drive customers away. It's not just for big businesses either – even small businesses can benefit from implementing a digital strategy that focuses on the digital customer journey.

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