Digital transformation is the integration of the digital sphere into a company’s business processes, which entails essential changes in the way the company operates, but also in the way it interacts with its customers. At the heart of the Digital Customer Experience (DCX) experience are all these new digital interfaces with which users interact with the company.
What is the Digital Customer Experience?
As marketers will know, in today’s globalized and interconnected marketplace it is essential to create digital experiences that put the user at the center of every interaction, ensuring that each user-business touchpoint offers the same level of quality and personalization.
In general, Digital Customer Experience, or digital customer experience, identifies and analyzes all the determining factors for a good Customer Journey through the digital channel. However, it is also true that the Digital Customer Experience is linked to the reputation of the brand, that is, the digital customer experience is considered positive only when the Customer Journey is positive: linear and uncomplicated.
What is Digital Customer Experience Management?
Digital technology has transformed not only shopping habits but also consumers themselves. The interactions that the customer has at each point of contact with the company have much more influence on customer satisfaction than the quality of the product and service that the customer has purchased. This is because today’s customer is not the same as yesterday’s. The online user is, in fact, a digitally informed customer.
Automation of processes, algorithms and machine learning, mobile devices, applications and all other digital devices allow customers to get exactly what they want, when they want it and with a high level of personalization. Users expect to be treated as individuals and not as numbers and statistics as they used to be in mass production. Businesses that know their customers’ personal preferences and purchasing history are the ones that can retain the largest number of consumers and remain competitive over time.
To this end, Digital Customer Experience Management, or digital customer experience management, can only become a central activity within the marketing strategy of any company, to focus more and more on the customer and their needs, beyond of the mere production of products and services.
The objectives of Digital Customer Experience Management
The management and optimization of the Digital Customer Experience has some essential objectives:
- increase customer loyalty and therefore profits: a positive shopping experience translates into a satisfied customer who interacts with the company again in the future.
- reduce customer churn: a good customer experience dramatically reduces the number of times customers decide to switch over to the competition.
- new sales opportunities thanks to word of mouth: a satisfied customer becomes a brand ambassador, recommending the company to their circle of acquaintances and thus creating positive word of mouth.
Good management of the digital customer experience is essential to create a good brand reputation and thus increase the business and profits of the company.
The challenges of Digital Customer Experience
The biggest challenge for a good digital customer experience is digital transformation. For some companies the transition may be more difficult than for others, but in any case it is about changing the way a company interacts with its customers in order to provide them with an experience consistent with their expectations at all points of contact or interaction.
Some technologies that have become indispensable are cloud-based platforms, which provide companies with instant updates, dynamic work processes, and more flexible workflows. Thanks to online databases, a lot of data can be collected, and then Big Data analysis and all business-specific web and mobile applications can be used to improve all points of contact with customers. In fact, once agile systems and cloud technology are in place, another major hurdle will be the necessary coordination of touch points for a seamless multichannel experience.
The brand of an optimal Digital Customer Experience
Most Internet users, when contacting customer service, expect a very quick response. The digital medium has reduced waiting time and erased some distinctions of the past, such as weekdays or weekends: customers expect the same type of service in any case. This has forced many companies to equip themselves to provide services 24 hours a day, and those that have not yet done so are at a significant competitive disadvantage.
But there is more. Today’s consumers are not tied to a single channel. They explore physical stores, shop online, share their opinions through mobile apps, and ask questions of the support team on social media. Companies must know all the possible points of customer-company interaction and coordinate the service they offer, keeping it updated in each case. This is what we call the omnichannel experience.
