By Greg Gatherer
TODAY, almost every experience a person has with an organisation will include some kind of digital component. The events of the past two years have only accelerated that phenomenon. What was, at one stage, something organisations were marching slowly and steadily towards became an imperative. In fact, for extended periods over the last two years, digital experiences have been the only experiences organisations have been able to offer their customers.
One effect of that rapid transformation is that we’re now long past the point where a customer experience stands out simply because it’s digital. Customers expect more, and rightly so. There have never been more tools available to organisations aimed at providing the best possible digital experience to their customers. But a tool is only as useful as its user makes it.
With that in mind, what should companies be doing when it comes to providing great digital experiences in 2022?
Understanding the 3D connected customer
Today’s customer no longer operates in a linear fashion. They expect to be able to navigate between a variety of channels including company websites, apps, search engines, and social media platforms, as well as communication channels such as email, MMS, instant messaging, and print.
A 3D customer takes that a step further and is in control of their own journey, effortlessly migrating across various devices such as mobile, desktop, and IoT. An insurance customer, for example, might file a claim on their app, provide any additional required information via instant messaging, and request that the final resolution be emailed to them.
In order to facilitate that level of control, organisations need to ensure that they can meet the customer where they are. That, in turn, means being present in all digital dimensions and providing seamless movement between those dimensions.
But it also means having the best possible understanding of the customer and their needs. Getting to that point requires data. More specifically, it requires actionable data that gives your organisation usable insights. Using this approach, you can find out things like which channels an individual customer prefers, what times of the day they’re most likely to interact with your organisation, and what kind of transactions they engage in when they do.
Combining tech and behavioural science
Combined with the right technology and an understanding of behavioural science, this data can help organisations provide fully immersive digital experiences.
On the technology front, a digital experience platform (DXP) can be incredibly helpful. Taking the shape of either a single piece of software or a suite of products and can provide the architecture necessary for organisations to digitise their business operations, deliver connected customer experiences, and gather actionable customer insights.
From a customer experience perspective, DXPs can help bring together insights from a range of sources and help break down the departmental silos within organisations. Ideally, a DXP should work with the existing technologies within your organisation to scale a solution customised to your specific business needs.
With those insights, you can set up behavioural nudges. Unlike other forms of achieving compliance, nudges use positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to influence behaviour. Specific design, text use, and content can all nudge consumers towards the outcome your organisation wants.
Hyper-connected, flexible experiences
The final thing organisations need to know when it comes to digital experiences in 2022 is that they should cater to hyper-connectivity and be as flexible as possible. People across all age groups and income brackets are more online than ever. Your organisation needs to understand that and adapt its approach to digital experiences accordingly.
It also needs to heed the lessons of the past two years and realise that circumstances can change dramatically and rapidly. It’s not enough for those experiences to simply remain the same regardless of the prevailing external circumstances. Instead, it should build in flexibility and help customers through those changes.
Constant evolution
Ultimately, it’s important to realise that creating great digital experiences is not a once-and-done exercise. It’s a process of constant evolution that requires organisations to adapt to their customers’ changing wants and needs and to navigate the changing technology landscape to meet their customers where they are.
Greg Gatherer is the Account Manager for Liferay Africa.
*The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL or of title sites.
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