We all know (don’t we?) that digital customer experience is being driven by the many disruptive forces changing the face of the world around us.
We also know that a combination of digitally empowered consumers and always-on connectivity means that customer expectations of any company that wishes to serve them have dramatically changed – today’s customers expect (and demand) more than ever.
The question many companies are starting to ask is pretty simple: “How can our firm leverage the impact of digital transformation and innovation to better engage our customers – and do so faster and more effectively than our competitors?”
It’s an important question because digital CX is increasingly at the heart of everything you (and your customers) do. Most companies realize that the right answer is to develop a digital customer experience strategy – where things start to fall apart is around what that actually means.
What (Exactly) Is Digital CX Strategy?
Not too long ago, a sound online strategy was the answer to that question. Integrated public and private Web, and automated marketing tools did it for many. Now, mobile and social are a big part of the mix as well. And, of course, the ability to (intelligently) automate and increase the efficiency of on- and offline processes continues to be at the center of the digital revolution for those in IT and BPM.
This is where things get fuzzy for many because the “experience” in digital experience is the customer experience. While the “digital” part is easy to figure out, the “customer” part is still a bit unclear. That’s because digital CX strategy isn’t an IT-driven initiative; it’s a customer-needs-driven initiative. There’s a huge difference between simply using digital technology and actually leveraging it to improve customer experiences and better address customer needs.
Your digital customer experience strategy will help you define how to meet – and exceed – changing customer expectations across and through multiple, rapidly increasing digital channels and touchpoints. It must be the basis for consistently integrating the digital experience into your products, services, and interactions across your entire organization.
Digital Increasingly at the Center
In today’s world – to say nothing of tomorrow’s – you just can’t separate digital experience from your business, brand, and customer experience strategies. That’s because digital is at the core of absolutely everything – and needs to tie all the way back to (and through) the heart of your business.
If your brand has done its job and successfully set customer expectations of the experience they’ll have, then your customer experience strategy defines what that experience is. And informed experience design helps guide delivery of a consistent experience for all your customers, no matter how they choose to interact.
Your digital CX strategy is what brings your customer experience strategy to life – guiding the design and implementation of customer experiences across all digital channels. Importantly, that includes the ability to seamlessly integrate with and move from one channel to the next across changing digital and offline channels.
As digital interactions continue to grow, touchpoints will continue to get more complex and interactive. And customers will continue to demand faster, more informative, and more accurate products, services, and interactions. So, the ability to collapse processes, add smart touchpoints, and both simplify and improve customer experience is going to be based on a digital CX strategy that ensures the increasingly digital experiences you deliver are faster, smarter, and better.
The good news is, establishing a baseline of good digital CX can start with a simple understanding of who your customers are. Saving customers time by showing them you remember them; taking steps like pre-filling online fields with their names, email, and preferences; and allowing them access to their own transaction history for the ease of their repeat digital business.
So, when planning your digital customer experience strategy, don’t forget who’s at the center: your customers.