Digital is something where now days one turns for ‘just about everything’. Be it a comparison shopper who relies heavily on all the possible details to come to a decision, or someone who looks for smart, informed opinions & facts about anything, or someone who relies heavily on Google and easy-to-use website & apps to make life easier or even someone who needs a satisfactory loyalty connection, excitement and an emotional kind of patronage, the quality & richness of a digital experience is highly desired.
Hence, building a digital transformation or even initiating the same is in fact a journey. It comprises of the things that need to be done before the start, while engaging the transformation and ultimately keeping the same alive while going forward. The key is to treat the end user well and focus on keeping her happy through the digital transformation. Hence, customer experience or CX is what matters the most and marketers realize the significance of CX. Hence, Customer Experience and Content Marketing are the most exciting opportunities for the ‘marketer who wants to make a mark’.
An excellent digital experience is one in which the design element is superb, the functionality is flawless, products are customized, exactly to fit the sought-after requirements, handling of data is trustworthy & secure, the prices are competitive, there’s some kind of loyalty program being offered for customer benefits & retention, and the list goes on. Speed plus performance makes another very crucial factor for a hit digital platform. After all, who wants a sloppy site or app?
Consumers are highly likely to remain continuously connected. Here’s the data available with us:
• 28% people globally remain connected all day long,
• 23% globally remain connected at least every hour,
• 42% globally get connected at least 6 times a day
• And only 7% less than once a day or never
Hence, content consumption on digital media is on the rise and now at 47%, as against 37% on Television. And ‘mobile is becoming the first screen’.
“Brands that see mobile as the ‘second screen’ risk losing relevance with connected customers”
– Altimeter Group, Jan 15
Another significant aspect on offer is a ‘personalized experience’ through digital media, and this is something everyone craves for. In my opinion, it really adds value to a consumer if a marketer targets personalized content, social media engagement, multichannel campaign management and mobile app engagement. Not to miss social media analytics and mobile app analytics. And the best customer experience management technology is a combination of Web Content Management & Digital Asset Management.
The aspect of ‘persuasion design’ cannot be overlooked either. This would mean designing a website or an app in such a way as to persuade a buyer to convert, whether using explicit cues like an arrow, line, blending content or a visual pathway, or implicit cues like color, shape, size, font etc. Visual weighing through design is very high!
The next big step is to bridge the online and offline gap through people, process and technology... As organizations shift their focus & energies into building the best digital experience ever for their consumers, they shouldn’t lose sight of the offline brand management which contributes significantly to their overall conversions.
