From the pandemic to the online shopping boom, not to mention the race for innovation and digital transformation: the past two years have inevitably changed not only consumer habits, but also reshaped the dynamics of business-consumer relations, recognizing the latter as playing an increasingly important role (customer-centricity).
All this has inevitably resulted in the need for companies to take a significant step forward: putting the customer at the center means learning how to intercept their needs, know their expectations and help them with their products/services to best meet them.
But for this to remain not just a claim but to be translated into actual modus operandi, a paradigm shift is needed and the adoption of a data first approach.
But how to evolve into a customer-centric business reality? Let’s delve into this together.
Customer journey mapping: customer experience design starts here
The starting point for creating an effective customer-focused strategy is mapping the costumer journey. We have already had the opportunity to explore this in depth in a previous article, now what we are interested in remarking is the fact that
the customer journey map is, without a doubt, the fundamental tool to learn about the relationship between the company and the consumer.
The goal for the company is to, not only detect the different touchpoints that structure the interactions between the company and the consumer, but also to know the ways and occasions of these interactions: only then will it be possible to plan a strategy aimed at creating valuable customer experiences.
n a complex context such as the one we are currently experiencing, characterized by increasingly hybrid purchasing processes that unravel seamlessly between online and offline, designing an omnichannel customer experience becomes for companies no longer a choice, but a real necessity.
But while customers no longer worry about obstacles, including logistical ones, by virtue of consistent and seamless brand experiences across every channel, companies, in order to meet these expectations, need to embark on a true transformation journey.
Here is how David Carrel, Vice President of Marketing Adobe Experience Cloud, talks about it: “It means aiming to be more agile, collaborative internally, being able to accelerate time-to-value. Therefore, we also need a ‘data-first’ approach, to handle the unexpected, and to do that we need to break down functional silos, across divisions (sales, marketing, finance, and support, to name a few), so that we arrive at an end-to-end business ideal.”
Customer experience: the driver of change
Many are already referring to the concept of Customer Experience Transformation, no doubt, David Carrel’s words above exemplify how necessary it is now for a company to espouse a customer-centric philosophy as a cornerstone on which to build and strengthen its success.
n this regard, it seems absolutely relevant what emerged from a research conducted by Adobe, in collaboration with Econsultancy, on a sample of about 10,000 marketers, consultants and industry professionals aimed at identifying customer experience trends for this 2022 and, above all, the opportunities that lie ahead for companies to improve their strategies. Here they are in detail.
Rapid Change
In the past two years, due in part to the pandemic, many companies have found themselves having to speed up their digital transformation process. Many consumers have discovered potential of digital as the only means to work, learn, entertain themselves, communicate, and purchase. This change in purchasing patterns and habits, however, now seems irreversible, as does the digital transformation process.
Customer expectations are growing, but keeping up is no longer enough: there is a need to predict behaviors and better meet needs with personalized experiences of value. All this translates into the need for greater investment in technologies and solutions aimed at customer experience management, but not only that: what makes the research stand out is also the need, found by respondents, to overcome barriers and divisions between business departments in order to optimize workflows and orient each activity toward improving the customer experience of its users.
Trust Earned
As anticipated, the aspect related to the personalization of the customer experience also calls into question the collection and management of data related to one’s customers. In a context of increasingly stringent privacy regulations, it becomes crucial to work on customer loyalty, maximizing the collection and effectiveness of directly collected data(first party data and zero party data). Thus, another crucial aspect emerges that concerns data ethics, a fundamental asset on building the trust of one’s users and their loyalty.
Agility Unlocked
Speed of transformation and change to better meet the needs of their customers: leading organizations and companies are revolutionizing their internal processes in the name of agility. Optimizing workflows, adopting supporting technology solutions, but, most importantly, training staff: a data-driven approach must be adopted that involves not only the marketing department but the entire company. Test, modify, retest: only in this way can planning be done dynamically and withstand market challenges.
Unlimited Collaboration
If digital experiences are at the heart of innovation in the company, collaboration in the company between IT and marketing departments becomes crucial: on the one hand we have those who deal with the data, and on the other those who interpret and treasure it from a strategic perspective. According to the research, many senior executives agree that the two departments play a major role in business growth and their collaboration is the key to success.
Customer Experience
We get it, the imperative for business growth is personalization of the customer experience.. It can only come from building a trusting relationship with consumers and an in-depth understanding of their buying habits and needs, as well as an effective marketing automation that allows you to reach and engage them with the right message (content and products) at the right time (time and channels).
Customer experience and marketing automation: the technology solution
In light of what has also emerged from the research, it is clear that the adoption of high-performance technology solutions is of absolute relevance for companies in order to embark on a customer-centricity-oriented transformation path. This is precisely the case with Customer Data Platforms such as Blendee, technology solutions that enable the aggregation and normalization at the single customer view level of data related to their customers and users from multiple sources and, above all, enable their effective and structured use.
Data collection but not only that: with the contribution of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is possible to leverage the amount of data collected to develop predictive marketing strategies.
The result? You offer potential customers, both online and offline, the right product at the right time, engaging them with personalized messages and communications, while fully respecting their privacy.
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