One of the signature trends of the 21st century is the shift from product-centric to customer-centric marketing. Growth-oriented teams have realized that their innovation can get copied by competitors and it’s hard to continuously stay functionally superior. 

On the other hand, the relationships brands forge with customers can last for years and bring in stable revenue.

During the pandemic, marketers struggle to find creative ways to engage customers — they could no longer rely on offline events or building in-person connections. Instead, brands had to find ways to run digital activation campaigns, introducing products and services to customers through online tools.

On this journey, we have learned how versatile digital experiences are and how helpful they are in raising product awareness across the world. In this post, we will take a deeper look into customer experience, its benefits, and strategies for connecting with customers. 

What is digital customer experience (DCX)? 

Digital customer experience is a subset of customer experience that focuses on attracting customers to the brand through digital channels — website, social media, PPC ads, and others. 

In some cases, digital customer experience is a standalone practice — in others, it merges with real-world campaigns. For example, hosting hybrid events and using innovative technologies like the Internet of Things to connect brick-and-mortar stores with e-commerce are excellent examples of hybrid customer experience. 

The key benefits of creating digital customer experiences are: 

• The ability to connect with customers across multiple digital channels and connect them in a single funnel. 
• Broader reach compared to offline experience: digital online experiences give marketers tools to connect with customers and prospects all over the world. 
• Data-driven nature — digital customer experiences are easy to track and the data can be interpreted. There are a lot of tools designed to analyze how customers interact with websites, social media pages, online ads, and other channels marketers rely on. 
• Flexibility — unlike their physical counterparts (brick-and-mortar stores, events, local trade shows, and others), digital customer experiences are scalable both ways. Marketers can quickly increase their ad spending and reach broader audiences or trim the budget to make sure their marketing strategies are not creating financial burdens for the organization. 

Given the benefits of digital marketing experience, they are no longer the strategy used by digital-first brands only. According to Forrester, knowing how to use digital channels to connect and stay in touch with customers is the key component of operational excellence both for digital-first and primarily non-digital companies. 

Key components of a successful digital customer experience (DCX)

As companies grow client pools and mature, their approach to DCX evolves and changes. However, the groundwork of a successful digital user experience is the same for startups as it is for enterprise-level corporations.

We believe that four aspects of digital customer experience make the biggest difference and determine its success. 

#1. Technology

Since digital customer experience focuses on online channels, marketing experts need tools to manage and review the performance of their campaigns. There are different tools teams use to supercharge DCX: 

• Website: content management systems (WordPress, Ghost.io, and others), activity trackers (Hotjar), local and international SEO (check this information from iNET VENTURES), and plugins (MonsterInsights, Yoast for WordPress) 
• Social media: planning and management tools (Buffer, Hootsuite), brand mention trackers, content research tools (Buzzsumo) 
• PPC: keyword research tools (Ahrefs, Semrush), landing page creators (Wix, Unbounce), and content creation platforms (Canva, PicMonkey, and others). 
• Customer support: HubSpot, Zendesk, and others. 

#2. Funnel

Since there are a lot of moving parts in digital customer experience, it’s easy to lose track of user data and never connect with website visitors, social media followers, or event attendees. 

To make sure you connect all interactions into a single pipeline, build a digital experience funnel, with every contact pointing to the next and culminating in a purchase or a service subscription. 

Marketing teams should also have a habit of tracking how leads move down the funnel and discover blockers and turn-offs so that these can be eliminated and transformed into enjoyable experiences. 

#3. Automation

Statistically, speed is the make-or-break factor of a successful customer experience — customers are 2.4 times more likely to choose a brand that answers their questions quickly. 

Marketing teams need to find ways to instantly connect with customers, and automation makes this goal achievable. 

A successful digital customer experience is one where marketers get instant updates about customer interactions and can assist prospects every step of the way. 

#4. Collecting and analyzing customer feedback

A successful digital customer experience is the one that drives customer satisfaction and gives marketers data for improvement. Collecting feedback helps teams measure the effectiveness of DCX and continuously optimize their strategies. 

To make sure your customer experiences capture interest every time, take the time to analyze campaigns, identify areas for improvement, and fine-tune future campaigns according to user data. 

4 Effective Digital Customer Experience Strategies For 2022 

As we move into the post-pandemic world, it’s reasonable to expect a blend of physical and digital customer experience — the companies who can successfully navigate both will have a competitive edge. 

If you want to stand out in your market and engage customers in innovative ways, implement these digital customer experience tactics. 

#1. Create a virtual space for customer support 

According to Zendesk, customer support is a number-one factor in making a purchasing decision. Also, surveys show that customers prefer human customer support agents over chatbots or crafted branding messages. 

Innovative technology helps create seamless customer relationships and turn customer support into an engaging experience. When website visitors wanted to know more about the product, they could visit a virtual space and talk to the entire team in a real-life-like setting. 

Such a transparent, hyper-personalized approach helps companies stand out from competitors and connect with clients on a human level. 

#2. Personalize interactions

A digital customer experience will be more effective if it directly meets customers’ needs. Marketing teams can make sure they share offers that resonate with prospects by leveraging the power of personalization and cohort analysis. The most widely used personalization strategies are:

• Location-based personalization: make sure the website is displayed in the customer’s language, shows relevant content, and addresses a customer can reach. 
• Behavior-based personalization: product and content recommendations based on the pages a user has previously visited. 
• Engagement-based personalization: assign a lead score to each customer who interacts with the website and other channels based on the likelihood of conversion and share content pieces that help them move to the next stage in the pipeline. 
• Connect location-based data to mobile experiences to connect offline and online interactions with the brand.

#3. Build omnichannel experiences 

The goal of an omnichannel experience is to allow customers to interact with the brand through whichever channel they are comfortable with. 

It’s important that marketers synchronize cross-channel visitor signals so that they can see a more precise customer profile. 

Also, marketers should focus on connecting channels and building seamless bridges between the website, email, social media, and other platforms. 

When listing your website in a web directory, you should include relevant information such as your email address and social media profiles. This will make it easier for people to find you online and across multiple platforms.

#4. Lead with value

Create a value-driven digital customer experience to build brand loyalty and gradually increase a prospect’s interest in the company and its products. Inbound marketing is an important component of DCX  — here are the practices we recommend: 

• Share educational, non-promotional content that gives readers answers to their problems
• Connect with website visitors for a free consultation and share tips before promoting your offer. 
• Share valuable information across all channels in different formats — keep your customers in the loop on the latest news in your industry via a newsletter, share actionable tips and infographics via social media, and provide a big-picture view of the target market with surveys and white papers. 

Final thoughts 

Digital customer experience is a must-have for companies in the post-pandemic world. The last two years gave marketers proof that all businesses can and should have a digital presence and encouraged teams to discover the benefits of connecting with customers online. 

The fundamentals of digital customer experience are similar to those of a non-digital one: teams should be creative, responsive, and analytical about their tactics. 

As for tools and methods, innovation is key — always be on the lookout for new ways to engage audiences, personalize your messaging, and attract clients through valuable content.