THE RACE TO REMAIN RELEVANT
To effectively personalise with customers through digital channels, most organisations believe that major organisational transformation is needed. Put simply, the digital customer experience has to be enhanced through personalisation to ensure your brand is relevant and stays that way.
Brands are competing to win and sustain loyalty in an ever-changing, crowded landscape. Consumers, in turn, are hyperconnected, hyperempowered, and hyperdemanding. They’re willing to entertain multiple brands with similar offerings, bidding for their attention and consideration. The loyalty aspect is earned only when brands anticipate their needs and exceed their expectations.
When consumers enjoy the experience of interacting with a brand, they are more likely to reengage. When that experience is consistent, consumers will share additional insights about themselves, enhancing a brand’s ability to deliver a more personalised, relevant experience. Well-informed and well-executed personalised digital experiences turn prospects into customers, and customers into loyal brand advocates.
The customer experience has been turned on its head because of technology. Throughout every stage of a consumer’s journey—whether in the awareness, consideration or decision stage—relevant content and on-demand service, delivered when and how they want it, is now possible. The digital revolution isn’t just here, it’s expected—across every digital touchpoint. Consumers want nothing less.
The customer experience has been turned on its head because of technology. Throughout every stage of a consumer’s journey—whether in the awareness, consideration or decision stage—relevant content and on-demand service, delivered when and how they want it, is now possible. The digital revolution isn’t just here, it’s expected—across every digital touchpoint. Consumers want nothing less.
Consider the popularity of Amazon. With a brand promise to be ‘Earth’s most customer-centric company’, that customer-obsessed mentality is paying off. And consumers expect other brands to follow suit. The clock is ticking. Brands must embrace technology and leverage it for what it is: a transformational opportunity.
Many organisations recognise the importance of the moment and aim to be considered ‘digitally determined’.1 Spending to deliver an effective and personalised customer experience was projected to reach $1.7 trillion worldwide by the end of last year—a 42% increase from just two years ago.2An organisation’s ability to effectively implement, operate and optimise its digital experience platforms—often referred to as content management systems (CMS)—will determine how well it understands and ultimately satisfies customers. Understanding and insight come with a single, holistic view of each customer that is shaped by mapping customer data to each business interaction. When coupled with an effective digital marketing strategy, a CMS bridges customised content to real-time, personalised experiences that create stickiness with customers. If there’s no stickiness, there’s no connection and little chance of thriving.
A Digital Strategy Alone is not Enough
Personalisation is imperative. To achieve success, an organisation must:
- Undergo cultural transformation: Digital transformation impacts people, process and technology, and the entire organisation needs to take part in a cultural shift.
- Integrate with legacy platforms: Investing in full-stack technology solutions will better serve the organisation than fragmented software supported by separate vendors.
- Understand technology needs: Decision-makers want to invest in digital platforms that are scalable and flexible to accommodate complex requirements.
Navigating these challenges is difficult but not impossible. Organisations that go the distance to transform—motivated by the possibilities of an exceptional digital experience and increased business performance—unlock limitless business potential.
Brands that do it well are incredibly agile and adaptive. These brands communicate in a timely manner about relevant products and services that satisfy needs or problems for the customer. They anticipate and meet customers where they are.
Connections that Matter
Marketers are eager to better understand and implement personalisation so they can deliver customised experiences. Today, technology provides a platform that equips brands to better optimise the customer experience. It's not only a more attainable strategic imperative but also an increasingly urgent business priority.
In a society where consumers are inundated with advertisements, sales pitches, emails, media and communications, personalisation and 1:1 marketing give brands an opportunity to stand out by presenting meaningful, relevant solutions. Brands that can deliver 1:1 marketing at scale cut through the noise. Customer loyalty is earned by brands that establish a connection, cultivate trust and actively listen, seeking to understand the customer and their evolving needs. Brands that adopt an iterative process and develop a learning relationship with their customers are well positioned to maintain those customers over the long term, assuming they stay current with the latest technology trends.3
Personalisation pitfalls
Of course, if it was easy, every brand would be doing it well. There are many challenges to be mindful of before pursuing your own customer experience magic
Velocity: Organisations are transforming teams to adapt, but they can’t respond to the business needs quickly enough.
Agility: Moving fast also demands the ability to change course on the fly—and many organisations struggle to do so.
Complexity: CMS platforms are getting more complex, and business and tech leaders aren’t sure how to maximise their investments.
Solutioning: Anticipating the full scope of technology needs, in advance of implementation, is crucial. Often organisations don’t plan far enough ahead and make the wrong purchase decisions.
Talent shortage: An organisation’s mission and culture need to attract digital natives capable of supporting and delivering rich experiences.
Technology has enabled organisations to truly understand their customers. Some have embraced the opportunity as a competitive advantage; others are behind. But to remain relevant, there is a tremendous urgency to own this change.
Own it, now. Because the stakes are high and a well-crafted digital strategy, including effective personalisation, has the power to elevate a brand and separate it from the rest.
TEKsystems’ Tips: Breakthrough the Barriers
How do brands deliver successful, holistic customer experiences?
- Build personas: Take time to understand your audience, and then create personas that match the many segmented views you’ll have of your customer base. Consider digital tools that understand the intricacies of personas and how they can be leveraged to establish emotional brand connections.
- Actively listen: Your customer is human. Humans are constantly evolving. Watch for behavioural trends. Show empathy and evolve your messages accordingly.
- Harness the power of data: More data has been created in the last few years than in the last 20. Organisations need to slice through and optimise that data in order to find meaning, drive informed business decisions and achieve measurable results.
- Own Customer Experience across the company: Your customer doesn’t start and stop at the edge of your department. Every touchpoint is critical and shapes the brand experience. All employees need to be responsible for their role in it.
- Resolve to scale: Think through how you’re going to scale this experience across the business. Look for opportunities to leverage technology and automation to help scale.
Sources
- 2019 Digital Transformation Predictions, IDC
- FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Transformation 2018 Predictions, IDC
- Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever? Harvard Business Review; B. Joseph Pine II, Don Peppers, Martha Rogers
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