Would you spend more on a fantastic experience provided by a favorite brand? Your customers will almost certainly do so in the coming years. Experiences that elicit powerful emotions will mold buying habits and brand loyalty more so than prices or products.

Let’s Shed Light On The Following Emerging Trends, Shall We?

• 67 percent of customers are prepared to spend more for a memorable experience.  
• Consumers have a 306 percent higher overall value and are more likely to suggest a brand when they have an emotional bond with it (71 percent vs. 45 percent)
• Customers are four times more likely to switch to a competitor when the issue is one of service rather than product or price.

The message is stark: unless your brand becomes an experienced leader, prospects and users will look elsewhere. As the transition to an all-digital community ramp up, a large number of customer experiences will be presented through digital portals, where gauging sentiment and interpreting reactions will be more difficult. Whether you're on the front lines interacting with customers or working behind the scenes on enabling technology, learning what works, fixing what's broken, and shaping a digital customer experience with clear communication and intention should be top of mind for every marketing team on the planet.

The New Age Experience

The term digital customer experience refers to the entirety of a customer's online interactions with your brand. It could begin with your company website, but it could also usually involve mobile applications, virtual assistants, social platforms, and any other channels with a virtual touchpoint. What counts here is the impression customers form. Is it frustrating and annoying to ask for assistance or place orders, or is the process simple, memorable, and enjoyable? Don't forget about the operations and maintenance aspects of the experience: Every interaction, from the Grocery Cart to the Contact Us form, contributes to an overall impression of your brand. What would you like these moments to say about you? What narrative would you like those who have lived them to tell?

The Battle Of Experiences

The digital customer experience (DCX) is inextricably linked to the broader customer experience (CX), which involves in-store and other physical interactions. If CX is about demonstrating empathy, honesty, and human connection, DCX is the digital manifestation of these efforts. It's essential to mention that customers don't typically evaluate the different phases of their journey in the same way that marketers do. People seem to expect uniformity across all touchpoints and throughout the entire journey with your brand, whether the interaction is physical or digital, offline or online. It's one whole journey with your brand for them. Ensure you have the people skills as well as the technical knowledge to carry out digital campaigns while also creating a seamless transition between these intertwining worlds.

The Art Of Digital Customer Experience Management

Users have learned to accept that offering data to businesses is an unavoidable part of the digital experience. They do, however, expect brands to recognize them in return. Marketing executives frequently talk about putting consumers first, but 42 percent of businesses never solicit feedback.  Customers are aware of the disconnect. They can tell when the human factor is missing. Your challenge is to seek out and repair broken experiences before they push customers away.Companies that take the time to map out the user experience invariably come out ahead. You can't create memorable experiences unless you understand when and where your customers engage with your brand. With this in mind, consider DCX management as a four-step process:

• First and foremost, you must thoroughly understand your target audience. What emotions will spark the ignition sources within each segment?
• Then, within those audiences, identify personas. What similarities do the consumers have in each person's share?
• You are now prepared to address each stage of the user journey with appropriate content and experiences. Do you have the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel covered?
•   Even though you start with the basics, make sure to personalize your digital experiences along the way.

Data Gold

Customer data provides critical insight, which is why having services like a digital experience platform (DXP) that can communicate data across interaction points is critical. Machine learning and AI are progressively capable of assisting you in collecting, connecting, and understanding data. However, unless you already have effective AI that applies insight for you, it is up to your team to correctly apply what you've learned. Even if you have artificial intelligence, this is where the innovative fun begins. Trying to connect customer journeys in useful, thrilling, and pleasingly unexpected ways can make a world of difference, and your team is responsible for creating those journeys.

The Balancing Act

While innovation is important, so is organizational culture. It's all about striking a balancing act around creating compelling journeys, possessing the technical expertise in delivering them and fully comprehending their impact, and iterating to improve them regularly.

Perfection Is An Endless Pursuit

The mantra you should get used to it, Even after you've completed re-platforming or enhancing, have your management in order, content-packed, branding workshops under your belt, and analytics flowing in to drive decisions—you'll always be testing, trying to improve, upgrading, connecting, building, rewriting, and looking for ways to improve CX to drive ROI.  1. A Non-Negotiable ExpectationCustomers today are likely to have multiple ways to contact a company and presume their customer journey to be seamless between every touchpoint or channel. This is why brands are thinking about implementing an omnichannel experience.

2. The Feeling Is What Matters

Customers appreciate it when a company recognizes both what they say and how they feel. There is a new technology that recognizes a person's emotions and can assist businesses in acting appropriately. The limitation is that the application of any new tech can be beneficial or detrimental. Use emotion technology to profit the customer rather than the company.

3. Everyone Will Be Heard

Customers are increasingly using audio virtual assistants for search queries and online shopping. This trend can be attributed to a more streamlined purchasing process and customization, as the assistant utilizes data that is on the device. Using voice recognition technology keeps you in front of the digital user experience trend.

4. Shine The Brightest

How can your company stand out in a sea of companies vying for a better customer experience? Here are a few recommendations:

• Analyze your Unique Selling Proposition again.
• Showcase your values, such as being biologically or socially conscious.
• Show how you prioritize employee and customer safety in light of the pandemic.

5. The Value Of Personalisation

Customers expect you to remember not only their names but also their past purchases and make personalized recommendations based on that information. Personalization will remain a major customer experience trend for companies to improve.Here are a few examples:

• Email marketing with personalized recommendations
• Customers' search results should be promoted based on previous activity or preferences.
• Foresee when a consumer would need to restock and send a notification via the website, app, or email.
• Data is required to personalize. Consumers are willing to exchange data for a more personalized shopping experience.

6. I Want Transparency, Don’t You?

Customers value openness in all aspects, including:

• Product pricing - The price should be displayed on the website as a first step. Then, make sure there really are no hidden fees at the checkout.
• Customers value an open forum that exhibits both favorable and unfavorable reviews, and also the company's rebuttal to each one
• In the background - Customers are increasingly interested in seeing how a company operates. Allowing users to notice your brand and personnel on social networking sites is one way to accomplish this.

7. Despite Popular Beliefs, Humans are Still Important

We still require people to confront the more fundamental issues. Customers, on the other hand, expect the representative to be informed and compassionate during customer interactions. When it comes to sales, there's no need to be overambitious because the customer has already done some research. A prospective buyer may be attempting to compare brands, and how they are treated by a sales representative may influence their final decision.

8. Chatbots!!

• Chatbots indicate that the business is open to questions or to provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Customers will be more likely to visit a competitor's website than to send an inquiry via email to a company.
•  Consumers are satisfied to have a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to guide them through simple questions or issues.
• Customers are increasingly using chatbots to contact customer service representatives rather than looking up phone numbers.
•  Automation increases customer interaction and meets customer expectations.

Wise WordsA great digital customer experience seems to be no longer optional. It is a key differentiator for every company. Customers are more engaged, satisfied, and loyal to brands that integrate the three main components of high-quality products, advanced digital experiences, and unforgettable human connections.

How Can Survey2Connect help?

Survey2Connect is used by some of the world’s most trusted companies and has been successful in managing their customer experience efficiently over the past years.   Survey2Connect provides a one-stop solution for all your experience management needs. With S2C you find the right answers to take timely actions. Get in touch with us for a demo.