In a world where customer experience will soon overtake price and product as a key differentiator, the customer is more empowered than ever before. Delivering the personalized customer experienceㅡa timely stream of ever-relevant and ever-consistent messages across all channels and devicesㅡis no longer considered exceptional, but essential.
If you’re not in the half of digital marketers who say personalization is a top priority, you’re in the wrong half. Those leading the way in delivering great customer experiences see an average revenue growth of 17% inside 5 years, which dramatically outruns their weaker counterparts who deliver just 3% in the same time.
Which team would you rather be on?
While 34% of companies have undergone a digital transformation to get them up to speed in delivering the kind of experience our customer has come to expect, 85% of decision-makers give themselves just two years to do the same or fear falling behind their competitors. Because, as Jerry Gregoire, former Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Dell, puts it: “The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.”
Your Customer Has Spoken
The customer finally has a voice. And they have a lot to say.
36% of consumers feel brands should offer more personalization in their marketing, with 71% of consumers being frustrated by an impersonal shopping experience. In fact, 72% say they will only engage with customized marketing messages.
The numbers don’t prove your customer “likes” a good customer experience, but that they expect it, and anything that falls short of excellent is considered unworthy of their time.
47% of consumers run off to Amazon if not presented with relevant product suggestions, and 63% of consumers cease purchasing from companies providing poorly executed personalization altogether!
Loud and clear, customers, loud and clear.
So when 65% of buyers consider a positive experience with a brand to be more influential than really good advertising and 80% of customers are more likely to buy from brands that personalize the buying experience, then deciding where your marketing dollars should be going is a no-brainer.
Technology that reacts with lightning speed to deliver consistent, relevant, and timely personalized content according to insightful and actionable customer data collected across all channels and devices is a must-have.
It’s Omnichannel or Nothing
Econsultancy found that in the UK, over 60% of online adults are using at least two devices every day and 40% of them start a task on one and finish it on another. Brits are checking their mobile on average every 12 waking minutes.
Last year, 58% of site visits came from mobiles. 51% of customers use their mobiles to discover new brands and products and 89% of people are likely to recommend a brand after a positive brand experience on mobile.
1.56 billion people log onto Facebook every day and 5,787 tweets are tweeted every second. 54% of consumers use social media to research products.
So it won't surprise you that 9 out of 10 consumers want a seamless omnichannel experience. And they’ll make it worth your while. Omnichannel customers spend 10% more online than single-channel customers, with spend increasing proportionally with number of channels used. Companies with strong omnichannel strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers, compared to just 33% by their weaker counterparts.
ROI Common Sense
It costs seven times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. So it’s time to stop creating customers, and start creating positive experiences.
Remember who your customer is, welcome them with a page tailored to their interests and preferences, suggest highly relevant products and helpful content, offer personalized discounts, understand what makes them tick, what turns them off, and how you can be of better service to them. Make them feel understood, appreciated, valued, and important.
You do this... and they’ll take care of your bottom line.
73% of buyers say customer experience is important in making purchasing decisions, with 86% of buyers willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
I’ll Have What They’re Having
Remember; you can’t expect your team to create happy seamless experiences if they are working on disparate, out of date, or clunky technology. And with 3 out of 4 employees in the US feeling they don’t have access to the latest technology to do their job efficiently, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and examine the capabilities (or lack thereof) of your technology.
If you’ve not adopted it yet, the Digital Experience Platform (DXP) has been built with your customer and your team in mind.
Not only are they designed to help your team to deliver super-consistent, highly relevant, and deeply engaging content to your customers on all devices and channels, but they empower the marketing team, enhance working experiences, improve efficiency and accountability, improve interdepartmental communication, and speed up delivery on SLAs.
The No-brainer Conclusion
44% of companies have already moved to a digital-first approach for customer experience and 34% of companies have already undergone a digital transformation. 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations, and 80% are more likely to purchase from them.
Our customers are feeling expressive, encouraged, and empowered. And we want them that way! An empowered customer is a happy customer. They have a voice, they get a choice, and they know we’re listening because we’re reacting to their every whim before they even know they’ve had it.
Only with sophisticated experience technology can your brand create truly exceptional experiences that turn customers into life-long advocates.
Put the customer experience at the center of your efforts with a vendor that puts your goals at the center of theirs. Get a free demo of Kentico today!