In today’s hyper-tech world, a great deal of what we want and need can be accomplished digitally. Telehealth appointments, Zoom conference calls, online shopping, etc. are all in a day’s work at this point. The downside here for some is that the days of brick and mortar, especially amid a global pandemic, are steadily fading.
But there’s a middle ground here; many companies have found ways to blend their digital and instore business. Creating a modern commerce experience that fuses digital and in-store is the future of retail (and the future is now).
Omnichannel — the blending of digital and physical retail — provides the opportunity for modern retailers to offer the best of both worlds and deliver increased value to customers. In an era of declining sales for physical retailers and the rise of eCommerce giants, omnichannel provides the best option for retailers to not only survive but to thrive in the coming decades.
Source: medium.com
Not long ago, we created an in-store, online, and mobile customer experience for an American-based global toy manufacturing company who realized that a fundamental shift in the most basic aspects of eCommerce was taking place. This was all part of a larger strategy to transform their brick and mortar shops into positive, immersive shopping experiences because eCommerce is now experience commerce that requires individualized and continuous interaction.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 73% of customers use multiple touchpoints (or “channels”) throughout their shopping experience. They’ve coined these shoppers as “omnichannel customers”, who use everything from phones and online stores to in-store information centers and price-checkers.
But how? How do you measure CX success? How do you keep track of individual touchpoints, drop offs, purchases, reviews, etc.?
Customer experience management has entered the chat.
The power of CXM
Customer experience management (CXM) is a springboard toward making your business a customer-centric one that delivers exceptional, personalized customer experiences.
As David Clarke, PWC’s Digital Strategy & Innovation Leader, defines it, CXM is the management of customer interactions through each physical and digital touchpoint in order to deliver personalized experiences that drive brand loyalty and increase revenue.
There’s real power in being able to leverage the sum of all experiences a customer has with your business, to include not just the key touchpoints, but also how personal and memorable their experiences were. Managing these relationships arms you with the data you need to properly nurture your visitors through the sales funnel.
With the rise of ecommerce, rating systems, and social media, buyers are starting to gain the majority of power. This shift calls for a need of more powerful systems that ensure buyers are having the best experience possible and advocate for brands.
Source: Augment
Exceed expectation
Adobe’s Digital Report referred to 2020 as the year of CX-centric business transformation; and now, in 2021, there are no signs of this changing. The same report noted that companies that prioritized and effectively managed customer experience were three times more likely than their peers to have significantly exceeded their top business goals.
We’ve seen this first hand. Thanks to proper in-store, online, and mobile CXM, the global toy manufacturer mentioned above-experienced sales numbers four times their original goal.
Customer experience management is a discipline that requires expertise and an ongoing focus. Reach out for additional information on how Content Bloom could help create and support your CX strategy.
