4 Ways to Win The Digital Customer Experience in 2022
Out with outdated, impersonal relationships with your customers, and in with long-lasting, mutually beneficial ones. In 2022, the only way to win over and maintain a strong customer base is by having a winning digital customer experience. Here are four ways to guarantee success this year and beyond.
1.Be transparent.
Trust is the foundation for any loyal relationship and your customer, unsurprisingly, is no exception. A company can’t compromise their desire to offer their customers a more personalized experience without simultaneously prioritizing data privacy. According to research conducted by Google and the Boston Consulting Group, customers and marketers are more concerned about privacy than ever before. Therefore, it is imperative that a company is transparent about how a customer’s data is used and how their privacy will be maintained throughout the entirety of their experience. This can be demonstrated through the company’s marketing to customers – by offering genuine messaging that matches the brand’s values. Communicate often with customers on how their data is being used and why it is being used specifically to their benefit.
2. Offer hyper-personalized experiences.
Customers are increasingly reliant on personalized experiences with brands. According to a 2021 McKinsey report, 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences. 76% get frustrated when it doesn’t happen. Companies can achieve personalization by segmenting their marketing campaigns based on consumer characteristics. For example, someone who has previously shopped for jeans can get recommendations for other pairs of pants, or perhaps other pieces of clothing that can be paired with jeans to make a great outfit. By collecting information on their customer’s purchasing habits, as well as their style preferences, companies can spend less time on guesswork, and more time building a stronger relationship with their customer base. And consumers are very much in favor of this. According to multiple studies, consumers are comfortable sharing personal information with a brand if it benefits their experience.
3. Establish a feedback loop with your customers.
What’s the best way to improve a company’s customer experience? By going directly to the source: the customer. It is important to not only seek out feedback from happy customers, but also the dissatisfied ones. Throughout the customer’s journey, seek out opportunities to ask about their experience: How can we improve your shopping experience? What are we doing right? By giving customers a platform to share their feedback, they will feel “heard” – a crucial trait for a brand to establish with their customer base, in order to more deeply understand their customers’ motivations and offer a better experience in return. And contrary to popular opinion, people like being asked their opinions from brands: it makes them feel valued and like their opinions and suggestions matter to the brand’s success. Furthermore, publicized positive customer feedback has the potential to improve sales. As high as 91% of people read online reviews of brands, and 84% trust them equally to a personal recommendation, according to Inc.
4. Prioritize empathy.
Consumers are pushing for ethically-conscious products and diversity from brands more than ever before. Consumers now expect brands to not only offer a product or service, but also, lead on driving change – whether it be environmental sustainability or social justice. Therefore, brands need to consider what drives their decisions – whether environmental or political – and think critically about its implications. However, brands must do so genuinely and without coming off tokenistic or tone deaf. After all, who can forget Kendall Jenner’s ad with Pepsi?
