The digital space has taken off in recent years. Digitization offers new ways to connect, new products to build, and new experiences to create. It offers a unique opportunity – but also unique challenges – to transform the customer experience.
Industry leaders are recognizing this opportunity – and pursuing it aggressively. 77% of US CEOs have an “aggressive digital investment strategy” to secure first-mover or fast-follower status^.
Transforming the digital customer experience begins with customer insights and iterative human-centered approaches to measurement. How do you meet customers in the digital space when you don’t know how to meet their needs generally? The best-in-class customer experience measurement programs for digital channels address 3 key challenges to digital transformation:
· Capital limitations
· Scaling of digital pilots
· Speed-to-value for digital-related decisions
Capital limitations to accelerate digital progress
Digital transformation is a process of ongoing evolution and smart betting. Building your digital initiatives pipeline requires flexible test-and-learn measurement approaches that adapt as your customers do, and that are baked into product development, in order to manage digital-decision-making risks.
Scaling digital pilots
Best-in-class digital innovation starts with rigorous testing. Human-centered pilots offer quantitative and qualitative insights that provide greater customer understanding and lay the foundation for effective transformation.
Speed-to-value for digital-related decisions
Let’s not overcomplicate it: successfully scaling digital transformation requires 1) the analysis and socialization of insights across the organization, and 2) continuous investment in this transformation.
So, what does this look like in practice? Leaders can take three foundational steps to improve their digital experiences quickly and effectively:
1. Bring in data from as many sources as possible
Integrating data from a broad range of datasets to help uncover deeper insights is critical in digital transformation. This means bridging behavioral, attitudinal, and demographic data to provide a holistic view of your customers.
2. Understand the customer journey in depth
Measuring key touchpoints in your customers’ digital journey, and soliciting feedback at each step, will keep your transformation efforts close to the customer. An innovative approach: digital intercepts allow you to understand the __________.
3. Track key strengths and weaknesses within the digital experience
Determining the most common customer journeys, and diagnosing the wins and issues along the way, helps focus your transformation efforts. Start with establishing baseline metrics to measure and assess trends over time as new digital initiatives are rolled out.
Opportunity is knocking… are you ready for it?
Transformation begins with the insights to guide it. Measuring the impact of digital touchpoints on customer experience can mitigate risk, help with scaling initiatives, and increase speed-to-value. Today companies have a greater chance than ever to improve the customer experience through digital touchpoints.
At empatiX Consulting, we’re humans exploring humans and deeply entrenched with the complexities that come with that. We work with clients to design customer experience programs that help clients move their digital transformation initiatives forward. Say hi hello@empatixconsulting.com.
^KPMG, Digital Acceleration, 2021 U.S. CEO Outlook