I saw an ad for a new desk on TV last week. It looked perfect for my space, so I hopped on my laptop and headed to the company’s website for more information. And that’s where things got weird. Aside from looking like the last update was in 1998, it was impossible to find the desk. I clicked around and found too many blank screens and dead ends. I tried to contact the brand, but the site didn’t have a webchat or support email. So, after spending way too much time searching, I gave up. I closed the tab and decided to see if I could find similar styles in a general search.

Spoiler alert: I did. And it only took me about five minutes to gather all the info I needed to make an informed purchase decision from the competitor’s site.

See, it’s no longer enough to simply have a website. You actually have to optimize it for your customers’ expected experience. In a world where you can have toilet paper and groceries delivered to your door by dinner, your customers expect to reach you without picking up a phone or (*gasp*) going into a store. What’s more, brands like Amazon and Shipt have trained consumers to expect highly personalized interactions that are quick and productive — no matter how big or small your company is.

As consumers, we reap the benefits of this ephemeral experience. But as owners of a digital customer experience strategy, getting started or catching up to the competition can be a little intimidating. We’re here to help you get started.

Setting the Foundation for Your Digital Customer Experience Strategy

Research from Gartner found that 80% of customer service leaders say digital customer experiences are important to their goals. What’s more, those leaders are prioritizing the optimization of their digital channels to attract, engage, and support their customers.

But simply adding digital tools on top of your existing sales and support processes isn’t a digital customer experience strategy. Instead, you have to start looking at the holistic digital experience and see how it fits into your entire customer journey. And then, you can identify which tools and processes will help you create frictionless, omnichannel experiences.

Here are a few things to consider when you’re building out your holistic experience.

5 Benefits of Building a Digital Customer Experience Strategy

1. Meet Customers Where They Are

Consider for a moment your own shopping habits and how you like to shop. If you are anything like me, you do a lot of shopping from your phone or even your tablet. In fact, it’s how more than half of customers prefer to shop. Your customers are no different: they like to shop on their phones using a variety of channels.

By being available on these different channels and platforms, you’re meeting your customers where they already are. And that makes it easier for them to do business with you.

Adobe recently found that companies that have strong omnichannel engagement can see 10% year-over-year growth. One key to growing omnichannel engagement? Social media. Your customers are already using social to communicate and interact with friends and family, so they’re more likely to communicate with you on these platforms as well.

2. Customer Satisfaction

Instant gratification and quick resolutions are the name of the game. According to research from Forrester, customers who have their problems resolved quickly are 2.4 times more likely to remain loyal to a brand.

A key part of a digital customer experience strategy is finding ways to quickly and efficiently resolve issues. While you may immediately think of training your agents and employees to deliver excellent customer service, don’t forget self-help options. There is strong research that suggests that most customers actually prefer self-service options like knowledge bases and FAQ pages. An important part of a digital customer experience strategy is ensuring customers can find the answers they need in the format that suits their preferences.

3. Customer Loyalty

When customers have a positive experience with your brand, it leaves a lasting impression. According to Treasure Data, 74% of consumers are willing to make a purchase based solely on a positive customer experience.

My boyfriend and I had a date night a few months ago and we went to this little Italian place. I had a mixed first impression — it was a little crowded, looked outdated, and there were some…interesting folks. I didn’t know what to think. But our server was able to completely turn around our experience. He was engaging, took care of us, and personalized our experience. Now, we go back every chance we get and recommend it to friends and family.

Positive experiences with your brand leave a great impression on customers. If your brand is easy to find and offers a pleasant digital experience, your shoppers will remember it in the future. After all, word-of-mouth advertising brings happy and loyal customers.

4. Upselling and Cross-Selling

One of the distinct advantages of a digital presence is the ability to put relevant content in front of customers with the click of a button. There’s even technology that can analyze your customer’s preferences and search histories to help personalize their shopping experience.

By providing customers with a wide range of experiences and personalized recommendations, you’re putting the best-fit, relevant content directly in front of them.

5. Provide Personalized Customer Experiences

With a digital customer experience strategy, you can provide customers with a personalized experience at scale and present customers with what they want. Previous purchases and interactions can help you design a better customer experience by taking into account their preferences.

Excellent customer experience is a tried-and-true way to guarantee customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Products We Recommend for Improving Your Digital Customer Experience Strategy

Technology can help you strengthen your digital customer experience strategies and improve customer experience. We have you covered with two platforms that can help.

1. b-hive Virtual Call Center

The b-hive platform has a built-in call center that can help improve your business communications with omnichannel capabilities. It offers a single platform for calling, texting, collaboration, and even video conferencing. This lets you reach your customers on the platforms they use most without having to switch apps.

2. Broadvoice CCaaS Cloud Contact Center

We also have a cloud-native contact center platform that’s flexible, agile, and affordable. It has a full suite of contact center features, including IVR, Smart Scripting, and an advanced dialer. Plus, you can reach customers on a variety of platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook. These features make it easier than ever to reach customers where they are.

Creating a digital customer experience strategy is crucial to delivering high-quality customer experiences. By taking a customer-centric approach to your online presence, you can optimize the channels used most by your customers. With the help of advanced technology like call centers and contact centers, you have the features and technology you need to build a digital customer experience strategy at scale.

Schedule a demo with one of our team members to learn how Broadvoice CCaaS can help improve your digital CX strategy.