Customer experience: 5 trends that are changing the game

We all want to provide the best possible customer experience. The one that completes an acquisition scenario, the one that contributes to brand loyalty. Above all, one that creates a strong and lasting relationship with the client. For brands, the digital customer experience represents the holy grail. And the customer journey, Excalibur, the "power" to master in order to win. The problem is that in last years, multiple evolutions, and revolutions, have made the customer journey very difficult to understand. What are some of the trends that impact the customer experience?

1) Omnichannel or the end of the linear customer journey

While, for a time, the customer journey could be represented in a linear way, this era is clearly over. This is due to the multiplication of contact points and networking scenarios. At Club Med, the omnichannel team analyzed that 11 points of contact (website, chat, telephone, shop visit, etc.) determine on average the choice of a new holiday destination. These points of contact are intertwined in countless combinations, to such an extent that it becomes difficult to really draw a "path". 

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2) The era of "Privacy by Design" or the difficulty of reconstructing the customer journey

In addition to the omnichannel nature of the customer journey, there is another difficulty:  readability, which is becoming increasingly difficult to understand. Ever since the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) came into force, users' consent must be obtained before collecting their data. This is because the digital environment is becoming more overall stringent in regard to tracking technologies. The use of the famous cookie, the cornerstone of digital marketing, is increasingly restricted by the latest browser versions.

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It is not easy in this context for brands to reconcile all user data from interactions from a web session, a mobile App, or an exchange with a call center. The only solution is to encourage the user - customer or prospect - to identify themselves as often as possible, both on the web (via a connected space) and in the shop (via a loyalty card). A direct "connection" encouraged with a lot of content. Content tracking is also a solution to better understand users' behaviour and interests. We will come back to this later.

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3) Content shock or ultra-competition of content

Offering users content to encourage them to authenticate themselves is a laudable intention, but it is still necessary for this content to stand out among the huge amount of existing content. Not easy at a time of "content shock". According to this theory, formalized in 2014 by Mark Schaefer, the proliferation of content is so large that it exceeds the available attention span to the point of questioning the profitability of the content produced. 

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It is a fact that the challenge for brands is not only to produce content, but also to ensure the necessary visibility in a highly competitive environment. A distribution of content that requires both technical and contextual accuracy.

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4) The ecology of attention or the importance of micro-moments

Now, your iPhone informs you of the time spent each week on your different applications, while YouTube encourages you to “take a break” after a given viewing time... Functions that are multiplying and have only one goal: to take care of the audience's attention to maintain it over time. An attention that is subject to high demands. 

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Hence the interest marketing teams have in micro-moments: these are times spent in public transport or in queues for example, during which attention can be drawn. However, there is one condition for brands: to be able to produce content that matches the context and form of these micro-moments. A very precise exercise.

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5) Hyperspecialization or the need for a new agility

Offering the right content at the right time and to the right person requires bringing together and aligning a wide range of areas of experts: product manager, brand manager, content manager, social media manager, campaign manager, performance manager... For each of these areas, the time has come for hyperspecialization, especially under the pressure of digital transformation. And the more specialized the professions become, the more delicate their coordination becomes. Not surprisingly, the matrix organizations that exist in many companies do not necessarily simplify the task... The proven interest of companies in agility is also a way to combat their own complexity.

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Want to take action? Find the complete analysis of these trends and the 5 major marketing quests for a successful customer experience in our new ebook: "How to put your content at the heart of the customer experience?"