Customers crave enriching, dialogue-driven brand experiences. The CX pillars of convenience, intelligence and experience should no longer be regarded as the sole preserve of premium brands or luxury goods.
The good news is that recent advances have moved the three pillars within reach of everyone. Tech is (and has always been) the great democratiser and with the ever quickening move toward AI driven experiences, the customer data you hold will become the fuel that propels your e-commerce revolution. The better the quality of your data, the better quality your fuel.
As a brand, if you're not collecting and owning all of the data available from you customers' visits and interactions, you're missing a trick. The significance of collecting and nurturing your data for future initiatives cannot be overstated. It will become the foundation of your competitive advantage.
Prominent companies like Netflix and Spotify show us how a comprehensive customer view plus tailored content delivery are the driving force of success. Their example is but the tip of the ice-berg. Data driven companies can extend far beyond that, leveraging their data capabilities in conjunction with machine learning, experimentation and AI.
What's more, brands who strive to automate the execution of their strategic thinking with test and learn cycles will not only grow quicker, they will liberate employees to focus on ever-higher value initiatives. Customer data has never been more important than it is right now.
You need to own your data
A great choice for collecting and owning your data is Optimizely's Data Platform (ODP). There is an ODP Lite plan which is freeware for Optimizely Content and Commerce Cloud customers.
ODP Lite caters to those who need to start collecting data quickly. It's a breeze to install – if you are a developer check out my simple install guide here
With ODP Lite, brands have the freedom to decide when to upgrade to the full-featured product once their data has matured sufficiently. This approach offers the flexibility to advance to the comprehensive ODP solution when you're ready to reap the benefits of more advanced features.
In summary, ODP Lite is a great entry point into the world of customer data collection.
Formalise your data strategy
A data strategy must be articulated to guide the direction and ambitions for your company as a data-driven organisation. At a top level, thought should be given to the following:
Your mission
Outline the goals of your data strategy. Where will the business impact be felt? Consider where you can seize opportunity, for example:
- Customers experience
- Product offering
- Operational efficiencies
- Brand perception
Data
Identify the sources you will collect data from. Consider available websites, social media, email, customer service, reviews, physical retail locations, loyalty.
Map out how these sources can feed a single unified view of data points relevant to your mission. At this stage, you'll need to map out how you will integrate data from various sources and your reporting requirements.
Insight & Action
Closely related to your mission is how you intend to interpret data to create insights that lead to action, quicky. Look for opportunities in automating the Test and Learn cycle. Insights need to feed out into marketing campaign planning & operations, customer service and product development.
Utilising AI capabilities at this stage of your strategy is what gives brands a real competitive advantage as they learn and iterate quicker. They operate in a state of continuous improvement.
Design products, services and experiences to collect data
The next step is to begin the continuously evolving journey of improving the sophistication of your data.
Avoid 'dark patterns' in the user experience, they hurt your brand. Be open and transparent about what you are collecting. The key is to design your products with a compelling value exchange that incentives customers to willingly offer up their data.
Beware of presenting customers with long forms and convoluted journeys as you gather information. The best brands know that even with transparency and a good value exchange, customers will become frustrated by the intrude on their time.
The best brands value loyalty. Loyal customers spend more and advocate for you. Identify loyal customers and treat them with the respect they deserve. Make them feel important with the best hyper personalisation available and progressively build up a rich picture of who they are.
Products, services, and experiences should be designed in a way that encourage data sharing.
- Implement features that incentivise users to voluntarily provide data.
- Invest in technologies that facilitate passive data collection.
- Be transparent about these practices.
- Offer value in return for the data customers provide.
Follow these principles to move your brand into the new breed of customer experience.
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