Digital experiences for today’s consumer
To talk of “Digital” today is to talk about one of the most significant issues in companies today, and this trend is expected to continue to grow in the coming months. According to Gartner, IDC and Cantor Fitzgerald Research, the market for digital services is a great opportunity, with an estimated size of $71 billion in services and a projected growth rate of 25 percent for the next five years. Gartner believes that 125,000 large companies are now launching initiatives to transform their digital business, while Forrester projects that 65 percent of businesses will be using Big Data analysis to optimize digital experience by mid-2016.
Digital Journeys are not about an isolated mobile application or the creation of a Web page, but a set of applications orchestrated through different channels that seek to generate a unique experience
In this context, brands have to start thinking about engaging with their audiences in a different way, about offering them a new type of content that matches up to the power that technology puts in the hands of users. These technological revolutions are breaking down some of the traditional paradigms: the transmission of messages and the relationship between brands and their consumers is no longer the exclusive domain of traditional, online, social campaigns or viral marketing campaigns. Consumers now expect the brands they love to connect with them and generate a unique and profound experience, by leveraging technology that understands the context and is smart enough to anticipate and surprise the consumer, thus creating a lasting emotional connection.
For us, these technological experiences are what we call Digital Journeys. It is important to stress that Digital Journeys are not about an isolated mobile application or the creation of a Web page, but rather a set of applications orchestrated through different channels that seek to generate a unique experience every time the user engages with the brand. It is composed of software products that include mobile and Web applications, and even sensors and various hardware accessories. Surprise, proactivity and intelligent interactions are the keys to these experiences and creating lasting emotional connections.
Our recent book,The Never-Ending Digital Journey, presents our thoughts and points of view on how to create such experiences. It not only describes how users are becoming more demanding, expecting brands to offer them a more personalized and emotional relationship, but also includes relevant methodologies and processes dealing with how to achieve these objectives that will generate more engagement for brands.
The Digital Journey begins very early in the process of a company, which is why it is necessary to have a holistic vision of the change and solution, with an approach that includes three complementary but separate pillars:
1. Stay Relevant: It is necessary for each company to stay relevant within its industry. Through research, participation in events and so on, they must be alert to what other companies are creating in order to be prepared for the future and stay on top of new trends.
2. Discover: Once the organization understands the paradigm shift, it must think about and come up with the best Digital Journey for its users. They must conceptualize and understand their organizations, analyzing users’ journeys and agreeing on the best way to create emotional connections. The company must dream up specific experiences for customers according to its strategy, objectives and needs.
3. Build: Once the Digital Journey has been defined, it will come to life when manifested in specific products and experiences.
21st century users, “voracious” consumers of technology, will appreciate a brand when they feel a more intelligent and deeper emotional connection
This is a great opportunity for companies. 21st century users, “voracious” consumers of technology, will appreciate a brand when they feel a more intelligent and deeper emotional connection. In short, all companies need to offer a new type of content. They need to think beyond their marketing strategies to enter this new age of digital experiences.
