Customer Experience - Opportunity, challenge and winner

In the recent years, and even more in the years of the Corona crisis - the pandemic has changed habits and appreciate the convenience of certain services. But long before this time – during the turn of the millennium – I had the luck to work in an agency where we tried to explain our customers that data and commerce must be omni present – that was long before there were even the term ‘cloud’ – we called it ‘on air’.

And one customer I worked for – a big luxury fashion brand – got it very soon. They kicked off, brought a initiative and project into being called “The catwalk of knowledge”. That was the first time were we as an agency, as digital developer, designers you name it together with a company, brand, vendor deeply and broadly looked at the end-to-end process of fashion.

Since then, it was clear that brick-and-mortar, stationary trade and e-commerce (and f-commerce and m-commerce – how we called it in the first years) must and have to be converging. The offline retailer is becoming more digital, and the online retailer is also trying to integrate presence and experience elements. The systems converge because each channel wants to balance its disadvantages with the advantages of the other system. And at the same time, both systems have to play to their respective strengths even more: in e-commerce, automation, payment and logistics, and stationary, the on-site experience and the ability to experience the goods.

While both systems used to be fierce competitors, perhaps one reason is still because the brands and companies work in silos - today it's all about mixing the channels as seamlessly as possible. Not just peaceful coexistence, but mutual support is the motto. Stationary trade without parallel digital sales has virtually no chance in competition today. Likewise, e-commerce has no chance without offering personal advice at home, in the shop or at least in the video stream.

It is no longer the actual range of goods that is becoming the decisive differentiating factor in retail, but rather the shopping experience. This is decisively defined by the low-threshold access and the simple selection of products. The result: convergence of the systems. Trade becomes hybrid. Everyone must think less and less in two different competing trading worlds. 

A future that is no longer so far away or I would even say the future is now. A future that makes shopping more beautiful - always available, accessible and joyful. A future that makes the shopping experience digital and much more convenient in the real world, in the brick-and-mortar stores, and create a joy of omni-present / omni-available shopping and customer experience.

I'm happy about it and looking forward for that!

And perhaps you can get your inspiration for customer experience by checking out these short videos:

As mentioned before consumers and buyers have more control over the ways they interact with retail, commerce and business than ever before. They can choose how and when they communicate, and they want to be recognized with personalized experiences. It takes a different view to understand consumers' and unique customer’s journeys. And match all of this with the processes and workflows of an organization. 

Once you understand the customer journey, you’re ready to deliver better customer experiences, which lead to better business results like long-term loyalty, higher revenue, and decreased service costs. If you like to learn more - please have a look and perhaps join this training: