{"id":16337,"date":"2021-08-09T18:42:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T13:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cigniti.com\/blog\/?p=16337"},"modified":"2021-11-19T17:04:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T11:34:50","slug":"customer-digital-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/customer-digital-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the customer\u2019s digital experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forrester defines digital experience platforms as “software to manage, deliver, and\u00a0optimize\u00a0experiences consistently across every digital touchpoint.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a survey\u00a0conducted by\u00a0<\/span>Forrester<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0in Q3 2021 on\u00a0<\/span>Digital Platform Experiences<\/span><\/i><\/b>, Salesforce was named as a leader in \u201c<\/span>The Forrester Wave<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u201d Report.\u00a0The key statement in the report says,\u00a0\u201c<\/span>Compared with other vendors we evaluated, Salesforce shows strength in search, digital commerce, and platform certifications. It also has strength in testing and optimization, content creation, customer profile and segmentation, and platform operation<\/span><\/i><\/b>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salesforce,\u00a0like most cloud service\/SaaS\u00a0providers,\u00a0is diligently making incremental improvements\u00a0to\u00a0all of its service offerings to help its customers\u00a0achieve\u00a0business objectives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Delivering business-critical customer experiences\u00a0is\u00a0key to all business establishments. Furthermore, customer experiences are layered at different levels for different customer interaction phases with service providers. Having just a stack of multiple enterprise applications does not necessarily help to achieve customer expectations and improve or enhance their digital experiences.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is always a half-hearted approach towards\u00a0something\u00a0as important as improving and enhancing customer experiences – by mixing up and associating this problem with difficulties around individual IT platforms and the need to really integrate them, this\u00a0results\u00a0in a non-holistic way of looking at digital experiences and transformation strategies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Situational\u00a0Analysis<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The global pandemic which hit just as we began this decade has caused\u00a0us\u00a0to make significant changes to our business models, customer approach and delivery patterns permanently.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact centers which ran\u00a0at\u00a0full speed with numerous contact service operators have all been\u00a0shut down\u00a0and many organizations\u00a0are\u00a0actively moving their workforce to provide remote support with\u00a0the\u00a0same vigor.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although this\u00a0remote\u00a0approach comes with\u00a0a\u00a0different set of challenges, the need for delivering customer digital experience remains the same or even enhanced as more and more\u00a0customers (B2C\/B2B)\u00a0are now\u00a0digitally enabled.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital Challenges\u00a0<\/span><\/b>ahoy…<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Many companies realized that managing this remote workforce posed a new daunting challenge that led\u00a0them\u00a0to accelerate\u00a0their\u00a0<\/span>digital customer experience\u00a0services<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting to market quickly is essential, and many successful companies use prototyping to test new products or features with consumers to get their reactions. And then make any necessary adjustments to address their expectations and preferences,\u00a0which\u00a0adaptability is\u00a0a\u00a0key\u00a0challenge to be addressed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Customers want companies to treat them as individuals, which means personalization. Traditional segmentation-based personalization often focuses on data points like age, gender, and purchase history.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, too often, personalization only applies to one aspect of the customer experience\u00a0strategy. A better answer is individualization.\u00a0This strategy needs to be incorporated into\u00a0the overall customer experience challenges of digital organizations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A key misconception is that customer experience\u00a0management\u00a0is just a matter\u00a0of\u00a0sales and marketing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, designing excellent customer experiences involves putting the customer at the center of everything you do. And that involves everyone, from the CEO on down.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Creating that customer-first culture means that you act in the customer’s interest first, not your own.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Optimizing Customer Experience (CX)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In today’s digital world, besting the competition increasingly comes down to providing the best experience for the customer. That applies whether you’re operating in\u00a0the\u00a0B2C or B2B markets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New technologies are transforming how customers experience your products and your customer service. Think about conversational technology, like Chatbots, Alexa, and Google Home, along with biometric inputs, like facial recognition and fingerprint scanning,\u00a0for gaining momentum\u00a0in optimizing CX.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With all these new tools to play with, the companies that will be most successful are the ones who remember that the focus needs to be on the individual customer and their experience, not the technology. Use technology in service of the end goal\u00a0of\u00a0exceeding\u00a0your customer’s expectations and needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The customer experience shouldn’t include so-called dark patterns, tactics that encourage the user to do something they don’t necessarily want to do. Dark patterns include tricks like forced continuity, where the customer signs up for a free trial only to find the subscription automatically renews without permission.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Go for the\u00a0<\/span><\/b>jugular…<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

We need a broader strategy\u00a0for\u00a0dealing with such an important criterion which fits\u00a0into\u00a0overall IT,\u00a0business services and solution architectures\u00a0across multiple business\u00a0and customer-facing\u00a0systems.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That may boost the bottom line in the short\u00a0and long-term\u00a0timelines, but it comes at the cost of customer trust, which is what you need to grow if you want to retain the customer for the long haul.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another common\u00a0misconception\u00a0is that you should focus on optimizing the customer experience in each channel, but what you should really be aiming for is a consistent experience across channels. Design in each individual channel should consider the omnichannel experience and how to synergize between channels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good customer experience design can transform the customer journey and digital wayfinding can help guide the customer through that journey.\u00a0Digital wayfinding\u00a0will\u00a0transform the customer journey by embedding technology and interactivity into the customer experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Primarily, you want to build a 360-degree view of the customer, including information on their behaviors, affinities, attitudes, sentiments, and life contexts. That data should be collected from across the entire company, drawing from every interaction that your customer has had with you.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And by using a universal identifier for each customer, you can link up that data from all the customer’s interactions with you\u00a0as a service provider.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Customers will benefit from clear information that\u00a0is laid\u00a0out\u00a0based\u00a0on this\u00a0approach.\u00a0Therefore,\u00a0you’ll meet your customer’s expectations and avoid the potential reputational losses that come with\u00a0improper data management\u00a0within customer service\u00a0representatives\u2019\u00a0systems.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaping, Not Dictating,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>the Customer Experience<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Engaging your customer’s emotions is the best way to build a truly memorable customer experience. And the digital world offers new ways to make that happen. The key is to shape rather than prescribe the customer’s experience. By putting the customer in the driver’s seat and allowing them to participate in creating their own experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Disney has designed tactile rendering algorithms that add a three-dimensional feel to touchscreen interfaces, so that you can really feel the ridges and bumps in an image,\u00a0creating a much richer customer experience. Creating interfaces that build themselves as the customer uses them is key to providing the range of choice that allows a unique experience for each individual user.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That means designing algorithms that can mine data and use it to handle any possible choice on the part of the customer, working with live data to alter the experience as needed. For example, several retailers are now experimenting with a \u201cmagic mirror\u201d that can show customers how they would look in different clothes, and even change the lighting to help the customer see how each item will appear at different times of day and in different environments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) become more and more popular due to their relevance in B2C and B2B alike, companies are gearing towards collecting data from diverse channels related to customer data. Customer scenarios, which are persona-based, are a few key options.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, new digital channels like mobile apps,\u00a0and\u00a0social media channels are in\u00a0the\u00a0scope of most organizations due to the ever-growing\u00a0digital\u00a0customer base in these pandemic times.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Salesforce cloud is leading from\u00a0the\u00a0front in this space with its\u00a0diverse DXP stack with\u00a0the\u00a0industry renowned Salesforce Community Cloud, Salesforce\u00a0Commerce Cloud, Einstein Analytics and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salesforce,\u00a0with\u00a0its\u00a0enterprise partnerships with\u00a0IBM,\u00a0SAP, Google, Workday,\u00a0and\u00a0VISA,\u00a0helps\u00a0accelerate DXPs\u00a0to a much higher level.\u00a0Salesforce positions DXP at the center of\u00a0its\u00a0CX strategy due to its prime importance by using different\u00a0customer-driven\u00a0APIs to aggregate and orchestrate data\u00a0to determine and present\u00a0the\u00a0right customer experience (CX) every time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salesforce is designing rich, intuitive customer experiences with its flagship Customer 360 Journey product,\u00a0which generates seamless customer experiences with connected experiences across multiple channels and departments.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Salesforce is reinventing digital experiences by unifying\u00a0Mulesoft<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Anypoint\u00a0Platform and Salesforce Integration Cloud to achieve much broader connected customer experiences by connecting multiple applications, data,\u00a0and any device with\u00a0Mulesoft<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0APIs (Application Programming Interface) to unleash the power of Customer 360 on a much wider scale.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Almost every business in every market competes fiercely. Organizations use a variety of strategies to differentiate themselves from the competition, including multi-channel advertising, product innovation, and enhanced business procedures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When all is said and done, though, it simply isn’t enough. Customer experience has become the most important distinction when it comes to attracting and retaining customers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cigniti\u2019s\u00a0Salesforce testing and consultancy services assist businesses in validating their customized Salesforce functionality and integrations with other business applications. To\u00a0support\u00a0enterprises in implementing Salesforce.com or developing Force.com applications, we provide comprehensive life cycle testing services, including Functional, Integration, and Automation Testing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our testing services cover all Salesforce cloud applications, including Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Community Cloud, as well as a large repository of pre-built and ready-to-use test accelerators for Accounts, Leads, Campaigns, Contacts, Opportunities, Quotes, Cases, Email Marketing, Email Journeys, Subscribers List, Sales Forecasting, Lightning Components, and Lightning Components.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Salesforce Testing Center of Excellence (CoE) at\u00a0Cigniti\u00a0is made up of subject matter experts (SMEs) who specialize in testing Salesforce and Force.com apps. Our testing professionals have extensive functional, domain, and technical knowledge, as well as the skills to cover all aspects of Salesforce testing.\u00a0Cigniti’s\u00a0<\/span>Salesforce Testing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0CoE\u00a0team has created a library of pre-built test accelerators, comprising 300+ manual test cases and automated test scripts, well-defined test data management methods, and a powerful test automation framework for Salesforce.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cigniti’s\u00a0IP-led Test Automation Framework for Salesforce includes more than 90 function libraries to help you get started with testing during your Salesforce deployment. Our Hybrid\u00a0<\/span>Test Automation Framework<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is adaptable and designed to provide clients with the agility they need for their important Salesforce CRM.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cigniti\u00a0prepares\u00a0its customers\u00a0to foray into the digital space with confidence. To understand how we do it, schedule a discussion with our\u00a0digital customer experience<\/a> and salesforce testing\u00a0experts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forrester defines digital experience platforms as “software to manage, deliver, and\u00a0optimize\u00a0experiences consistently across every digital touchpoint.”\u00a0 According to a survey\u00a0conducted by\u00a0Forrester\u00a0in Q3 2021 on\u00a0Digital Platform Experiences, Salesforce was named as a leader in \u201cThe Forrester Wave\u201d Report.\u00a0The key statement in the report says,\u00a0\u201cCompared with other vendors we evaluated, Salesforce shows strength in search, digital commerce, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":16338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3507],"tags":[3712,3710,3493,1002,2415,3711,3709,3714,3715,3562,3713,3716,3718,1453,3717],"ppma_author":[3770],"class_list":["post-16337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-experience","tag-customer-experience-assurance-tools","tag-customer-experience-management","tag-customer-experience-strategy","tag-customer-experience-testing","tag-cx-testing","tag-digital-customer-experience","tag-digital-customer-experience-services","tag-digital-end-user-experience","tag-digital-experience-management","tag-digital-experience-monitoring","tag-digital-experience-platform","tag-salesforce-crm-testing","tag-salesforce-test-automation-services","tag-salesforce-testing","tag-sfdc-testing"],"authors":[{"term_id":3770,"user_id":52,"is_guest":0,"slug":"srinivas","display_name":"Srinivas Bhimavarapu","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Profile-2.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Profile-2.jpg"},"user_url":"","last_name":"Bhimavarapu","first_name":"Srinivas","job_title":"","description":"Srinivas is a Salesforce design, implementation, and testing professional with over 16+ years of IT experience and over 9 years on the Salesforce cloud platform, with strong expertise in Salesforce configuration and administration coupled with Salesforce certification. He effectively manages End-to-End Salesforce digital transformations and COE (Center of Excellence) and works on global Salesforce transformation programs."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16337"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=16337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}