How do you build a customer journey that serves the good of the company? (Photo: Unsplash)
Naor Man "Digital businesses that do not invest in creating a smart user experience throughout the customer journey - miss out on realizing their potential in a big way"
With the precision of a Swiss watch, the celebration begins as soon as the holiday season ends.
The Israelis are returning from the vacations at the beginning of the Hebrew year in which they closed the sun season and are preparing to ground themselves in the winter, but there are those who are just starting to plan their vacation.
Ski enthusiasts purchase their ski packages long before take off.
In fact, the holidays close long before the peaks of Europe are painted in snowy white.
The current ski season did not start differently, but in the middle there was a twist in the plot.
A warm climate that prevailed in Europe melted the little snow that had accumulated in the known ski resorts and disrupted the dreams of the ski enthusiasts of colorful tracks and slippery slopes.
The travel agents suffered a harder blow and had to deal with many cancellations and postponement requests from many customers, but one of them actually used the situation to her advantage.
The agency's marketing people accurately segmented the customers who had already ordered or were interested in ski packages and divided them into groups according to known parameters such as the time of purchase, the composition of the rooms, the surfing styles (this is known by the selection of the routes and surfing sites), the surfing times and more.
This process did not take long and the next task was to segment the customers who have not yet booked and are debating on the date or destination.
Once the segmentation process was complete, the picture became clearer.
Customers who had not yet ordered a package received attractive offers for extreme vacations in similar destinations without snow, customers who booked a vacation in luxury resorts were given the option of postponement and those who were looking for steep slopes were sent to alternative destinations in Eastern and Northern Europe, where the snow has already piled up compared to the well-known ski resorts in Europe.
The result was almost perfect: unlike competitors who were still trying to understand who was against what, that agency was able to save for itself the income of the winter season.
"Companies that create an orchestrated and precise customer journey definitely get better results," declares Noor Man, one of the pioneers of digital marketing in Israel and CEO of Active Trail. "A customer, whether he buys a product or service online or in a store, wants to be talked to.
that we update him with essential information related to his purchase intentions.
I truly believe that digital businesses that do not invest in creating a smart user experience throughout the customer journey - are missing out on realizing their potential in a big way."
The good news is that the segmentation process carried out by the marketing people is part of a smart customer journey that an organization can build easily and quickly. According to all indications, in 2023 The investment in building customer journeys will be strengthened, and for those who are not yet implementing this winning strategy, here are some trends that will work hard this year and help them get started.
1. Customized content and marketing
The era of "send your bread on the surface of the water" is long over and emails intended for "everyone" deserve to be buried in the sales box.
As in the example of the travel agency above, customized content is the order of the hour that is also in high demand from the customers' side.
According to the latest studies, this move alone leads to a 15% increase in sales and this is just the beginning.
In order to apply the theory of segmentation, the use of an automated customer journey is of course required - and here the numbers already jump higher.
Those who in 2023 have not yet built an automated customer journey and do not know what everyone is talking about, must wake up and immediately.
The reason why it is almost impossible to characterize the "average customer", because everyone has different requirements, expectations and needs.
2. Digital independence for customers
Customers in the digital age want to be more independent and this is good news for marketers and advertisers - if only we prepare for it properly.
It is not for nothing that a Harvard survey found that 81% of surfers try to solve problems themselves before contacting a service representative.
This means expanding the set of services that can be operated and treated without the need to contact the organization's service center.
The latest technological developments in the field of artificial intelligence make the job easier through bots, virtual representatives, production of support videos and even contact via hologram and virtual reality.
Therefore, it is recommended that every smart customer journey should include the premise that the customers are sufficiently knowledgeable about the online purchase processes and what's more, they don't have patience.
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3. Data analysis and monitoring
Much has already been said about the distinct advantages of data marketing, but in Israel it is still not properly utilized and is not treated as a gold mine.
The information is already there and the customers have already agreed (silently) that it will be used appropriately, provided of course that they are given the correct value.
In 2023 this trend is expected to strengthen and it is very worthwhile to invest the right resources to include automation in the customer journey.
Satisfaction surveys and SMS feedback requests are an important step, but the real data is created in the direct interaction with the customers in all marketing channels, in the level of involvement they show in the brand content, the promotions it launches and its values.
Smart use of machine learning will turn this data into reliable business insights.
4. Transparency and close communication
The multiplicity of information channels in the modern era has almost completely changed the branding strategy that believed that information only flows in one direction.
Customers, therefore, have enough ways to gather the information they need before making a decision regarding the purchase of a digital product or service.
The problem is that along the way they may gather wrong, biased or fictitious information that will affect their decision-making process.
A smart customer journey must accurately analyze all stages to control the information distribution process to ensure that the customer is fed through the right channels.
Quite surprisingly, customers even appreciate it because it saves them a lot of time and focuses their search process.
5. Implementation of the habit loop
Almost all of our actions as humans are based on previous habits - and digital purchasing habits are no different.
The real challenge is to track, withstand and anticipate these habits in advance to stimulate motivations and drive to action.
The whole habit is made up of three stages: teaser, routine and reward and as a result, every customer journey must include all of them.
For example, from the moment the customer clicks on the ad on social media, he enters an automatic journey that launches him relevant content, promotions, events, videos, etc. and everything at his own pace.
In conclusion
Without a doubt, customer journey management can provide a lot of information about the customers' decision-making process at any given moment.
If a certain customer has viewed a content element such as a commercial video or an ad on Facebook, it can be understood that he is at the beginning of the sales funnel and must be nurtured until he matures, but if the same customer downloaded the company's catalog and viewed the price list page on the website - this is a sign that he is already ripe for purchase and you should direct the One of the sales representatives or offer him a good value proposition.
A correct understanding of the customer journey and building precise meeting points with him, significantly improve marketing and sales capabilities.
Marketing and digital
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