Interest in digital experience platforms (DXP) already was building in early 2018, when Gartner, Inc. released its first Magic Quadrant analysis. That important, in-depth look at the companies and toolsets in the category prompted questions from companies looking to improve their customer experience.
The most common query: How do you know when your organization is ready for a DXP?
The answer lies within.
Understand Your Current Technology and Architecture
What types of tools and technology does your team use today to publish content, communicate and execute campaigns? How are these systems connected, if, at all? Are there smooth workflows built-in to the process that streamline management of content and campaign execution? Are you driving maximum efficiency with your systems?
Know Your Buyer Journey
Document which technologies are used for which parts of your customer journey. Look for gaps and weaknesses to identify the places on the map where DXP capabilities can improve the customer experience.
Are your customers frequently shopping online but struggling to make purchases once in store because the two experiences feel disjointed? A DXP can integrate the online and in-store buyer journey to increase conversions and streamline the shopping experience.
Determine Use Cases
Who will use the new technology? How will it help them be more productive? How much will it improve performance and outcomes?
Know Why You Need a DXP
Understand your reasons for investing in a CX platform, and use those reasons to inform your goals. Is digital marketing difficult -- and frustrating -- because of multiple, disconnected tools? Do you need to transform your business, operating and engagement models? Have digital channels become the primary paths for customer interaction? Do you need to move from web-focused to multi-channel experiences? Do you need to provide more personalized experiences? Are competitors offering better customer experiences? Are your customers demanding more self-service?
Ask Hard Questions About Capabilities
Grill your software partner. What does their toolset do best? Where does it fall short? Does it really do everything claimed, and are those capabilities well integrated? And, most important, will it be interoperable with whatever comes next?
Assess Your Marketing Culture
Can your organization become customer-centric and take full advantage of the sophisticated capabilities offered by a DXP?
Prepare Your People
Are your marketing people eager and ready to adopt new customer experience tools? Are your IT people committed to supporting implementation and the platform going forward? Plan to explicate the capabilities and promote the benefits. Don’t forget to provide training.
Have a Plan
Know your customer experience vision, and determine how to get there. Do you want to make big leaps in capabilities, or take an incremental approach? Map out the steps.
Determine Your Desired Business Outcome
What are your objectives? Attach numbers to them.
Ready to get started on your DXP strategy? Contact Productive Edge today.
