Customer Experience is Driving a New Era of E-Commerce

Traditionally, the customer decision journey was depicted as a funnel. ... The idea was that the consumer started out with a specific range of options and landed ... CustomerExperienceisDrivingaNewEraofE-CommercePostedat20:27hinUncategorizedbyMichaelChengThetimetothinkbeyondthecustomerjourneyisnow.Ifthere’sonethingweknow,it’sthatthee-commercelandscapeandbuyerbehaviorcanshiftquicklyinresponsetomajorworldevents.Well-poisede-commercecompaniesreaptherewardsofdeliveringhigh-quality,personalizedcustomerexperiencesthatadapttochangingcustomerneedsandbuyingbehaviors.Theconceptofacustomerjourneysprangintotheindustry’scollectiveconsciousnesswhenretailmettheinternet, foreverchangingthewaypeopleinteractandshopwithbrands.Withtheproliferationofpurchasingoptionsine-commerce,customersshiftedfromprioritizingpricetoprioritizingvalue.Itbecamelessaboutscoringthebestdealandmoreaboutthecompleteexperience–andtherushtocreateafullyrealized,end-to-endcustomerjourneywasborn.Don’tmisunderstand:allofthesethingsarestilltruetoday.Customersarestillseekingvalue,they’restillseekingthebestexperience,andtheystillgivetheirbusinesstocompaniesthathitthesweetspotbetweenpriceandservice.Butnow,consumershavealreadyadaptedtheirexpectationstothemarket’sinitialresponse.Theideaofapersonalizedshoppingexperienceisnowthebaseline,nottheoutlier. It’snolongeraquestionofwhetheryou’repersonalizing,buthowwellyou’redoingit.Aswecoveredinourlastblog,agoodwaytounderstandhowyourmarketingpracticesshouldadapttothisseismicshiftinconsumerexpectationsisbyunderstandingthenewconsumerdecision-makingcycle.McKinseyandCo.providedanuancedanalysisofthesechanges,whichisreferencedthroughoutthispost. Traditionally,thecustomerdecisionjourneywasdepictedasafunnel.Theideawasthattheconsumerstartedoutwithaspecificrangeofoptionsandlandedonthefinalchoicebyprocessofelimination.Brand-namefamiliarityandoffersplayedimportantrolesinbeingincludedintheinitialsetofoptions;themarketingcomponentdeliveredmessagingaccordingly,designedto“push”consumersthrougheachstageofthefunnel.Fig1.TraditionalDecisionFunnel,ImageCredit:McKinsey&Co. Thenewdecision-makingjourney,aslaidoutbyMcKinsey,explainsthedecision-makingprocessasaloopwithinaloop,withoneinitialpurchasedecisionjourneythatfeedsintoaloyaltycycleafterpurchase.Fig2.TheNewCustomerDecisionJourney,ImageCredit:McKinsey&Co.Thisissignificantforafewreasons:1.Thereisnofunnel.Thewholepointofthefunnelwasthatthecompetitionnarroweddownasyouwentthroughtheprocess;peoplestartedwithonebiggroupandtheneliminatedbrandsuntiltheywereleftwiththewinner.Instarkcontrast,consumerstodaytakemattersintotheirownhands:Bylookingupreviewsandresearchingonline,askingforopinionsandreferrals,it’snowthenormtoaddoneortwooptionsaftereliminatingafewfromtheoriginalselection.2.It’satwo-wayconversation.Asintheabovepoint,consumersarenolongerevaluatingorselectingtheirpurchasesbyhowmuchyourmarketingmessageisabletoswaythemonewayortheother.It’snowamuchmorecomplicatedconversation,withconsumersdoingtheirownresearchandindependentlycomparingandcontrasting.It’sonereasonthatroughly70%ofpurchasesareabandonedattheshoppingcart:ShoppersoftenstartlookingforexternalproductreviewsbeforepullingthetriggerandjustasoftendisappeardowntheblackholeofGoogling.3.Itdoesn’trepeat;itrestarts.Perhapsthemostimportantdifferenceofthenewdecision-makingprocessistheinnocuous-seeming“loyaltyloop”addedintothecycle.Theideaoftransactionsbeingacycleisn’tnecessarilygroundbreaking–thisiswheretheideasofcustomerlifecycles,salescycles,andsoforthcomein.Buthere’swhatisgroundbreaking:oncethepurchaseiscomplete,thecyclenotonlycontinuesbutrestarts.Themomentofpurchaseisnolongeraguarantorofsuccess.AsMcKinseypointsout,peoplepurchasecosmeticsandstillkeepresearchingalternativesandreviewsafterthefact.Asaleisnolongerawin;it’sjustanotherstage,andanotherpartofthecyclewherecompetitorscanslipin.Withallthesefactorsinplay,it’scleartoseewhy66%ofmarketerssaythattheirattemptstoprovidevaluablebrandexperiencesare“hitormiss.”Today’sconceptofthecustomerjourney,whichtakesthecustomerthroughaguidedtourofpre-establishedandpre-definedstages,isnolongerapplicablebecauseconsumershavedisruptedthatprocessthemselves.Putsimply,thepersonalizedcustomerjourneyasitexiststodayisastaticresponsetoadynamicproblem.AjourneybydefinitionisaboutmovingfrompointAtoB,andthetraditionalcustomerjourneyisaboutfacilitatingthatmovement–butit’sclearthattoday’sconsumersarenotheldbysuchlinearconstraints.Personalizedandrelevantmarketing,then,mustalsobetakenoutoftheoriginalcontext.It’snotaboutshapingonecustomerjourneythroughmessagingthatisonlyrelevantbecauseitpertainstoeachpredeterminedstage,butratherbeingabletoidentifywhereacustomeriswithinthejourneyatagivenmoment,andprovidingthemostrelevantmessagingforthatcorrespondingspot.It’saformidabletask,tobesure,butit’stheonlywaytostandoutanddelightcustomerswhohavecometoseerelevancyandpersonalizationasprereqs,notperks.Andthoughitsoundscrazy,it’snotimpossible.WeatRetentionSciencewillbedivingdeeperintohowexactlythislevelofpersonalizationispossibleatscale.Theshortversion?ArtificialIntelligenceholdsthekey.Downloadourfreeguideforinsightonhowwedoit: ScientificMarketer’sGuide:RetentionMarketing&PredictiveAnalytics  Didyoufindthisuseful?S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