In 2019, it was reported that 21% of companies think they’ve already completed digital transformation. When the worldwide pandemic hit as a result of COVID-19 in early 2020, many businesses that operated in a physical environment found themselves forced to adapt their procedures and services into a digital presence.
As we navigate our way into this new normal, we need to think about all of the key ways that digital transformation across the customer journey can build customer loyalty and improve retention...
Apps such as Slack and Zoom have made this transformation easier for organisations to communicate both internally and externally, however, the pandemic showed the importance of having digital solutions in place when direct contact isn’t an option.
Automation
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Something many businesses have discovered since COVID-19 is the rise of customer enquiries despite having limited resources due to country-wide furlough schemes and redundancies.
A proven way to free up your employees time is by implementing digital tools such as chatbots and frequently asked questions (FAQs) on your website. This allows your employees the time to focus on the more tricky tasks that cannot be solved through automation services.
Are you consistent on the web?
How often are you posting content on your website and social media pages? There is no one size fits all, this depends on the type and size of your organisation. Creating a content calendar will help you keep track of your ideas, deadlines and publications.
Publishing too little causes users to seek information elsewhere and will result in them not considering your site as an authority for educational content.
Similarly, overposting can also hurt your traffic engagement. HubSpot found that pages under 10,000 fans experienced a 50% drop in engagement per post if they posted more than once per day. It’s important to be aware of how often you are posting via social media or blog and ensuring when you do, you’re providing value to your followers which will build customer loyalty.
Find your middle ground. Your users may prefer once a week content, or once a day. This comes with experimentation. There is no magic number, it will come with practice and time.
Be aware of the smaller details that are easy to miss. Does your website reference services you no longer provide? Ensuring users can access the most relevant and up-to-date information every time they visit your site is essential.
Protect their data
Protect their data
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In 2018, a law was passed known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requiring organisations to protect any personal data they receive.
If a customer unsubscribes from your newsletter and you continue to send it to them, this is in direct violation of GDPR. Similarly, companies must provide any personal information they have on an individual if that person requests it.
Nothing will lose a customer's trust more than misusing their data. With a rising number of cyberattacks and data breaches in recent years, it’s that much more essential to have a security system in place. Look to companies like HubSpot who have resources from industry experts - check out their ultimate guide to cybersecurity.
Targeted communication
Put your customers first - don’t harass them with emails that aren’t relevant. The key to an inbound marketing strategy is ensuring you’re always providing value and you can do this through personalised content.
87% of consumers surveyed say that personally relevant branded content positively influences how they feel about a brand. Think about it. You’ve probably got a list of unopened emails in your inbox right now which have no relevance to you. That’s probably because you only provided your information to purchase a Christmas present for someone else or downloaded a brochure 7 years ago and your personal taste has changed.
You’re receiving this content that has no value to you and it's feeling like spam. Put yourself in your customers' shoes. Consider where they are in the customer journey and the type of information most relevant to them.
These are the primary considerations of inbound marketing and the steps that should be taken to ensure you’re delivering the right content, to the right people, at the right time.
Welcome to 2020
Forbes explains 53% of people will abandon a mobile site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
We live in a digital era and there’s no getting around that. Your organisation may be doing well with little or no digital presence, but think how well it could be doing if you implemented a digital transformation strategy.
Taking into account that more than half of website visits come from mobile devices, this shows the importance of having a mobile-first website. Customers browsing via mobiles expect to have the same experience as if they were using a desktop or laptop.
Mobile can no longer be an afterthought but should be the first step when creating new pages.
The power of listening
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It may sound obvious - however, internal teams within your organisation might have a disconnect when it comes to communication and what they consider as a priority. Ensuring collaboration is part of your digital transformation project will encourage the likes of your property management and marketing teams to share the experience they’ve had with customers.
Your internal service teams are likely to have a different perspective of customer pain points due to the fact they deal with customer complaints most often. When all teams understand the experience the others have had, a solution can be generated tailored to customer needs. Use internal and external feedback to 'bake' fixes into your digital transformation project so that your end result covers a broad range of perspectives. Find out how to get employees excited about channel shift!
Download our 8 step digital transformation roadmap to help form the right path for your organisation and steer yourselves towards success from the outset.
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