In an era defined by digital transformation, customer expectations are shifting at an unprecedented pace. The rise of seamless online interactions and personalized services has set a high standard, requiring businesses to go beyond traditional methods and design digital experiences (DX) that are intuitive, engaging, and tailored to individual needs. Meeting these expectations is no longer optional; it is a core driver of customer loyalty, brand reputation, and adoption.

Customer impact through digital experience

There’s no shortage of ways a digital experience can significantly benefit customers, whether it is a banking customer disputing charges on a credit card, a patient setting up an online appointment and uploading medical documents, or a consumer trying on sunglasses online using an augmented reality (AR) application.

One notable example is Bank of America, which has heavily invested in creating a seamless digital experience for its customers. They implemented a comprehensive digital experience (DX) stack that includes their AI-driven virtual assistant, Erica. Erica provides real-time support, helping customers manage their finances, track spending, and even receive personalized financial advice. Since its 2018 launch, Erica has driven customer engagement and operational efficiency, surpassing 1 billion interactions and handling 1.5 million daily.

Another compelling real-world example is Cleveland Clinic. They took significant steps to enhance patient experience by integrating a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, a Content Management System (CMS), and a telemedicine platform into their digital experience stack. Before these changes, patients struggled with basic online tasks such as booking appointments, accessing medical records, and communicating with healthcare providers. Since the revision, the Cleveland Clinic’s patient portal has received a 14% increase in same-day visits and reduced average emergency room door-to-doctor time to 17 minutes.

Strategies for designing an effective DX stack

The journey begins by creating an understanding of how the modern customer interacts with technology and what they value most. This knowledge is typically garnered from product requests, support tickets, and social media listening to develop customer journey maps.

After the maps are developed, the next step involves leveraging innovative strategies such as process intelligence (the use of data analytics to map, monitor, and optimize business processes). Typically, process intelligence is leveraged with other tools, such as observability solutions, to provide insights into system performance and user behavior. Combining process intelligence with observability solutions creates a data-driven approach to understanding and improving customers’ digital experiences or the complete suite of software and hardware that supports customer interactions across all digital channels.

These strategies and tools provide a clear view of current operations, allowing you to evaluate potential changes, redesign processes, and predict future impacts using historical data. 

Once you have  determined your strategies and tools, focus on these top five approaches to deliver optimal digital experiences for your customers:

1. Personalize the experience

Customers expect tailored experiences that align with their unique preferences. To meet these expectations while still protecting privacy, enterprises must minimize the data collected by focusing on only the essential personal or business information required.

Trust is paramount, and transparency is critical; therefore, organizations must communicate what data is collected and why. Additionally, adopting an opt-in approach to collection fosters trust and leads to increased engagement and measurable productivity.

2. Focus on seamless integration

A fragmented digital experience can frustrate customers and hinder their journey. Seamless integration of DX stack components is crucial for a unified experience. Invest in tools and platforms that offer robust APIs and support industry-standard integration protocols. This will ensure smooth data exchange and a cohesive customer journey.

3. Prioritize data privacy and security

In an era where data breaches and privacy concerns are rampant, prioritizing data security is paramount. Implement stringent data governance practices and adhere to data privacy regulations. This will build trust with your customers and safeguard their sensitive information.

4. Make AI investments a priority

The use of AI will eventually impact everything a business does, whether it’s customer interactions online with autonomous conversational agents, unlocking the power of data and driving insights into decisions, or predicting application adoption.

5. Continuously monitor and optimize

It is important to continuously observe, monitor, and optimize the customer experience from the customer’s perspective to stay ahead of the curve. If the service level is poor or the application response is slow, customer adoption will never take place. Use process analytics tools to optimize customer-facing activities and further identify areas for improvement.

By understanding the modern customer needs and selecting the right strategies, tools and approaches, you can design a Digital Experience (DX) stack that not only meets the needs today but can evolve and improve over time.

About the Author:

Brian DeWyer is the CTO and Co-Founder of Reveille Software. With more than 25 years of experience in technology, DeWyer provides product strategy and technical leadership in his role as CTO and board member. He leverages his extensive knowledge as a senior IT leader at a large financial services company and previous role as a process consulting practice leader for IBM Services delivering on-premises and cloud-based solution implementations for Fortune 1000 commercial and government clients.

DeWyer has led process change efforts within large organizations, building on content-driven solutions for high-volume transaction processing applications. He is a past board member of the Association of Image and Information Management (AIIM) industry association. Brian graduated from Virginia Tech with a BSME and holds an MBA from Wake Forest University.