Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, customer expectations for integrated, multichannel digital experiences have never been higher. This demand has resulted in the increasing adoption of Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs). Sitecore, a leading customer experience management company and an agencyQ partner, defines a DXP as one that “provides the full suite of tools to power the delivery of personalized experiences that scale and connect – across channels, geographies, and languages”. As a next level above traditional Content Management Systems (CMS) where the objective was primarily to manage a volume of content on one or multiple web properties, DXPs are incredibly valuable to organizations who need to create, deploy and continually optimize their digital experiences across multiple digital channels. DXPs thus marry the improved workflows and management of CMSs with personalized multichannel digital experiences for customers.
As the pressure to communicate personally with customer segments across channels increases – higher engagement, conversion rates and ROI are a powerful pull - I often hear decision makers ask, “Do I need more than my existing CMS? When is the right time to invest in these additional technology capabilities to further my business?”. Here are the top five signals I hear from clients – questions that point to the value that a DXP can deliver to the organization:
“My IT and marketing teams are spending time doing digital tasks that take away from their real job.”
Is your IT team uploading content to your website? Is your marketing team manually entering content into channel-specific management platforms to deploy multi-channel marketing? This likely isn’t an optimal use of their skill, and their time would be better spent working toward the true mission of your organization. With streamlined administrative workflows and multi-channel integration features, DXPs do routine digital tasks for you and free up employee time for higher priorities.
“My website isn’t adaptable to quick changes for optimization.”
Timely and relevant content can make all the difference when looking to communicate with customers or capitalize on a larger moment. How fast were you able to get your COVID-19 response featured on your homepage and other channels? If response time is in question, a DXP’s ability to create and manage components and templates – personalized for audience segments – can help.
“I don’t know what’s happening in other departments’ digital journeys.”
How are you sharing organization level learnings and knowledge? Are different product teams aware of cross sell opportunities? Can insight into content format performance be shared quickly? Do you find your team creating duplicative content? DXPs provide flexible workflows to allow different teams to create and optimize content at their desired speed and optimize for their specific target customer’s journey.
“I know I need channel-appropriate content and audience segmentation, but I don’t have an effective way to measure it or prove success.”
Are you able to measure and communicate your digital success effectively to management? There is nothing more frustrating than knowing you are testing messages, offers, and content to specific audiences, but cannot quickly measure and share results - let alone optimize quickly for successful test outcomes. DXPs provide a central location to manage digital data and behavior to clearly measure – and act upon – effectiveness.
“I have multiple website properties that work fine but don’t really look like they’re part of the same company.”
If your properties and experiences are disjointed, and your team is struggling to manage them efficiently, this is a key sign that your CMS is not set up to allow flexibility across properties (whether for branding or end to end data visibility). A DXP could help your organization benefit from centralized management and more robust marketing features across your business lines.
If you've found yourself thinking any of these points – the inner voice that occurs right after a meeting with your web management team – it might be time to start researching what DXPs can do for your business (and how to best integrate). You would not be alone in taking action – by any stretch. According to research by Markets and Markets, the DXP industry is expected to grow from $7.9 billion in 2019 to $13.9 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.0%. The competition for organizations to put their customers first pre-dated COVID-19, and DXPs offer a way to manage customer experiences profitably across channels, while delivering improved employee productivity for marketing and IT organizations. My clients are acting on these five key signals – are you?
