Capability: Automation refers to operating the customer journey which used to be manual in an automatic and concise way. For example, in the past, clients had to go to the bank or the ATM to deposit a check, but with data digitalization, you can deposit it via an app by taking a picture of the check using your cell phone. Kantar used to build a big sample bank consisting of millions of samples scattered over the world and asked customers to mail their shopping receipts of retail stores to Kantar while nowadays the receipts can be scanned by an app and accessed in real time, which lays a solid basis for a stickier journey. Excellent automation tools can make complex back-end operations simple and provide an interactive front-end experience based on the app.
Forward-looking Customization: Based on automation, enterprises should search for information from their interactions with users in the past and today and customize instant user experience in a forward-looking way. Two familiar examples are Amazon’s search engine and smart algorithm of reordering. But please keep in mind that knowing user preference is just the start; the customization capability must extend to the next step of the customer’s journey. When uses are considered, companies must analyze user behaviors and customize their next interaction based on their analysis. Companies like Pega and ClickFox provided apps to trace user moves across multiple channels and mix data from several sources (like bank transfer, browsing history, interactions with customer service and product use) together for understanding more about user behavior and its consequences. These tools help enterprises manage and analyze user behaviors at any moment, find the moment that can influence users, realize customized functions and push customized information (i.e. upgrading the class for a valuable passenger). Kenneth Cole, a retailer, redesigned their website based on the long-term browsing history of their users: Some users prefer to read production introductions, some for pictures, videos or promotions. The website constantly adjusts content and allocation of the page in response to every user and updates pages for users on a real-time basis.
Scenario Interactions: Information obtained during the purchase journey like the physical location (entering a hotel) or virtual location (reading production introductions) is used to attract users to engage in interactions as the next step. For example, a piece of relevant information is provided based on the current scenario. To be more specific, an airline app may show your boarding pass when you enter into the airport; or when you log into the front page of a retailer, you get to know the current status of your order. The more complex issue is to further trigger interactions, shape and reinforce customer journey. The Starwood Hotel has designed an app that can send the room number to the guest when he enters the hotel and checks in by using his fingerprint on his cell phone; when he arrives at the room, the cell phone can be used as a virtual key to the room; and the app also sends personalized entertaining and catering recommendations at the right time.
Journey Innovation: To find the opportunity and set up relations with the user, enterprises should constantly conduct tests and analyze user needs, technologies and services efficiently. During this process, innovations are required. The ultimate goal of enterprises is to find the new source of value for companies and users. The best enterprises design journey software can make open tests. They regularly conduct AB tests, compare the interfaces of different versions and messages and select the best one; they make prototypes of the new service and analyze test results and add a good step or function to optimize and extend the current journey.
The background of the digital era has influenced the selling mode of enterprises. In the traditional model, sales funnel tools are used to manage the customer behaviors. Now, enterprises devote more effort to construct deeper customer relations by digital means. Sales funnel is an AIDA model (attention, interests, need and action) that is used to explain customer behaviors, which assumes that customers consider many brands when they try to know more about the brands. By a series of inputs and interactions with customers, customers screen these brands and sales can be conducted up until the “purchasing” stage.
As shown in Figure 1.7, the sales funnel is in fact a digital game. Enterprises utilize all kinds of channels and tools (like salespeople, e-mail, calling center, website) to lead clients to reach the next layer of the funnel. Built on hypothetical premises, the model focuses on short-term interactions: “if I can obtain contacts (clients) in number of X, I can get sales leads in number of Y and have orders in number of Z.”
The digital involvement cycle (Figure 1.8) more accurately reflects the decision process of the existing clients, including before purchasing, the commitment and supporting stages. In the digital environment, clients go through every stage of a cycle, search among many network-interactive contact points, know the difference between solutions and evaluate their plans. Under such an approach, the digital client decision process is not linear but is an iterative process. During each interaction, they gradually build their knowledge about a brand till they make the purchasing decisions at the end. At this moment, a secondary circuit is initiated and a new client becomes a loyal one who shares his shopping experience and his opinion on the brand and recommends the brand to others by social media.
Figure 1.7. Traditional marketing funnel.
Source: I. Kaufman and C. Horton, Digital Marketing.
Figure 1.8. Digital participation cycle.
Source: I. Kaufman and C. Horton, Digital Marketing.
Different from sales funnel, the digital involvement cycle aims to develop long-term client assets and “social capital” in the market, transferring its priority from short-term returns to sustainable, mutually beneficial client relations.
How is the digital participation cycle different from the sales funnel?
• The customer development part of the sales funnel is a single-line, downward, linear and fixed part. The digital involvement cycle contains a number of interactions. In the commitment to the purchase stage before and after, there are multiple contact points that join together to form a cycle of the process.
• The customer behavior of the sales funnel ends at the promised purchase stage and the digital participation cycle is followed by the establishment of loyalty, proactive recommendation and support for the advocacy phase after the commitment to purchase.
• Potential customers of the sales funnel can only get to know the product from the initial step in the traditional process; customers of the digital participation cycle may enter the cycle at any stage.
• The key to the marketing the sales funnel lies in the initial stage of knowing the product, working hard to lead customers into the sales funnel; the key to the digital engagement cycle is to focus on the customer at every stage of the cycle.
• The communication strategy of the sales funnel is to focus on sales; the digital participation cycle needs to reach out to and attract potential customers through content strategy and tactics and provide them value, thus building the loyalty.
• The target of the sales funnel is driven by short-term goals and orders; the goals of the digital engagement cycle are driven by long-term goals and customer values.
1.3 Digital Marketing Layout of Leading Enterprises
Quite a few enterprises get involved in the wave of digital transition. Arthur D. Little published Research Report of Digital Transition in 2015, and based on the results of
