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RESEARCH
ANALYSIS
"best-of-breed" approach often leads to quick results in
TRENDS
the first step but carries the risk of soon having to
integrate a patchwork of individual solutions with one
another.

Why? Well, the customer / consumer / business partner
always perceives the company in its entirety. If the
individual interfaces are not coordinated with one
another, we inevitably go through a less than optimal
customer experience: for instance, would you be happy
if you are offered exactly the same product from your
supplier, at significantly more favorable conditions,
shortly after you have purchased it? Just because the
systems have not recognized that your purchase, the
conversion, has already taken place? Exactly! special systems or manufacturing variants. Mass
customization has reached the mass market with a
That’s why integration of processes and data, as well constantly growing variety of products - from individual
as overcoming departmental boundaries, is the great postage stamps to individual glasses in 3D printing to
promise of various suite providers. Integration out of the inevitable sports shoe.
the box, of course with open interfaces, more and more
a touch of open source, and of course with a partner Identifying interested parties at an early stage,
ecosystem that offers a variety of extensions on the addressing them individually, providing competent
standard platform. support during the purchase and afterwards, and
perfectly matching the production and logistics process
And yes, even if you leave out the marketing loops and to the demand, is what counts.
are aware of the higher complexity of the projects, the
advantage of the holistic view of the customer, based In other words, when data is really the new oil, it is time
on a central database, remains: customers always to find the right oil well, right? We must distinguish
perceive a company as a whole and they do not have between two essential phases along the buyer journey:
to be interested in the details, limitations, or challenges (a) The anonymous visitor (before conversion); (b) the
of individual departments – and that’s exactly why this known (identified) visitor. The aim in both cases is to
“holistic approach” is so crucial for a positive design of collect relevant information about the visitor, evaluate
the customer experience. this information, and display optimized content for the
visitor in real-time. Examples of available information
Data-based marketing requires data – are geolocation, time, device, and access source

the more the better (direct, referral, organic, paid). This little information
already allows an effective optimization of the website.
Because every “intelligent” data analysis lives from If the data is collected and linked to the click behavior
recognizing recurring patterns within a database, it is of all the visitors, meaningful prognoses can be made
clear that the larger the database, the more meaningful about the next possible action. Appropriate analysis
the results and the easier it is to read a customer's and optimization solutions can independently create
“digital body language”. For data protection reasons, it visitor segments, provide information about deviations
is of course never about the individual, but always from the (previously defined) norm and, in combination
about the segment, whereby the possibility of with content management and asset management
recognizing the individual consumer and reaching them systems, offer significant added value for the company.
individually is (at least technically) already an option. ◊
By Daniela La Marca
The first step was “only” about getting the right
message to a person / persona at the right time via the
right channel - which is still easier said than done. In
the second step, we are now experiencing the
possibilities of personalization not only on the
communication level, but also on the product and
service level - and it is no longer just about building

October 2020: Experience Economy: customer-centricity & cross-channel customer interaction 10