Customer experience has increasingly been focused on digital for several years, but the events of 2020 have drastically accelerated that change. In recent months, a ‘perfect storm’ of new technology, increased connectivity, new ways of working and social isolation have brought digital engagement to the forefront of customer experience. Today, digital engagement has become the best—and, at times, only—way to reach prospects and customers.
Customers are becoming progressively more used to personalized, seamless digital experiences, and those changing consumer expectations are impacting B2B buying decisions as well. When a customer buys a vacuum or a book online, for example, that experience impacts the way they make buying decisions about B2B enterprise software.
According to Forrester, up to 80% of a customer’s decision to buy is made before they ever speak with an account executive or salesperson. This means that more and more customers are conducting self-research online to inform their buying decisions. Customers expect to be able to visit a website, read a white paper or a blog post, interact with other customers, and try out the software online in a self-service and easy to use manner. And these expectations will only increase as we continue to practice social distancing and prioritize digital interactions.
Faced with these changes, organizations need to ensure they’re providing customers with the right information, delivered through the right channel at the right time. This means delivering a digital platform that provides an exceptional experience throughout the customer journey.
It’s all about the customer journey
So, how does a digital platform benefit your customers?
Let’s imagine a customer experiences a cyber attack. Shortly after, they attend a digital event and listen to a keynote presentation that talks about solutions for the problems they’ve been experiencing. That might lead the customer to sign up for an online community where they can read a white paper or a blog post, watch a webinar on-demand, request a demo and more.
From there, the customer might schedule a workshop or talk to an expert, join an online community to meet other customers with similar business problems, or choose to purchase a new product or extend an existing product offering. With a digital platform, the entire customer journey can happen securely and seamlessly online.
The future of customer experience at OpenText
At OpenText™, we’ve pivoted from physical events to investing in digital customer experiences through the OpenText Digital Zones. Designed to engage our prospects, customers, and partners through highly relevant and memorable digital experiences throughout the customer journey, the OpenText Digital Zones are reinventing the customer experience at OpenText.
To date, we have four Digital Zones, each focused on specific customers’ challenges or technologies:
- OpenText and SAP Digital Zone: Run resilient. Run digital.
- OpenText Content Services Digital Zone: Build a more resilient business with Content Services.
- OpenText Business Network Digital Zone: Flexible supply chains.
- OpenText Security Digital Zone: NEW! Protect your organization.
The Digital Zones provide a secure, trusted platform through which our customers and prospects can engage with important content like white papers, blogs, and analyst reports, connect with OpenText experts and other customers, and try out our products—all in one digital platform. That’s the future of customer experience at OpenText.
