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CX Brand Strategy Predictions 2023

Why ‘total experience’ is a breakthrough tool in digital’s toughest year yet

By Yvette Yanne | Executive vice president, innovation & transformation

Appnovation

|

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January 27, 2023 | 7 min read

For our Predictions Deep Dive, Yvette Yanne of digital agency Appnovation introduces the concept of ‘total experience’: not, she says, just another fad, but a powerful tool amid tricky times.

Car headlights from above, blurring into an infinity symbol

What's behind the latest strategy trend, 'total experience'? / Sid Verma via Unsplash

With recession potentially around the corner, business leaders are taking the time to revisit digital strategies. They need to target greater internal efficiencies, revise their go-to-market strategies and aim for smarter customer engagement. It’s everything, everywhere, all at once.

Despite the headwinds of economic pressure affecting supply and demand, impacting internal operations and the customer experience, a progressive new trend is cutting a fresh path through the turmoil: total experience (TX).

TX improves how internal and external stakeholders interact by connecting customer experience (CX) and employee experience under a single approach. This unified strategy helps to ensure that all internal stakeholders are fully invested in the customer’s experience and journey. Forecasts suggest that by 2026, 60% of large brands will use TX to transform their business models, enabling them to advocate for customers and employees to world-class standards.

So, what’s driving the growing influence of TX on the digital landscape? Here are three breakout technologies to consider.

1. Metaverse maneuvering

The metaverse may face criticisms for being gimmicky and lacking in substance, but 2023 could well be the year it comes of age. With high-profile brands such as Sony and Manchester City already building their own metaverse experiences, there are predictions that the media channel will comprise up to $2.6tn in e-commerce spend by 2030.

As more businesses explore the potential of the metaverse to harness mixed reality experiences, we can expect it to become more mainstream; even an enabler of world-class TX. Why? By bringing together different combinations of augmented reality, virtual reality and real-world experiences, businesses avail themselves of a highly creative canvas from which to drive customer and employee interactions. This super-agile capacity speaks directly to the external-internal dynamic at the heart of TX mastery. For example, with the help of the metaverse, brands can deliver fully immersive training to disparate local teams worldwide.

Brands considering activating the metaverse/TX dynamic need a well-defined strategy. It's important to clarify the purpose of integrating the metaverse into your TX, who the audience is, and the rationale for investing in it as part of your business's digital ecosystem.

2. AI and machine learning as key TX enablers

Given the intrinsic position that artificial intelligence (AI) already holds in many companies – 73% of cross-industry business leaders see it as a vital component in their playbook – we believe that AI and machine learning are likely to be adopted at scale, in many different sectors, this year. These technologies are well-placed to support TX transformation by improving the intelligence of all digital processes.

The retail and healthcare sectors are already benefiting from AI-enabled solutions to deliver better personalization, improved diagnostics and a more holistic and joined-up approach to CX. In a TX context, AI can deliver more in-depth insights into both customer and employee behavior and deliver business benefits such as identifying supply chain efficiencies or streamlining payments.

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3. Place data security at the core of your strategy

A robust data privacy policy is also fundamental to building a holistic TX. Post-Covid, the face of corporate life is changing at a lightning pace, fuelled by increased digital customer interactions, working from home, superfast connectivity, and cloud-based collaboration.

The new reality of work is more inclusive and remarkably flexible, but increased digitization makes businesses more vulnerable to online attacks. At the same time, it's important that any data security measures don't create unnecessary obstacles or impede hard-won business agility. The guiding principle for TX is to place data security at the core of your digital strategy. This will ensure that data from each customer, employee and internet interface is watertight, while keeping potential breaches under control. Companies that double down on their data security and adhere to strict data privacy rules will also stand a better chance of minimizing cybercrime.

All in the same boat

In a rapidly evolving world, customers' and employees' experiences are increasingly intertwined. Yet companies still struggle to break down long-held siloes and get everyone working from the same page.

The months ahead could change all that. Faced with financial uncertainty, sky-high customer expectations, and rapid tech innovation, brands need every asset on their side. Digital TX is one such strategy: a powerful and agile unifier hiding in plain sight. By embracing TX, every person in the organization can collaborate productively to deliver digital experiences that will weather the mightiest of storms.

For more analysis of tech trends, check out our Technology Predictions hub.

CX Brand Strategy Predictions 2023

Content by The Drum Network member:

Appnovation

Appnovation is a global full-service digital consultancy. We seamlessly integrate strategy, user experience, development, deployment, training and support, allowing clients to continuously innovate their digital services and touchpoints.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, we are a community of 350 people in 15 offices across five countries including Canada, the US, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

Appnovation. Inspiring Possibility.

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