The end of the customer journey?

Enough of that customer journey, but why should you embrace this change? Let's go! :)

Nowadays, fast and endless content stuns consumers with reasons to buy again and again without any healthy pause. Through advertisements, emails and recommendations we are always in constant contact with stores, brands and even retailers. Our coexistence on the internet puts us in a position of continuous customer experience.

Retailers may consider that the relationship with the consumer is linear, but they are not perceived in the same way by customers, who experience interactions as something endless.

Because of this technological era and with expansive technologies, which dictate and give greater freedom to the user, the concept of the customer journey has dissolved, because with a cell phone the form and frequency of consumer and store interaction increase, and who chooses when is the client. The sooner we accept the end of the customer journey, faster we will have results such as: greater customer retention in the long term and being able to expand the business without that limitation.

How to change your mind after hitting the "customer journey" button so much?

The main common motives of retailers are loyalty, customer advocacy and competitiveness and the customer journey can end up being a negative and even harmful path.

A journey always has an end and in this case it can end up being making a purchase or abandoning it and completely stopping interacting with the store. So this journey has a linear concept, right? But the relationship store and customer we want a lasting contact, because we guarantee loyalty and trust, so it is necessary to adapt

to the customer's digital continuum.

If I can't use the customer journey as a foundation, how can I create my marketing and customer experience strategies? Come on, I'll show you some alternatives!

1º- Promoting long-term loyalty and demonstrating value with small moments

In a traditional customer journey, it's common to start by grabbing the customer's attention and bringing them to your website. If the purchase is not made at the time, it is directed to maintain contact until the purchase. But what's wrong with this approach?

The old journey does not visualize the specific needs and intentions of the customer, generic content and advertisements are published for a persona, without considering the real intention of the individual. It's almost like trying to throw a dart in the dark - if it hits the target, it's lucky.

A better approach is to adopt micro-moments that value and satisfy the exact need of the consumer, deliver real value and improve customer relationships.

How micromoments shape a better customer experience

The micro-moment is a moment when the customer has a specific need, such as looking for information or looking for something to buy. Quality depends on the retailer's ability to identify the moment and satisfy that need, if it can fulfill that desire it will be more successful with consumers as they sell more and more.

Tip:Negative micro-moments have a bigger, longer-lasting impact. For example, a passenger stranded at a foreign airport after his flight is delayed, if it brings a useful solution to stop him, it will be remarkable.

It doesn't matter if an action is taken by the retailer, what matters to the consumer are experiences based on the quality of micro-moments. If a customer searches for a specific item and does not find it, he will leave the site frustrated and reduce the chances of returning to make a purchase with you.

But if an online retailer has the ability to allow a photo to be uploaded to their website to find items similar to that one, it makes customers look for what they want without much effort. Micromoments serve as a gateway to new relationships, even though they occur in multiple interactions Setting a more satisfying tone for customers by creating positive micro-moments - with consistency - also generates greater loyalty.

2º- Leave the customer's face more and more

The experience you provide for the customer impacts retention and revenue. A high level of personalization is required for a positive customer experience, fulfilling each personal intent at the time of need is of utmost importance. The traditional personalization process works by algorithms and data generated by buyers.

Having recommendations that fit the customer personas. As AI technology develops, it increases the possibilities of retaining and providing personalized experiences in every interaction. With the use of visual experience platforms, some advanced AI resources, it becomes capable of improving the customer experience, easy discovery of custom products..

How AI capabilities improve customer retention and growth

AI-powered platforms to direct each buyer to the products that best suit their specific characteristics, situational contexts and intentions. Shoppers interact with them via camera search, text, voice, or “buying the look” featured in a specific image.

For example, a customer who wants to buy the same dress as an influencer who follows on social networks can simply upload an image for better research, identifying all items in the image. You can see right away the most similar dresses available, and can complement with some items to complete the look. Due to the extreme ease of finding exactly what they are looking for, it makes the experience more satisfying and memorable, leaving the consumer hooked.

Retailers appreciate shopper conversions, increasing future sales and maintaining the foundation for long-term loyalty. They receive a lot of data allowing precise recommendations, having an exponential growth.

On the customer continuum, every interaction is an opportunity

Having a competitive customer experience needs more than good products and fast shipments. You need to prove that you understand the customer's world, context and needs, and that you seek to bring true value to customers. By following the above two points, your CX will elevate at each touch point.

Once you stop thinking about the customer journey in a linear fashion with a beginning, middle and end, you will find that you have many opportunities for long-term retention and nurturing customers.