Solving Business Challenges With a Digital Experience Platform

Delivering customer-first digital experiences with a DXP can help you and your customers as we rely more and more on digital services.

The memory of the day many of us realized the world had changed may be getting hazy, but we continue to see how the recent events have made a huge impact on the way we socialize and interact with each other.

We now live in a world where, more than ever, we rely on digital.

For many of us, the way we engage with business partners and team members, or do business with customers has also changed.  

The one-hour commute and the occasional matcha latte on the way to the office cubicle (or a corner office if you are lucky) has been replaced by a short stroll from the bedroom to the basement, where our offices now reside.

We take for granted the uninterrupted access to information, goods and services at the tap of screen of octa-core smartphone that is more powerful than the computer that was used to fly a space shuttle just a decade ago.

Our requirements are rising

Our demands for always-on experiences, two-day Prime shipping, live and on-demand streaming or the need for better productivity and collaboration with peers continue to rise.

But there’s the other side of the coin that we need to consider. One of the important questions to ask is:

Is the company or brand I represent as an employee able tо offer the high level of service to my customers and partners as I expect from others?

Certainly, in these unprecedented times you and your organization may have different priorities.

Whether you need to keep afloat in rough seas, hold it steady until the storm calms, or want to ride a 10-foot wave, delivering customer-first digital experiences with a DXP can help you reach safe harbor no matter the vertical.

And, in times where more people are relying on digital for anything from day-to-day social interactions to investing in their own future, your organization can leverage technology not only to recover from potential setbacks, but to lead and serve as an example.

Two years after its first iteration, our  “Why Savvy Businesses Lead with a DXP” ebook is more current than ever.

Since then, we have witnessed how our customers who made the smart decision to invest into improving their digital experience were able to increase conversions, achieve operational efficiency, pivot, optimize and scale their presence in the midst of turbulent skies.

And, If I could give you one advice for 2021, “awareness” would be it.

Whether you are a developer, marketer, or lucky enough to have a corner office with a view (but are now forced to work from your home), keep a sharp eye on:

• Market dynamics and competition
• Ways to improve operational efficiency
• Ways to understand and optimize the interactions with prospects, customers, and partners
• Opportunities to maximize the top line and reduce cost though the clever use of technology.

We surveyed a number of industry leaders and they shared their priorities and what prevents them from accelerating their strategy.

For many organizations redesigning their main website to bring it up to date may be their biggest priority and presents an immediate opportunity for growth. One of our customers, for example achieved a 700% speed boost and 50% increase in conversions by simply updating their website to the latest MVC technology. Hip-hip hooray!

But many other businesses, who have embarked on the quest to deliver  to deliver customer-centric experiences will likely make the strategic decision to merge content, data and business logic with a digital experience platform.

And while every case is unique and requires a different approach, there are clear patterns and common pain points across verticals.

Instead of going to the beach, my colleague Amy and I spent the entire summer talking to many of our customers, partners and friends to learn more about the their aspirational goals, pain points and common challenges.

We spoke to many representatives from

• Financial services
• Associations
• Energy and utilities
• Higher education
• Government and public sector

And, while there were common themes across the industries, each vertical had a different take on what was at the core of their digital experience.

Many of the conversations revolved around productivity, ease of use, enabling marketers to be more successful, improving operational efficiency, or simply reducing the reliance on IT.  We discussed things like new and emerging touchpoints and channels, delivering personalized content, security and always-on, high-availability experiences and scalability.

Below I will try to summarize some of the common themes we saw across a variety of verticals and offer you hints on how common business and technological challenges can be solved by leveraging a powerful, customizable and user-friendly digital experience platform such as Sitefinity.

Digital Experience Solutions for Financial Services Providers

Financial services organizations customers are now demanding modern and personalized experiences. More than ever key transactions are done digitally, and customers are looking for personalized content based on their finance needs.

Financial services providers will want to build new or modernize existing consumer-facing web presence to reach new demographics through a diversity of touchpoints.

While web presence, such as financial websites and portals, web and mobile banking applications are primarily used as a marketing or transactional vehicles, the ability to  customize and personalize the experience and integration with custom backend or third-party systems, and industry-specific tools, can facilitate removing impediments and help achieve business goals such as:

• Address the rising customer standards
• Improve competitiveness
• Meet investor expectations
• Ensure compliance and performance

How Sitefinity Can help Financial Services Providers Stay Competitive

Financial services providers can leverage a variety of capabilities such as personalization, extensibility and security tools and deployment options to:

• Integrate important customer data
• Easily manage rates, packages and offerings
• Personalize experiences within customer segments
• Deploy content to multiple channels
• Ensure enterprise-grade security and compliance
• Deliver an always-on experience

Case study: How Hughes Federal Credit Union Grew New Account Openings Despite the New Normal with a Sitefinity-Powered Website

Learn more about Sitefinity for Financial Services

Associations

Many associations are looking to offset the negative impact of COVID-19 on their traditional business models. Creating, customizing and managing highly engaging experiences for members in a rapidly changing business environment  is one of the key priorities to help them steer clear of obstacles.

Common pain points that we noted:

• How to pivot in a rapidly changing business environment
• How to support members digitally
• How to address rising member expectations
• How to simplify and streamline content management

Sitefinity enables associations to integrate their member management platforms, centrally manage content, publish digital assets and roll-out member-centric digital experiences to

• Personalize the online experience for member segments
• Facilitate content discovery with improved site search experience for members
• Drive key registrations and conversions online
• Decrease bottom line cost by minimizing IT overhead

Case study: Association of Legal Administrators Accelerates Digital Innovation with Sitefinity Cloud

See how Sitefinity can help your Association

Digital Experience Solutions for Energy and Utilities Providers

As customers rely on your services to power some of the most critical activities in their lives, always-on access to information, bi-directional communication and self-service should be key digital experience priorities for energy and utilities providers.

Integrating a digital experience platform can help providers address common pain points such as

• Reducing cost through self-service, content discovery and search, chatbots and facilitating access to specific resources and systems regardless of the channel and touchpoint
• Reaching consumers via multiple channels in case of major outages.
• Facilitating digital transformation and Improving the efficiency of marketing initiatives through ability to deliver content to various touch points such as backend systems, pay points or support websites using API-driven (headless) integration and customization.
• Connecting siloed business platforms and visualize data from various sources (including power meters) through data integration

With Sitefinity energy and utilities providers can:

• Integrate important business and customer data
• Create a frictionless customer experience
• Enable on-the-go access to critical information and service availability updates
• Provide personalized access to content and real-time support

Case study: Nova Scotia Power Builds a Foundation for Digital Success with Sitefinity

Learn more about what Sitefinity can do accelerate digital transformation for your energy/utilities organization

Portals and Websites for Higher Education

Current events have a huge impact on the education system as more universities and schools are switching to remote education. And while this changes the game and brings a bunch of new challenges to the table, many higher education institutions continue to search for ways to replace legacy content management systems or integrate with multiple existing websites used by various departments.

With Sitefinity, higher education providers can create and deliver content via a centrally managed hub and simplify management via unified technology in multi-department scenarios, address complexity and increase internal agility.

Case Study: Murdoch University Drives 32% Increase in Mobile Visits with Sitefinity

Learn more about Sitefinity for higher education

Websites and Portals for Local Government and Public Sector

Now, more than ever, citizens demand uninterrupted access to up-to-date information, updates on local regulation and news on current events.

With Sitefinity, local governments and public sector organizations can provide community with relevant information and timely updates on the current situation. Consider security, ease of use, content discovery via global search and the ability to integrate with key systems/or additional data sources in order to reduce effort and ensure timely content delivery and self-service.

Case Study: UK Public-Private Partnership Builds Intelligent Customer Data Platform with Sitefinity

Contact us for more information

So, there you have it. Although organizations and business have different pain points what they have in common is how they can overcome the challenges and reach their goals.

Using a customizable digital experience platform such as Sitefinity, that is easy to use, develop and manage can vastly improve various aspects of your web presence without the need to overinvest or overspend in technology or other resources.

But what if content, or delivering personalized experiences is not your core business? Should you drop your CMS? Should you ignore Sitefinity? Join me for me next blog post where I will look at digital experience platforms from a slightly different angle. So, keep Sitefinity on your shortlist.

Stay safe!