When the new smart #1 car launched, they wanted to sell directly to consumers–a big change for the brand. 

Their goal was to build brand awareness and entice early adopters. Throughout the campaign, we sought to capture leads by centreing the customer journey around search, social, display marketing, and email nurturing. 

The result? Increased awareness across a variety of media, increased brand consideration, and increased purchase intent. 11% pre-ordered a #1, three times the industry benchmark. 

Listen to the talk below from Adobe, about how smart and DEPT® worked together to drive these marketing wins and set the new standard for personalisation at scale. Featuring Praveen Kumar Sadhineni, Lead – CX CoE at Smart Europe and Yash Mody, CTO Global Adobe Alliance at DEPT®

In 2022, smart went fully electric, rebranding as a leader in the EV market. To kick off this new era, they needed to create excitement around the unveiling, generate leads, and then ultimately convert those leads into pre-orders.

At the same time, they invested heavily in e-commerce. While select dealers would remain, they wanted to sell most of the cars online. This shift in architecture added extra complexities across their tech stack. 

With two monumental changes happening simultaneously, smart needed a sophisticated digital marketing strategy and robust technology to support it. Learn more about what strategies we used to help smart transform into D2C. 

There is a tendency in the B2B e-commerce sector to look across to the top B2C brands and play down the applicability of the features and techniques that make their sites market leaders. The idea that stylish sites and flashy features only fit the B2C model, while B2B should focus on the bread and butter options to fit the typically measured and professional tone of voice that many B2B brands use. This is misplaced thinking, based on the division of B2B and B2C. In reality, there are businesses, there are customers, and there is e-commerce. Shopper psychology spans across each; the features that allow B2C brands to excel in the online space are there because they work. Chiefly, personalisation.

Personalisation has always played a role in commerce. In the past, personalisation existed in retail as an in-store assistant, and in industry as a sales rep that would build a relationship with the customer over time, learning their needs, their pain points and how they liked to conduct their business. These approaches have always led to a much improved buying experience; faster, easier and more accurate. But these relationships take time to build; it’s a long term process of listening, learning and responding. And while human-to-human contact is still very much valued, digital technology, data tracking and analysis can bear the load. When implemented well, personalisation can speed up sales cycles and nurture prospects into loyal customers.

Advancements in digital technology have radically cut the time it takes to understand each individual customer and provide a personalised commerce experience.  This technology is widely available, often built in to your content management system; all businesses now have the ability to implement personalisation strategies into their marketing and commerce efforts. This is good news, seeing as smart personalisation engines used to recognise customer intent can lead to an average profit increase of 15%. The flipside to this, is that personalisation has moved from an added benefit of certain businesses to an expected feature across every experience. 33% of consumers abandoned a business relationship last year because of a lack of personalisation. This is a necessity, not a nice to have feature.

Utilising account specific data

When starting to think about how your business can use personalisation in its commerce sales funnel, begin by thinking about how the company can collect data about customers and visitors. It’s important to begin with data capture, as the implementation of features depends on the type of data collected.

For specific customers, data primarily comes through the account creation process: job function; past purchases; which pages they have previously visited on the site; their dwell time; on-site search history, and so on. If the current data collection on account creation is limited, build this out for future customers and consider requesting current users to update their profile with more information upon their next login. Rather than hiding the motive, make it clear that the company will be using the data for an improved, personalised shopping experience. This clarity will boost the numbers opting in to data sharing, as it clearly offers a mutually beneficial exchange.

Putting this in place, electronics manufacturer Omron was able to create a site that adapts to the needs of each visitor. By using information on the job function of each logged in visitor, the Omron site could dynamically adapt and funnel distributors, systems integrators, Omron employees and end users to the appropriate pages. This is a simple solution, using just one piece of data to adapt the site, but it has a major impact, with the ability to scale up personalisation based on further gathered information.

Making use of digitally automatically collected data

Thinking about data capture also means thinking about the information that is automatically collected when a user visits the site, whether logged in or not. Their location data, the search term that brought them to the site, their onsite user journey –  all of this information can inform your personalisation approach. Personalisation based on this information is subtle, possibly unnoticed as the visitor explores the website. They may not recognise the personalised experience, but will come away thinking that the shopping experience was quick and easy.

This also applies to classic customer segmentations, a general grouping based around shared behaviours. Personalisation doesn’t always mean single individuals. These segmentations can be useful when thinking about broader data automatically collected by new visitors to the site, as the depth of information isn’t there to create an individual response. As an example, an electronic parts company could use site search data to establish a segmentation that prominently displays associated purchases to visitors.

With an understanding of how data is collected, your business can begin planning the execution. At this stage, think in terms of what can be done onsite and off-site. While it is easier to control the onsite content and design, focusing solely on the website can see businesses missing out on the opportunity to fine tune their contact with customers through advertising and direct messaging.

Dynamic content

Onsite, dynamic content is a useful tool to make use of. This is content that adapts based on the data that is fed into the CMS, whether it is account data, previous purchases, search terms, and so on. The most obvious use is often found in the leisure and tourism space; if a visitor clicks on a number of pages relating to Italian destinations, the site can adapt the background images on more general pages to show Rome, Venice and Florence. 

In the B2B space, dynamic content can be used to display relevant information, based on what is known of the customer. If they have listed their job function as logistics, they can be shown contextual information on delivery times and options, while a member of the finance team will see more about pricing options and different payment plans.

Accelerating everyday tasks

Speeding up common processes is another use, particularly helpful when looking to keep long term customers engaged. There will be a number of actions that returning customers have to redo with each visit, the most obvious example being adding items to the basket.

This is particularly important for B2B commerce as orders can be large and complex, and customers are more likely to repeat their orders when compared to B2C. Improving reordering was a key feature when developing Brenntag’s new commerce platform, Brenntag Connect.

As a chemical distributor, Brenntag has a strict process when allowing new customers to use their service. Customers are typically placing large, identical orders, leading Brenntag to create an automation service that places repeat orders and provides relevant contextual information when customers need to make an adjustment. This is a clear indicator of why it’s important to remember that personalisation is not fitting to how customers buy, it’s fitting to how customers behave.

Supplying more information to upsell

When customers are returning to reorder from your company, there is an opportunity to upsell existing products and promote new ones. This goes beyond ‘customers who bought X also bought Y’. This form of personalisation should aim to suggest alterations and explain the reasoning, based on the specific customer’s order. Think of it as a digital representation of the sales rep relationship, understanding the developments in a customer’s business and reacting with new solutions.

It can also be developed into a website feature, an interactive problem solving flowchart or chatbot that allows visitors to input their problem or need and see what solutions the company would suggest.

Optimising site speed

Not every on-site personalisation improvement is interactive and clear for customers to see. Adding in predictive loading is one example, a feature that speeds up the load time for each page on your site based on similar customer journeys.

Customers may never realise that the site they visit uses predictive loading, but they will notice if a site is slow to load. Selling needs to be as smooth as possible; slow loading leads to a larger bounce rate. Installing features, like predictive loading, that uses the information gathered when analysing personalisation can ensure the process never stalls.

Off site-actions

Personalisation also applies to actions that the company makes off-site. Email is one area, automated workflows for customers that left the site without checking can bring them back, boosting conversion through reminders and specialised offers. This can similarly be used for surrounding purchases, following the frequency of repeat purchasing or the typical time it takes for a customer to branch out to a new product.

Also consider how the purchasing journey exists across different touchpoints such as apps, social media and face-to-face meetings. Is it easy to bring up the customer profile and optimise their order based on this information? This kind of integration creates a seamless experience, perfect for B2B’s longer, omnichannel purchasing journeys.

Facilitate an easier commerce experience

In each recommendation, the end goal of facilitating a faster, easier, more accurate commerce experience remains the number one priority. By hitting each aim, the business makes each customer more likely to checkout, more likely to return, and more likely to talk to people in their industry about how great purchasing from your business is. These improvements build up, a snowball effect that ultimately results in increased sales and larger, loyal customer base.

To build a content management, assembly, and delivery engine that meets the diverse needs of your business while enhancing content agility, you must take an approach and make technology decisions that are specifically tailored to your context and customers. We assist brands of all sizes in developing content management strategies for both simple and complex use-cases.

To build a foundation for delivering personalised commerce experiences across the customer lifecycle, you must have the right technology in place, a strong data strategy, and the ability to act on real-time insights. We help brands lay this foundation to support multiple go-to-market strategies and decouple experiences from commerce.

No more guessing – anticipate and fulfil your clients’ needs to create exceptional brand experience through testing, personalisation, and artificial intelligence.

Refine every aspect of your customers’ experiences by experimenting with different combinations of content, layouts, and UX elements through A/B and multivariate testing.

Leading brands across industries including banking, financial services, insurance, manufacturing, digital commerce and more, rely on us to deliver maximum value from their Adobe investments.

Facilitate your personalisation journey using Adobe Target with our expertise and support. Leverage our guidance to deliver A/B testing, experiential targeting, recommendations and more advanced use cases to your audiences.

Leverage our expertise in Adobe Commerce (Magento) to implement the best personalised commerce experiences. We can assist you with D2C, B2B or hybrid use cases.

Despite the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, people are prioritising travel. But such high demand comes with even higher expectations.

The modern traveler doesn’t just want to travel more. They want to travel better.

From airlines and hotels to online booking platforms, companies are pushed to deliver impeccable services and stay culturally relevant and tech-savvy. 

Luckily for brands in travel and tourism, these goals are attainable. The unprecedented demand correlates with the rise of available solutions. Now, delivering the sought-after ‘unreasonable’ level of hospitality is within reach, not only for 11 Maddison Park but also for your organisation.

To help brands meet customer expectations, we have identified four major digital trends shaping the travel industry.

“Our community craves content that provokes wanderlust by highlighting unique destinations and experiences, recommendations, and reviews.”

To stay top of mind with the TikTok audience, brands should:

Explore growth areas e.g. accessible luxury travel, domestic travel, and sustainable travel
 
Collaborate with creators to enhance credibility and authentically represent the brand.

Create save-worthy content that users find valuable enough to save in their ‘travel folder.’
 
Sustain audience engagement by actively responding to comments and engaging with users through comments on their videos.

Immersive experiences allow you to:

Enhance your digital presence
Static online descriptions often fail to capture a destination’s unique appeal. Immersive digital experiences can combine virtual tours, engaging local stories, and user-generated content.

Stand out 
Story-driven marketing campaigns and virtual experiences of hotel rooms and services can help businesses build a personal connection with potential customers.

Showcase cultural richness
Developing interactive platforms highlighting local events and cultural experiences helps fully convey the depth of a destination’s culture and experiences. 

With Apple’s Vision Pro, the writing is on the wall. While it won’t change the world overnight, you should start experimenting with VR and AR to understand the technology behind it. As you progress with the technology and understand how to leverage it, you’ll be in a stronger position as the immersive future continues to evolve.

Image these applications integrated into your product.

• Efficient browsing of destinations without using multiple platforms, apps, and search engines.
• Personalised customer communication system for airlines and airports that helps create a seamless travel experience and fosters loyalty.
• An itinerary curator tailored to individual’s preferences while incorporating hidden gems and advice from locals.
• A 24/7 real-time travel concierge that predicts potential issues and offers solutions immediately as problems arise during travel.
• An assistant that analyses taste in music, art, and culture and helps ‘gig-trippers’ book experiences in advance.
• A personalised ticket booking system based on budget, availability, preference, and the type of traveler.

A travel brand’s website is the digital backbone of success in generating demand and sales.

Effective UX research and solutions can directly and positively impact six out of 10 critical factors travellers consider when booking while indirectly influencing the remainder. 

The key to driving bookings is to stand out and build trust, but meeting the expectations and needs of thousands of visitors is no easy task. To do so, brands need to understand existing and potential customers.

Relying on demographic-based personas is no longer enough. Instead, leading brands are replacing them with mindset and archetype-based segmentation, which in turn fuels a shift toward a more nuanced approach to web design.

Consumers’ expectations around digital customer experiences (CX) have reached new heights. 

Gone are the days when a functional and user-friendly interface was enough to satisfy customers. Today, consumers expect seamless, personalised, and intuitive digital experiences from interaction to interaction. They demand convenience, speed, and relevance in every engagement with a brand. The bar is higher than ever. 

And this rising bar is creating complex challenges for the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industries. 

Even though consumer expectations are higher than ever, BFSI services are in danger of becoming commoditised: perceived as functionally correct but boring.

This is the ever-present challenge of innovation, where progress is quickly taken for granted. As more brands achieve table stakes, more is needed to impress users. 

Data backs this up. It has become difficult for BFSI brands to differentiate themselves. An Accenture survey revealed that 42% of consumers struggle to distinguish between various financial services providers.

To make matters more challenging, open standards like Open Banking in the UK enable any app to provide similar utility. Even tech giants like Apple are entering the financial services space, potentially integrating these features into their core operating systems. 

This means that banks and financial institutions are under pressure to innovate around consumer experience. But with technical considerations, regulatory constraints, internal conflicts, and organisational readiness challenges, how do you do it? 

The answer to standing out lies in the ability to continuously innovate. This includes several core competencies: 

CX optimisation: First, optimising your existing experiences is infrequently prioritised, even though it is highly effective.

In fact, retail banks that leverage CX optimisation reportedly grow three times faster than their competitors. This is because designing personalised software experiences is hard and rarely happens on the first try. But those product teams that improve conversion rates, obsess over task completion, and hustle to reduce time-to-value will outpace those who don’t. 

Product ideation: Ideation is the ability to generate product ideas and bring them to life. Your team might like to talk, but how often do you systematically generate new product ideas and prioritise which ones to work on? Are you testing new technologies (such as AI)? Creating the future of personalised software requires a core competency of repeatable product ideation. 

Concept validation: Once you have a concept and a prototype, how do you validate that it’s a worthwhile idea to invest in? Some subset of ideas will get built, and many of those will fail. The most innovative teams can get feedback on their prototypes and pressure-test them often with existing or prospective customers. 

These core activities, plus traditional software execution, comprise a strong and comprehensive CX strategy.

Getting CX right means being able to do two things simultaneously: iterating on your current digital experiences while also creating new products that drive growth.

This is not for the faint of heart: it takes a lot of specialised skills to get a team to innovate continuously. 

At DEPT®, we specialise in helping BFSI organisations navigate these challenges. With an extensive background in strategy and design, data, compliant solution delivery at scale, and building innovation teams, we can help you put digital customer experience at the centre of your operations. 

Spatial computing, expected to reach a market size of over $700 billion by 2033, integrates AI, computer vision, AR, and VR to merge virtual experiences with the physical world. Many believe that it has the potential to impact the world in the same way smartphones did in the early 2000s. 

With spatial computing, your surroundings become interactive canvases, where every gesture and glance shape your digital interaction. It promises to revolutionise customer engagement, offering immersive experiences tailored to individuals. 

But what does this mean for your industry? 

With a diverse and global team of over 4,000 digital experts at DEPT®, we have many perspectives on the potential impact of spatial computing and how it will extend across industries like fashion, music, retail, health, and education.  

Read on for some hot takes from experts on how they see the future of spatial computing.