The spotlight shone on the tools, technologies and strategies organizations could adopt from a digital CX perspective during CX Network's All Access CX EMEA.
From gamification and augmented reality (AR), to sustainability and image, the event aimed to address how organizations could take advantage of digital CX initiatives to better present themselves to customers and improve their image.
In this summary on the event, we focus on two sessions featuring international clothing retailers H&M and Boden.
Three fundamental ingredients for a great digital experience
Dominik Olejko, strategic customer insights and engagement manager – Eastern Europe at H&M, began his session by explaining that while he has spent much of the past five years mastering the nuances of omnichannel, it continues to be a major focus for many organizations as we enter an “era of unified commerce”. Olejko spoke of the “ecosystem of service” which has been centered on the customer, focused in on digital and phygital customer experiences.
Olejko listed three fundamental ingredients for a great digital experience. The fundamental first ingredient was meeting consumer needs by ensuring you have the correct product at the correct price point. This, he said, formed the foundation on which a digital CX strategy can be built.
The second vital ingredient was reduced friction, achieved by focusing on how a customer’s journey can be as smooth as possible. Olejko listed process simplification and reduced click-through steps as two effective ways to reduce customer journey friction.
The final ingredient was fun. This, Olejko noted, was the key to nurturing customer loyalty. When an experience has a been truly enjoyable and has tapped into a customer’s sense of fun, they are more likely to remember the experience and seek it out again, he remarked.
Olejko provided his views on gamification, which he described as a popular method for inserting fun into CX. Augmented reality (AR) and phygital experiences were cited as well-suited tools for the concept, inviting customers to use their mobile phones to enhance in-store experiences and gain deeper product knowledge. These tools could also be used to “close the imagination gap” by, for example, showing a customer how a certain product would look or behave in real life via an AR platform.
Taking a sustainable stand and influencing opinion
The final session at All Access CX EMEA saw Ben Dreyer, strategy, sustainability and operations director at Boden, participate in a fireside chat which saw him lament the fashion industry’s poor reputation when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
Dreyer cited the shocking statistic that around 93 million tons of clothing end up in landfill each year. He said, however, that all was not lost, explaining how Boden has been approaching sustainability and providing actionable advice for those hoping to improve their environmental impact.
Dreyer stressed that the key to getting started with sustainability was to not be held back by perfectionism. For those trying to attain senior leadership buy-in for sustainability initiatives, he recommended starting with carbon and packaging, noting “you can quite rapidly have a positive impact with both”.
He pointed to the cost-saving benefits of reducing corporate carbon footprints, saying “many people have this idea that sustainability will cost more money”.
“By reducing your carbon footprint, however, you are reducing costs,” he explained, pointing to Boden’s own success in installing solar panels on its offices, saving the corporation money and reducing its carbon footprint from 2,400 tons per year to 800 tons.
Cost reductions will, of course, satisfy internal finance executives. But what about customers? Dreyer said that by following sustainability initiatives, companies “begin to see a positive brand impact”. This would require strong external communication of sustainability wins and an honest review of progress.
Being open, not only about successes, but also about where improvements can be made would help to communicate authenticity of purpose, demonstrating that sustainability efforts were not simply ‘greenwashing’ exercises, he added.
Another of Boden’s sustainability initiatives Dreyer spoke about was the Care: Repair: Rewear program, under which customers send damaged or worn items back to the company for repair at low or no cost. Dreyer explained that durability and value for money were core to the brand’s mission from its inception in the 1990s, principles he claimed were naturally compatible with sustainability.
Visit CX Network’s All Access CX EMEA to watch all sessions on-demand