What is a digital experience platform (DXP)? In simple terms
Learn how digital experience analytics platforms (DXPs) let businesses create bespoke customer journeys that keep them coming back.
Businesses that thrive pay attention to how the wider public perceives their brand. Because of this, digital experience platforms become a key tool to make sure potential (and returning) customers keep coming back.
The goal of this primer is to explain the concept of digital experience platforms and why businesses can benefit from using them.
These are the topics we’ll cover:
- An explanation of what a digital experience platform is
- A quick glance at the key components of a DXP
- A list of benefits of using a DXP
- Examples of industries that use DXPs
- A list of popular DXPs
- Factors you should consider before choosing your ideal DXP
Let’s get started.
What is a digital experience platform?
A digital experience platform (also called a digital experience analytics platform) is software that helps businesses manage the experiences customers have across different digital channels. Think of it as a control center for your website, mobile app, social media, and any other place your brand interacts with people online.
It's like an all-in-one tool for your digital presence, letting you create, manage, and even improve those all-important customer journeys.
Since your business relies on a steady flow of web traffic, you're likely looking for ways to make every interaction count. That's where DXPs come in — they're an ace under your sleeve that can make a real difference.
What are the key components of a DXP?
We know there are many DXPs out there, but what makes up a digital experience analytics platform?
Let's take a closer look:
Content management
Think of this as the heart of your DXP. Content management systems (CMS) are like master organizers, allowing you to create, store, and easily share all your text, images, and videos across all your digital channels. This ensures your messaging is consistent, no matter where your customers find you.
Personalization
DXPs have built-in tools that allow you to tailor each customer's experience based on who they are and what they like.
By using data and insights about their behavior and preferences, you can deliver content and offers that are uniquely relevant to them. It's like having a personal shopper for every single customer.
Integration
Your DXP is like a conductor, orchestrating different business systems. It connects with your CRM, eCommerce platform, and any other tools you use to manage your customer relationships and sales.
This means data flows smoothly between them, making sure your customer experience is smooth and consistent from start to finish.
Analytics and insights
DXPs provide powerful analytics tools that give you deep insights into how your customers interact with your digital channels.
You can track things like what they click on, how long they stay on a page, and what they buy. This wealth of data helps you understand what's working and what's not, so you can continuously improve your customer experience.
Customer journey mapping
Customer journey mapping is the process of visualizing a customer's interactions with your brand across various touchpoints.
DXPs often include tools for creating these maps, which help you pinpoint where customers might get stuck or frustrated, allowing you to improve their experience with more accuracy.
Why use a digital experience analytics platform?
Creating memorable customer experiences is key to standing out from the crowd. A DXP acts like your trusty sidekick, giving you the tools to make every interaction count.
But what's in it for you and your business?
These are some examples:
- Happier customers, better engagement: DXPs help you create personalized, consistent experiences across all your digital channels, which leads to happier and more engaged customers.
- Content creation and sharing made easy: They make it easy to create, manage, and share content across your website, social media, email, and other channels.
- Your customers will feel seen and heard: They use data and insights to tailor each customer's experience to their individual needs and preferences.
- Get to know your customers better: DXPs provide powerful analytics tools that give you deep insights into how your customers interact with your digital channels.
- Work smarter, not harder: DXPs integrate with other business systems, such as your CRM and eCommerce platform, to streamline your operations and improve efficiency.
Examples of DXPs in action
DXPs are versatile tools, adaptable to the unique needs of different industries. Let's take a look at how some industries are using digital experience analytics platforms:
The retail industry
Imagine entering a clothing website and being greeted with personalized recommendations based on your past purchases and browsing history. Or picture receiving a timely email about a sale on items you've been eyeing.
This is the power of DXPs in retail. By weaving together online and offline experiences, DXPs help retailers create tailored shopping journeys for each customer.
Think of it as having a personal shopping assistant at your fingertips, guiding you toward products that truly resonate with you.
Financial services
In finance, convenience and security are paramount. Beyond just providing convenient mobile banking apps, DXPs enable financial institutions to deliver personalized experiences at every touchpoint.
For example, a DXP might analyze a customer's financial history and goals to offer tailored investment recommendations or provide proactive alerts about potential fraud. This not only enhances the customer's experience but also strengthens their relationship with the institution.
Moreover, DXPs help financial institutions simplify their operations, automate processes like loan applications and account openings, and ensure compliance with financial regulations.
By integrating data from various sources, DXPs offer a holistic view of the customer, enabling financial institutions to deliver the right products and services at the right time, ultimately driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Healthcare
DXPs play a crucial role in improving patient care and engagement. Healthcare providers use DXPs to securely manage patient information, making it easily accessible to authorized personnel.
They also leverage DXPs to create informative and intuitive patient portals, where individuals can access their medical records, schedule appointments, and communicate with their healthcare providers.
Additionally, DXPs enable personalized communication and education, empowering patients to take a more active role in their health journey.
Popular DXPs
Now that you've got a handle on what DXPs can do, let's look at some of the major players in the field:
- Adobe Experience Manager: Touted as a powerhouse in the DXP market, known for its robust features and ability to manage complex digital experiences.
- Sitecore Experience Platform: Focuses on creating personalized experiences that adapt to each customer's needs and interests.
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Brings together marketing automation, email marketing, and social media marketing into one platform.
- Oracle CX Content: Helps businesses manage content across all channels, from websites and mobile apps to social media and email.
- Acquia Digital Experience Platform: Built on the open-source Drupal content management system, offering a flexible and scalable solution for businesses of all sizes.
How to choose the right DXP for your business
Choosing a DXP is a big decision, and it's important to find one that's the right fit for your business. It's like finding the perfect pair of shoes — they need to be comfortable, visually appealing, and support you in all the right places.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're on the hunt for your ideal DXP:
- Know your goals: Before you even start looking at DXPs, take some time to think about what you want to achieve.
Are you looking to improve customer engagement? Boost sales? Streamline your content creation process? Once you know your goals, you can start looking for a DXP that has the features and functionality to help you reach them.
- Understand your customers: Your DXP should be designed with your customers in mind. What are their needs and preferences? What kind of digital experiences do they enjoy?
By understanding your customers, you can choose a DXP that will help you create experiences that they'll love.
- Features and functionality: Different DXPs offer different features and functionality. Some are better suited for small businesses, while others are designed for large enterprises. Make sure to choose a DXP that has the features you need.
- Integration: Your DXP should be able to integrate with your other business systems, such as your CRM and eCommerce platform. This will help you create a frictionless customer experience and make it easier to manage your data.
- Scalability: Your business is likely to grow and change over time, so it's important to choose a DXP that can grow with you. Make sure to choose a platform that is scalable and can be easily adapted to your changing needs.
- Budget: DXPs can range in price from affordable to quite expensive. It's important to set a budget before you start shopping so you don't overspend.
- Support: When you're implementing a new DXP, you're likely to have questions and need help along the way. Make sure to choose a vendor that offers excellent support so you can get the help you need when you need it.
Next steps
With a clearer understanding of DXPs, it's time to unlock their full potential by pairing them with a powerful ally: An experimentation platform.
Why pair a digital experience analytics platform with an experimentation platform?
DXPs help you understand your customers and their journeys, but experimentation takes it a step further. By running controlled tests, you can uncover hidden insights about your business and make data-driven decisions that truly move the needle.
The best way to complement a DXP is with an experimentation platform that simplifies the entire process, from hypothesis formulation to result analysis.
That's where platforms like Eppo come in.
Eppo is a feature management and experimentation platform that helps you uncover hidden insights about your business through rigorous experimentation.
Here's how Eppo can change your approach to experimentation:
- Effortless experimentation: Eppo streamlines the entire experimentation process, from crafting hypotheses to analyzing results, all within one user-friendly platform. This means less time juggling different tools and more time discovering valuable insights.
- Rapid results: With advanced experiment acceleration techniques (like Eppo’s very own CUPED++), you can quickly gather statistically significant results. Confidently make decisions based on timely, reliable data.
- Data integrity: Eppo natively integrates with your data warehouse, ensuring the highest level of data accuracy. Bid farewell to unreliable data and welcome actionable insights you can actually trust.
- Deep dive analysis: Eppo's robust statistical engine allows you to thoroughly examine your experiment results. Uncover how various user segments react to different variations, pinpoint areas for improvement, and identify growth opportunities.
- Collaborative experimentation: Eppo's intuitive interface and collaborative features encourage active participation from your entire team. Cultivate a data-driven culture where everyone, from product managers to engineers, feels empowered to contribute.
Unlock the full potential of digital experimentation and gain deeper insights into your business.
Learn how digital experience analytics platforms (DXPs) let businesses create bespoke customer journeys that keep them coming back.
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