Your customers interact with your brand online in many ways — on your website, through social media, or when making a purchase.

This journey across digital touchpoints defines their experience and shapes their perception — this is what we call digital customer experience.

Think about it: how easily can customers find what they’re looking for on your website? Or get the help they need from support? A smooth experience makes a huge difference.

In this article, we’ll show you how to improve your digital customer experience and create lasting connections with your customers.

But first, let’s look at what digital customer experience means.

What is digital customer experience?

Digital customer experience encompasses how your customers interact with your brand digitally. These digital touchpoints work tandem to create a smooth, memorable experience that makes customers feel understood and valued. They could include:

• Using a mobile app
• Reading marketing emails
• Chatting with support
• Paying through digital channels
• Engaging with social content
• Interacting with smart devices

Take a page from Amazon’s playbook. They’ve perfected the digital customer experience by anticipating what customers want before they ask.

Features like one-click purchasing, personalized recommendations, and real-time delivery updates make the shopping experience effortless. And their customers feel understood and valued.

So, how can you apply these principles to your business? Here are a few strategies that will help:

1. Simplicity:

Shoppers don’t want to waste time. Make your website intuitive, and your checkout process quick.

2. Personalization:

Recommend products based on their behavior or preferences. Use data to anticipate their needs.

3. Consistency:

Make sure your digital presence feels seamless across all touchpoints, whether they’re on your website, app, or chat with support.

We’ll dive into each of these points (and how you can implement them) later in the article. For now, let’s look into why you should care about digital customer experience in the first place.

3 reasons why digital customer experience is important

Most customers first interact with your brand online — through website, social media, or your app. A positive experience keeps them coming back. But a frustrating one will drive them straight to your competitors.

Here are three reasons why you should work on your digital customer experience:

1. Customer expectations are rising:

According to research from PwC, 73% of customers feel a good customer experience is a key factor in their purchasing decisions. And with the digital space constantly evolving, businesses must keep up. If your digital experience is outdated, you risk high churn rates and a lower bottom line.

2. Frictionless experience equals loyalty:

70% of customers believe that connected processes, like seamless transitions between online and in-store shopping, are important for a great customer experience. A simple, fast, and personalized digital interaction boosts customer loyalty — Amazon is proof of that.

3. Mobile matters:

Mobile is now the preferred method of interaction for many customers. Nearly three-quarters of internet users are expected to be mobile-only by 2025. This is why you should ensure your brand’s mobile experience is as seamless as its desktop version. A slow or unresponsive mobile site is a dealbreaker for many.

9 steps to creating a digital customer experience strategy

A solid digital customer experience strategy helps you connect the dots between what your customers need and how your business delivers it. Here’s a comprehensive roadmap with nine actionable tips to help you get started:

1. Audit your current digital experience

A comprehensive digital customer experience audit goes beyond surface-level analysis. You’ll need to deep-dive into every digital touchpoint. The goal is to analyze both surface metrics and the underlying user interactions.

Start by evaluating your website, app, and other digital channels. Ask yourself:

• Is the navigation intuitive?
• Does the website or app load quickly on mobile and desktop?
• Are your customers easily able to find what they’re looking for?

Use heat maps, session recordings, and user testing to uncover friction points in your customer’s journey. Look for slow-loading pages, broken links, and confusing navigation paths.

The goal here is to create a forensic-level understanding of how users interact with your digital platforms. This includes subtle barriers that could be preventing optimal user experience.

2. Prioritize the mobile experience

With more than half of all website traffic from mobile devices, your digital presence must be mobile-friendly. Make sure your website or app looks great, loads fast, and is easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets.

Users expect speed and convenience — anything less can quickly drive them away. A few factors to prioritize are:

Lightning-fast performance:

Pages should load in under three seconds. Slow loading times frustrate users and can significantly impact conversion rates.

Intuitive navigation:

The mobile site should be easy to navigate, with clear and concise menus and a logical flow.

App-like experience:

Using progressive web app technologies can create a more app-like experience, offering enhanced functionality and a smoother user interface.

Minimizing user effort:

Forms should be kept short and simple, and autofill features should be implemented to reduce typing. The interface must be designed specifically for touch-screens, so interactions are easy and intuitive.

By focusing on these key elements, you can create a mobile experience that delights users, drives engagement, and ultimately contributes to business success.

3. Simplify the customer journey

Imagine your customer’s journey as a winding road. They don’t always follow the same path. They might take detours, get distracted, or even get lost.

To understand this journey, we need to map it out. This means using tools — like Microsoft Visio or Lucidchart — to track every step, from the moment they first hear about your brand to the moment they make a purchase (or don’t).

Pay close attention to where they might get stuck or lose interest. By identifying these roadblocks, you can make their journey smoother and more enjoyable.

4. Leverage personalization

Imagine a world where your business truly understands customer needs before they express them. This is what modern personalization looks like.

Use machine learning to create dynamic customer profiles that adapt in real-time. Apart from basic demographics, they account for behavioral patterns, predictive intent, and contextual signals.

Use this data to display relevant content — product recommendations, blog posts, or promotions.

5. Offer real-time support

Live chat services allow customers to ask questions in real-time and resolve issues without delays. Offering this kind of instant support can improve the customer experience by leaps and bounds.

You can also use AI-powered chatbots to handle basic queries, such as order status or FAQs, so your team can focus on more complex issues. But ensure your chatbot has a seamless handover to live agents when needed.

6. Simplify the checkout process

Your checkout process needs to be quick, simple, and hassle-free. Think of it like a fast lane at the grocery store — customers want to get through as quickly as possible. Reduce steps (and the number of clicks) to the absolute minimum.

You can also use AI-powered chatbots to handle basic queries, such as order status or FAQs, so your team can focus on more complex issues. But ensure your chatbot has a seamless handover to live agents when needed.

Payment flexibility is another important point to consider. Give shoppers multiple ways to pay. Credit cards, digital wallets like PayPal and Apple Pay, and even buy-now-pay-later options like Klarna make purchasing more comfortable.

7. Use analytics to continuously optimize

Analytics are your roadmap to understanding customer behavior. Use tools like Google Analytics to get granular insights into user journeys. Track metrics like:

• Page load times
• Click-through rates
• Drop-off points
• Time spent on each page

Then, regularly survey your customers to understand their pain points and preferences. Make sure your questionnaires are targeted and brief, so customers don’t have to spend time on them. Tools like SurveyMonkey or Typeform can help here.

8. Prioritize security and trust

Today’s customers are more security-conscious than ever. They’re not just buying your product - they’re trusting you with their personal and financial information. Every interaction is an opportunity to strengthen or weaken that trust.

Start with the basics: implement HTTPS across your entire site, not just checkout pages. Many customers now check for the padlock icon before entering any information. A secure site improves your search rankings, as Google prioritizes HTTPS-enabled websites.

Write your privacy policy in clear, simple language that explains exactly how you use customer data. Place privacy information contextually — explain why you need certain information.

For example, if requesting a phone number, you can say — “We’ll only use this to send shipping updates.” This immediate context builds trust more effectively than buried legal text.

Here’s how Apple does it.

Remember to display industry-specific certifications that matter to your customers. In fashion, it could be sustainable sourcing, while in tech, it might be security compliance.

9. Measure and adapt

Digital customer experience isn’t static — it’s a living system that requires constant monitoring and refinement. Your success depends on understanding exactly what’s working, what isn’t, and why.

Start by tracking the metrics that directly impact your bottom line. Conversion rate shows how effectively you’re turning visitors into customers. Customer satisfaction scores reveal the quality of their experience. Net Promoter Score (NPS) indicates how likely they are to recommend you. Customer retention rates tell you if you’re building lasting relationships or making one-time sales.

Customer feedback is your compass for improvement. Use surveys strategically — not just after purchase, but at key moments in the customer journey. Ask specific questions about features, usability, and pain points. Then act on what you learn.

Most importantly, set regular review cycles to evaluate your digital experience. Use data to prioritize improvements. Test changes systematically. Measure their impact. Then start the cycle again.

Level up your digital customer experience with Pickcel!

To create an exceptional digital customer experience, simplify and optimize your digital touchpoints — through personalized experiences, a seamless mobile journey, or fast, real-time customer support.

Measure every interaction, use data to adapt, and focus on providing a frictionless experience at every step. By doing this, you can build a stronger, more engaged brand presence in the digital space (and boost customer loyalty!)

If you need help getting started, we’re just a quick message away. Contact our team for a free consultation here.