Digital Experience Tools

If your business is looking for a way to improve the customer experience online without extensive tech knowledge or a lot of different tools, then it may be time to make the switch to a digital experience platform (DXP). With a better understanding of what a digital experience entails and what the best digital experience tools can bring to the table, you can make a better informed decision for your company's needs and future growth.

What Is a Digital Experience, Anyway?

In simplest terms, a digital experience refers to any interaction between a customer (or potential customer) and a business through digital technology.

What are examples of digital experiences? There are many ways in which a potential customer may interact with or experience a business through technology, with some of the most common digital experience examples involving:

websites
mobile apps
landing pages
email
social media
microsites
eCommerce
connected products
portals
chatbots

Digital experiences matter because they can have a major impact on a person's perception of your brand and whether or not they do business with you. A positive digital experience can build your brand's reputation and improve conversions, whereas it only takes one bad experience to potentially lose a customer for life. At the same time, creating great digital experiences isn't always easy.

Digital experiences have a number of potential use cases. Some of the most powerful examples of how digital experiences are used include:

Driving revenue - Great digital experiences drive in-store sales, product recommendations, and more. From marketing campaigns to the creation of digital product guides, a great digital experience can effectively drive revenue by providing customized product recommendations or even empowering customers to compare multiple products from the same brand.
Capturing zero-party data - Zero-party data can be extremely useful and beneficial to your company's marketing strategy. By adding digital experiences like mobile messaging channels, the ability to submit warranty registration online, and similar digital experience features, it's easier for businesses to collect contact information and opt-ins from customers. From there, the data can be sent directly to your desired system of record.
Increasing brand loyalty - Memorable and positive digital experiences turn customers into brand advocates. Special offers, loyalty programs, exclusive content, and other digital experience features can make digital experiences stand out and boost brand loyalty that pays off.

What Is a Digital Experience Platform?

A digital experience platform (DXP) is software that is designed to enable businesses to create and manage a wide variety of digital experiences across the entire customer journey.

Typically, a DXP allows you to build out the front-end design of a digital experience, with some of the best digital experience platforms empowering you to do this without the use of complicated coding or technical experience.

DXPs also tend to have extensive content management capabilities that allow you to easily create, manage, and reuse content (such as images, text, and videos) across different digital experiences, ranging from websites and landing pages to product guides and more. In some cases, a DXP may offer content management system (CMS) functionality—whereas more robust options may include a full digital asset management (DAM) solution.

Key Functions of a Digital Experience Platform

A DXP makes it possible to manage digital experiences across a variety of digital touchpoints through every stage of the customer journey. Every DXP must have a way for business users to build and iterate on digital experiences without the use of code. DXPs also have a built-in CMS or DAM functionality, as well as built-in integrated analytics capabilities so that users can effectively monitor their digital experiences and make changes based on data.

Meanwhile, most DXPs offer some level of personalization within their digital experience. This can range from the ability to personalize specific pieces of content to dynamically changing the entire digital experience based on a customer's location within the buying journey.

Some DXP technologies also include a version of a Customer Data Platform (CDP), which allows businesses to collect and manage customer data in one place. This functionality within a DXP solution, as well as other functions (like built-in eCommerce and PIM solutions) can make a huge difference in a customer's digital experience with a brand.

What Is the Purpose of DXP?

Ultimately, the main purpose of a DXP is to enable business users (primarily marketing teams) to build and grow upon a wide variety of digital experiences without needing to use code or other technical knowledge. This, in turn, allows businesses to use a full suite of tools to optimize the digital experiences of potential customers with less marketing spend.

DXP vs CMS

Sometimes, there is some confusion between DXP and CMS platforms, as well as their capabilities and limitations. Simply put, DXP and CMS systems are not the same thing. At the end of the day, a DXP enables business owners to build on digital experiences and may have a content management system (CMS) built into it. However, a standalone CMS will not have the functions of a DXP and will instead focus solely on managing content without the capabilities of building a complete digital experience.

In other words, while most DXPs also include CMS functions, a CMS does not inherently have DXP capabilities.

Benefits of a DXP For Your Business

No matter the size or scope of your business, there are numerous benefits that a digital experience platform can provide. While these benefits can vary based on the specific platform offering and its features, there are a handful of key benefits that just about every business can enjoy upon implementing a DXP tool.

Easy to Use

A well-designed and user-friendly DXP will make it easy for any business user to create and build upon digital experiences without using any code. This can save marketing teams from the hassle and cost of learning complex coding or hiring outside help to create the digital experiences their customers expect. Likewise, added features (like CMS and PIM functionality) should be easy for teams to use without the need to set extensive time aside for training on the new platform.

Built-in Content and Asset Management

These days, most DXPs offer built-in content management systems (CMS) or digital asset management (DAM) functionality. This makes it easier for companies to integrate digital assets and other content into digital experiences seamlessly. For example, DAM functionality allows companies to automatically update product information on digital assets (such as product pages and landing pages) as soon as the file itself is updated—with no need for manual updates. This frees up more of your workers' valuable time and resources while ensuring that customers are always getting the most up-to-date information.

Access to Analytics

Many DXPs also include in-depth analytics, making it possible for businesses to gain valuable insights into their customers' digital experiences. Some DXPs will have these analytics tools built right in, whereas others may allow for third-party integrations. Either way, analytics provide the insights businesses need to make changes to their digital experience strategies and improve over time.

Personalization Capabilities

These days, the most successful digital experiences are those that are completely customized and tailored to the customer's unique experience and position within the buying journey. With this in mind, a great DXP should also provide the ability to personalize some aspects of a digital experience (ranging from content within the experience to features within the experience) based on the exact location of the user along the customer journey.

Quick and Easy to Implement

The right DXP technology should also be easy to implement into a company's existing functions. While this is the case with many DXP tools, it is worth noting that this is not automatic. For businesses that want to minimize training and other pain points associated with implementing new software solutions, it's important to choose a DXP that is known for its quick and seamless integration.

Lumavate is an example of a DXP that is known for being easy to implement for businesses of all sizes. Many businesses that use Lumavate have reported that it takes less than one day to make the switch.

Expansive Functionality

While not all DXPs offer the same level of functionality, one of the key benefits of a robust DXP is that these platforms can check off many of the items on your company's list of needs. From DXP and DAM to PIM and more, Lumavate offers more than 40 different integrations within its platform. Meanwhile, Lumavate also releases new product functionality every two weeks, so the list is always growing and expanding.

Cost Effectiveness

When you don't need extensive technical expertise to create great digital experiences, your marketing team can do more with its budget. This makes a great DXP one of the most cost-effective tools (and smartest investments) for your business. When you choose a top-rated DXP like Lumavate, you can rest assured knowing that your choice of DXP is 75 percent more cost-effective than competitive solutions.

No Technical Resources Required

A user-friendly DXP is designed to be used by anyone in marketing—not just those with extensive coding knowledge and technical experience. When you choose a top DXP solution like Lumavate, you can enjoy the ability to create incredible digital experiences with no technical resources required to implement, maintain, or use the platform itself.

Purpose-Built for Manufacturing

If your business is in the manufacturing industry, then you're probably looking for a DXP that is specifically designed with your unique digital experience needs in mind. Enter Lumavate, a platform that was specifically designed to meet the needs of companies that manufacture and sell physical products to help them centralize product data, manage digital assets, and create digital product experiences.

Rather than other DXPs that claim to be "one-size-fits-all," Lumavate recognizes the unique challenges and needs that face manufacturing businesses.

Types of Digital Experience Solutions

A quick search for digital experience solutions online will reveal that there is no shortage of DXP companies on the market. However, who has the best digital experience and which will be the best DXP for your company's needs?

First, it is worth noting that the functionality between digital experience companies and tools will vary greatly. There are also some different philosophies regarding how DXP companies handle product functionality. Some are all-in-one solutions, where a business uses all of the DXP's functionality and doesn't integrate with any third-party solutions. For example, the DXP might integrate into a CRM, but it wouldn't integrate into a competitive digital asset management tool.

Unfortunately, these types of all-in-one tools can be limiting for companies because they lock businesses into a single solution for all aspects of a digital experience strategy.

Some businesses will lean towards DXPs that offer core functionality while integrating with select third-party solutions for other key functionality, such as content or digital asset management and analytics. This type of DXP can be enticing because it allows businesses the freedom to choose the best-in-breed solutions for specific functionality, yet this can also get costly.

Ideally, businesses will opt for a DXP with built-in functionality similar to an all-in-one solution—but with the added integration of competitive third-party solutions. With this combination, businesses can enjoy the flexibility they need with the tools that are just right for them.

Digital Experience Platform Examples

What is an example of a DXP platform? Explore an entire list of digital platforms below:

Adobe Experience Manager
Sitecore
Liferay
Acquia
Optimizely

Each of the solutions in this digital experience tools list offers the basic ability for business users to build digital experiences, but it is worth noting that some require more technical resources and knowledge to get started than others. With Adobe Experience Platform, for example, you will need technical resources and often outside consultants for the initial implementation of the software.

To ease the transition to a DXP and to ensure that businesses get the most out of these solutions, it's a good idea to choose a platform that is easy to integrate seamlessly. Lumavate is an example of a DXP solution that can be effectively set up in minutes by anybody in a company's marketing team.

Meanwhile, Lumavate also offers added features and substantially more functionality than many other DXP platforms on the market because it also includes a built-in product information management solution, form builder, text messaging functionality, and more than 40 out-of-the-box integrations to power your business and enhance digital experiences.

The Bottom Line on DXP Tools

A great digital experience tool is a must-have for any business that is looking to move quickly and improve upon its digital experiences. Of course, not all DXPs are created equal, which is why it's so important to explore your options and make sure you end up with the tool that will best serve your company's needs.

For many growing businesses, Lumavate is that tool. With its wide variety of built-in integrations, ease of implementation, and constantly growing functionality, Lumavate is ready to help your business elevate its digital experiences at every turn. Get in touch today to learn more or to request your free demo.