Customer empathy is a competitive advantage

As an agency dedicated to helping businesses excel in the world of ecommerce, we have seen time and time again how a lack of customer empathy can hinder even the most well-thought-out strategic plans. Many of the clients we onboard come to us with ideas that are focused solely on their own bottom line, forgetting that at the heart of any successful business are the customers.

Embracing a customer-centric approach isn’t just a good deed; it’s a strategic game-changer. Time and time again, brands that prioritize customer experiences outshine the competition in financial success.

So, imagine infusing your strategic planning with the magic of customer empathy – the secret ingredient for progress. This approach will allow you to embark on innovation with a human-centered mindset, decoding the “why” behind your analytical thinking. This fusion leads you to solutions that don’t just inch forward, they propel you in new directions. 

For most businesses, the journey begins with truly understanding people’s needs. Delve into emotions, desires, motivations, and the driving forces behind behaviors. By grasping the thoughts and feelings of your customers, you’re primed to create solutions that resonate. 

With this method, cultural and operational barriers dissolve, replaced by a profound connection to customers. This connection leads to exceeded expectations and improved experiences. Ready to dive in? Let’s talk through five ways to transform your strategic planning.

1. Understand your customers through comprehensive research

Data is definitely useful, but to truly grasp what motivates your customers, you need to go deeper. That’s where qualitative research comes in. By taking the time to truly understand their emotions, attitudes, and behaviors, you’ll gain insights that can’t be found through data alone. Don’t get us wrong – quantitative data has its place, but when you marry that with the power of qualitative research, you’ll gain a holistic understanding of your customer base. 

2. Prioritize customer insights

One key element to transforming your strategic planning is the prioritization of customer insights. It’s easy to fall into the trap of using our own opinions as a proxy for our customer’s needs, but that’s a surefire way to miss the mark. By adopting an objective stance and really listening to our customers, we can gain valuable understandings that will inform every aspect of our strategic planning. It’s not always easy to let go of our personal relationship with the brand, but it’s absolutely essential to put evidenced findings first and ensure that our customers’ needs and desires are at the heart of everything we do. 

3. Invest in informed decision-making

Often, resource limitations are seen as roadblocks to conducting research. But let’s shift that perspective. Research isn’t an optional extra; it’s a savvy investment that pays off. When you unveil customer insights, you’re not just reducing risks – you’re supercharging your decision-making. The benefits gained from well-informed strategies far exceed the costs of gathering vital data.

Think of it as an opportunity, not an obstacle. With research, you’re not just spending; you’re securing the pathway to success.

4. Frame your challenges first

Amid challenges, we often rush to solutions—a natural impulse. However, consider this: dedicating attention to framing solutions themselves. By prioritizing this approach, we establish a robust bedrock for strategic planning. It’s a shift from urgency to measured consideration, and it holds the potential to redefine your organization’s trajectory. Step away from quick fixes and explore the potency of this strategic transition.

5. Champion customers’ voices

Championing the customer’s voice sparks opportunities. By centering on customers, decisions naturally lean towards their experience, not just internal factors like tech upgrades or cost-saving. Even when an advocate is present, remember this: shared insights deepen understanding. They form the foundation for nurturing a customer-focused mindset, turning empathy into a collaborative force across the entire business.

Elevate your customer empathy quotient

At JH, we help eCommerce brands on Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source bridge their empathy gap by continually seeking a fresh customer perspective. We undertake generative and evaluative research to inform everything from strategic plans to interface designs. And we help clients adopt habits that make them truly customer-centric.

To help you, we’ve created a couple of self-assessment tools to gauge the effectiveness of your research activities and roadmap planning. To receive these, fill in the form – where you will also have the chance to enter a giveaway to win a charming JH memory bear. After completing the assessment, why not connect with us? We want to know how you’re performing.

One area of confusion is the difference between ‘cross-channel‘, ‘omnichannel’, and ‘multichannel’ marketing strategies. By exploring these terms and their benefits, we can clear up any confusion and help you make the best decision for your business. So let’s investigate what these terms mean and how they can benefit you.

What is cross-channel marketing?

Cross-channel marketing is all about connecting with your customers across multiple channels. We’re not just talking about sending out a bunch of emails or posting on social media. It’s about creating a seamless experience for your customers, no matter where they are. 

Think about it, your customers are constantly switching between different devices and platforms throughout their day. They might be reading their inbox on their phone, browsing search engines on their laptop, or scrolling through social media on their tablet. By utilizing cross-channel marketing, you can reach them at each of these touchpoints and make sure they get a consistent message from your brand. 

Figuring out which channels your audience prefers and personalizing each channel is an important aspect of cross-channel marketing. Are your customers more active on social media? Do they prefer email? Once you have that figured out, it’s all about creating a consistent and tailored message that works across those channels.

Some key aspects of cross-channel marketing are:

Coordinated cross-channel strategy

Cross-channel marketing amps up your reach by strategically coordinating your campaigns across multiple channels. This creates a seamless, consistent message for your audience no matter which platform they use. 

Increase cross-channel reach

By using cross-channel marketing, you have the power to reach a larger audience thanks to the variety of platforms available. Each channel offers the opportunity to connect with different segments of your target market, amplifying your brand’s visibility and presence.

Personalized touchpoints across channels

Cross-channel marketing enables businesses to create personalized touchpoints with customers based on their behavior and preferences. By tailoring your message and content to suit the individual, you can effectively address their needs, desires, and pain points at various stages in the customer journey.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is similar to cross-channel as it allows you to deliver a seamless and integrated customer journey across marketplaces, devices, channels, and platforms. 

When comparing omnichannel and cross-channel marketing, the main difference is that omnichannel integrates marketing efforts, data, and strategy under one umbrella while cross-channel does not.

With omnichannel, data is organized centrally and becomes more reliable. This creates more chances for personalization as customer data is synchronized, making it easier to deliver personalized content and messages. This approach enables retailers to offer shoppers the products they need, when and where they need them.

So how does it work? Let’s say someone finds your company through a Facebook ad and decides to view your website. With omnichannel marketing, you want to make sure that the messaging and branding on your website match what they saw in the ad. And if they decide to make a purchase, you want to make sure that their shopping cart is saved across devices, so they can seamlessly continue the checkout process on their phone or tablet.

Some key aspects of omnichannel marketing are:

Customer-centric focus

The primary goal of omnichannel marketing is to ensure customers have a convenient and engaging experience, regardless of the channel they use. By prioritizing the needs and preferences of your customers, you can create a unified experience that encourages brand loyalty and satisfaction.

Connected interactions

In an omnichannel strategy, all customer interactions are interconnected, allowing for a smooth transition between various touchpoints. For example, a customer browsing your website on their phone can continue shopping on your desktop site or in-store, experiencing the same level of personalization and tailored recommendations.

Data integration

Omnichannel marketing relies on integrated customer data that provides a holistic view of each individual’s preferences and behaviors. This information enables businesses to offer relevant content, promotions, and offers across all channels, enhancing the overall customer experience.

What is multichannel marketing?

Multichannel marketing is using different marketing channels to reach your audience. Instead of just relying on one method, like email or social media, you’re spreading your message across various platforms to maximize your chances of connecting with potential customers.

Think about it like fishing. If you only cast your line in one spot, you might catch a few fish, but you’re limiting your chances of reeling in a big one. But if you cast your line in several different spots, you’re increasing your odds of catching something awesome, right?

So, multichannel marketing works the same way. You’re casting your marketing net wider, reaching people through different channels. This approach amplifies your brand visibility, as you’re able to reach a larger and more diverse audience who might have different preferences when it comes to how they like to receive information.

Some key aspects of multichannel marketing are: 

Diverse channel selection

Multichannel marketing involves implementing a mix of channels, such as email, social media, content marketing, paid advertising, and traditional avenues like print or TV ads, to reach your audience. By leveraging each channel’s strengths, you can optimize your overall marketing strategy and reach a wider range of customers.

Channel-specific strategies

With multichannel marketing, each channel has its unique strategy, catering to the specific characteristics of that platform. For example, social media campaigns might focus on building brand personality and driving customer engagement, while email marketing is more targeted towards nurturing leads and driving conversions.

Measurement and optimization

If you use multichannel marketing, analyze the performance of each channel to determine which are most effective in achieving your business goals. Through data analysis and performance metrics, you can optimize your marketing strategy by allocating resources to the most successful channels and maximizing the return on investment (ROI).

What approach is best for me?

Choosing the right strategy depends on your business goals, resources, and the preferences of your target audience. To determine the best fit, consider these key factors:

Customer experience

If delivering a completely unified and immersive customer experience (CX) is your priority, cross-channel or omni-channel marketing may be best suited for your business. 

Personalization

For businesses looking to personalize messaging and engagement at specific milestones in the customer journey, cross-channel marketing offers the flexibility and customization needed to create targeted touchpoints.

Channel diversity

If your focus is on actively engaging with customers via multiple channels, without necessarily linking the messages or strategy between them, multi-channel marketing is the ideal approach.

How Dotdigital helps your cross-channel marketing strategy

Here at Dotdigital, know the importance of implementing comprehensive marketing tools tailored to your business goals and target audience. That’s why we’ve developed an innovative cross-channel platform as an all-in-one solution to help manage your channels.

With the Dotdigital platform, you can:

Connect with your customers on all their favorite channels

In today’s world, reaching savvy customers through multiple marketing channels is essential to stay ahead of the game. With Dotdigital, you can effortlessly connect with your audience across various touchpoints, leading to a more effective and rewarding marketing strategy.

Create seamless customer journeys

Dotdigital’s marketing tools help you send personalized messages to customers through email, text messages, and social media. By enhancing their experience at every stage of their journey, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships and drive engagement.

Supercharge your email marketing

Email is a powerful way to stay in touch with customers who want to hear from your business. Dotdigital’s email builder makes designing eye-catching emails a breeze so that you can grab your customers’ attention and inspire them to take action.

Turn texts into sales

Have you considered using SMS marketing to reach your customers? It’s a quick and effective way to connect with them in real time. With Dotdigital, you can integrate your text messages with other channels like email and social media to increase your chances of making a sale.

Grow, convert, and retain with social media retargeting

Looking to expand your customer base? Dotdigital has got you covered. With Facebook Lead Ads, you can easily acquire new leads and grow your marketing lists. Plus, keep your current customers engaged by showing them targeted ads after they visit your website.

Reduce barriers to purchase with live chat

Forrester says using live chat on your website can increase conversion rates by up to 40%. With Dotdigital’s live chat feature, you can make it easy for customers to get the help they need while also increasing their happiness and likelihood of buying from you. 

Reach customers anywhere with push notifications

Dotdigital helps you stay connected with customers by sending them timely push notifications on their smartphones. These messages remind customers of your business and encourage them to take action, like making a purchase.

Summary

So there you have it – the key differences between cross-channel, omnichannel, and multichannel marketing. Now that you’re in the know, it’s the perfect time to reevaluate your marketing strategy. The good news? Dotdigital’s cross-channel platform can make the journey smoother and more effective than ever before.

Embracing AI (Artificial Intelligence)

One of the standout talks for me was Richard Potter’s exploration of digital experiences in the new era of AI with Microsoft. As an SEO Content Specialist, I use AI daily to brainstorm, create outlines, and find new ideas when facing writer’s block. But did you know Microsoft’s Generative AI technology goes even further? It can tackle everything from content generation to summarizing text and, believe it or not, even creating poetry. I mean, who would’ve thought AI could be this creative? 

Richard emphasized that AI is here to empower and enhance our marketing abilities. It’s like having a super-smart sidekick helping us test new concepts, experiment without limits, and scale our efforts like marketing pros. And no worries, our jobs are safe.

Mastering cross-channel marketing

Following a delightful lunch break and some networking, I discovered the power of Parkdean Resorts’ cross-channel strategy in an intimate breakout session. Parkdean Resorts’ presentation highlighted the importance of reaching customers across multiple platforms, especially since an impressive 6.92 billion people now have access to a smartphone. By studying their customers and engaging with them through various channels, their team increased their reach by 20% and achieved an 88% uplift in conversions. Talk about marketing magic.

One of the standout elements of their approach was the use of personalization, tailoring messages to individual customers based on their preferred channel. This strategy led to more relevant communication, which is the essence of marketing, right? They even utilized our newly-acquired company, Fresh Relevance, to enhance its personalization, showcasing the potential benefits for other businesses. Parkdean Resorts is a great example of what’s possible when we think outside the box and are open to new approaches to our digital marketing efforts.

Customer-centric personalization

During the next presentation, I was absolutely captivated by the creative ways that Travel Chapter utilized personalization to build genuine, lasting connections with its customers across its 50 brands.

Travel Chapter knows that its customers want unique experiences. By simplifying newsletter sign-ups, they’ve lowered barriers to customer engagement and fostered better connections. Additionally, by utilizing zero-party data, they’ve gone the extra mile to gain insight into customers’ traveling habits and preferences, enabling them to deliver even more customized content. 

Travel Chapter’s efforts are certainly paying off – with a 4% increase in click-through rates, it’s clear that customers are responding positively to their efforts. By keeping the customer at the center of everything they do, Travel Chapter is setting a new standard for personalized travel experiences.  

Keynote speaker: Tim Peake

As the Dotdigital Summit neared its conclusion, I was captivated by a truly special and unforgettable final talk delivered by astronaut and pilot, Tim Peake. He shared his amazing space adventures, and everyone was fascinated by his stories from outer space.

While Tim Peake’s presentation centered around his breathtaking space missions, he also emphasized the significance of maintaining a resilient mindset and unyielding determination when pursuing our aspirations. Drawing from his personal encounters as an astronaut who had to overcome immense challenges against all odds, he provided the audience with a fresh perspective on perseverance.

He also highlighted the value of teamwork, resourcefulness, and effective problem-solving as key components to achieving success in our respective fields. These inspiring insights resonated with everyone, sparking the drive to make even the wildest dreams a reality.

With Tim Peake’s uplifting message still echoing in our minds, attendees, including me, walked away from the Dotdigital Summit feeling invigorated and ready to chase our dreams, no matter how big they may be.

Summary of Dotdigital Summit 2023

In a nutshell, the Dotdigital Summit 2023 was the perfect fusion of visionary ideas, cutting-edge tools, and inspiring stories. The impacts of AI, cross-channel marketing strategies, customer-centric personalization, and the importance of mindset and perseverance were all on display, offering invaluable education and motivation for digital marketing enthusiasts.

It’s worth remembering that all these phenomenal insights, success stories, and examples of innovation are within your grasp – it’s up to you to take the lessons learned and apply them to your digital marketing journey. 

Do you feel like you’ve missed out on all the action? Don’t worry as you can always get virtual Dotdigital Summit tickets and have access to the same level of inspiration and insights at your fingertips. So mark your calendars for an opportunity to grow, learn, and aim higher in the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing. 

1. Tap into eRFM

eRFM customer modeling is a good way to determine whether your customers are genuinely engaged. This tool empowers you to categorize customers based on their past behaviors and actions. eRFM looks at data from four metrics: engagement, recency, frequency, and monetary value.

With eRFM modeling you can develop comprehensive customer segments. Each RFM persona receives an engagement score, so you can identify customers who are primed for conversion, and those who need to be re-engaged. With detailed segments, you can use eRFM to adapt your email marketing strategy to send the right message to your audience at the best time.

2. Predictive AI (Artificial intelligence)

By utilizing predictive analytics powered by Dotdigital’s WinstonAI, you can turn insights into action. Using AI, you can segment your customers based on predicted actions such as a customer’s anticipated next purchase date. This enables you to create timely and relevant marketing campaigns that reach your audience at the perfect moment. Not only does this help you keep your customers, but it also ensures that your messages remain relevant and the conversation continues.

You can use predictive analytics to forecast what products your customers may be interested in next. WinstonAI will analyze browsing history, past purchases, and spending patterns to understand your customer’s unique tastes and interests. This allows you to offer tailored product recommendations before they even know what they want themselves.

3. Behavioral segmentation

Unlocking the full potential of email marketing begins with understanding your subscribers through behavioral segmentation. Start by closely monitoring their email interactions; keep a keen eye on email metrics like opens, clicks on links or attachments, and conversions. This data lays the foundation to help you create highly effective messaging and content.

For ecommerce business owners, understanding your customers’ buying patterns is important. Take a closer look at your customers’ purchase histories, average order value (AOV), and category preferences. This information can assist you in not only refining your segmentation strategy, but also creating personalized campaigns that cater to each customer’s interests and needs.

4. Lookalike segmentation

If you’re looking to reach potential customers who share similarities with your ideal buyers, why not try Dotdigital’s lookalike segmentation tool. To start, you’ll need to use the single customer view (SCV) feature.

Dotdigital’s SCV gives you a holistic view of every one of your customers. You can see all your customer’s interactions, preferences, and behaviors from different touchpoints like email, SMS, and website activity. This helps you better understand your target audience and you can recognize their behavior patterns and trends. With this knowledge, you can optimize and tailor your email marketing campaigns.

Once you have insights from your SCV, you can then identify ideal customer profiles to represent your best buyers and create lookalike segments based on that information. With just one click, you can use these segments to effectively target the right prospects with the right message.

5. Self-segmentation

You can get customers to self-segment using preference centers. Encouraging your customers to select their preferences at an early stage in their journey allows you to use zero-party data to create customer segments.

In the preference center, your subscribers can set and modify their content, frequency, and communication channel preferences. Then you can create segments using selected preferences to easily send messages to your contacts based on their expressed interests in your brand and products.

Alternatively, you may want to send out a survey or questionnaire to learn more about your audience and hyper-personalize your messages. Let’s say your customer service survey asks someone their job title and you find that your audience base has many teachers. Try sending out messages that align with their interests and career seasonality to strategically deliver the right message at the right time to the right people.

6. Preferred channel segmentation

When it comes to cross-channel marketing, recognizing your customer’s preferred channels is your secret weapon for maximizing audience engagement. It helps you discover the communication methods your audience prefers most. 

Start by segmenting your audience based on their preferred channel. By doing so, you will not only increase the efficiency of your segmentation strategy but also ensure a seamless cross-channel customer experience for your customers.

It’s also a good idea to maintain an up-to-date contact list of your customers’ preferred channels. This way, you can easily pinpoint where they’re most active and tailor your cross-channel marketing approach to resonate with their preferences.

By reaching out to your contacts through the channels they’re most likely to engage with, you’ll be well on your way to forging meaningful connections and nurturing long-lasting relationships with your customer base. 

7. Event-triggered segmentation

Segment customers based on key milestones in the journey with your brand. You can do this by sending them a special discount on their birthday or celebrating their brand anniversary. 

Sending personalized messages to your customers is an excellent way to demonstrate appreciation and foster brand loyalty. For instance, if you have customers who were born in a specific month and haven’t engaged with your brand in a while, you can segment this group and provide them with a customized birthday discount. This not only encourages them to come back, but also demonstrates your consideration for their special occasion.

Summary

By using these seven innovative segmentation techniques, you can deliver personalized and relevant content to engage your customers. When you make your messages more in tune with individual preferences and interests, you’re much more likely to boost engagement, form deeper connections, and ultimately make your customers happier.

In other exciting news, we are thrilled to announce the acquisition of our long-term partner, Fresh Relevance. With this move, we are able to provide you with the best CXDP experience, empowering you to consistently deliver customer experiences that go beyond expectations. Read more about it here.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

Save time and do more with WinstonAI

WinstonAI, Dotdigital’s marketing intelligence engine, has continued to grow and evolve. From send time optimization and product recommendations, to generative AI assistance, WinstonAI is on hand to make your work life easier. And with this release we’re adding even more features to our generative AI capabilities, helping you streamline your campaign creation process.

Grammar and spell check

What is it?

Built into the campaign builder, WinstonAI will scan your campaign content and provide a spelling and grammar check across email, SMS, surveys, and pages and forms. This will let you know of any errors found and offer suggestions, leaving you in control to adopt as you see fit.

WinstonAI is powered by GPT and our partnership with Microsoft ensures that all data is always secure.

Why is it important?

WinstonAI grammar and spell check allows you to save time, so you can focus on the more creative and important elements of your campaign.

• Reduce time spent proofing campaigns
• Streamline sign-off processes
• Communicate with confidence
• Reduce typos and grammar errors
• Keep standards high and maintain brand reputation
• Spend more time focusing on creative and strategic elements of your campaign

How to get started

Our grammar and spell checker, powered by WinstonAI is now available within the campaign builder. To note, if you don’t want to utilize WinstonAI, there is a toggle option to disable WinstonAI suggestions, so you always have complete control.

SMS in one-click

What is it?

This new WinstonAI feature enables you to easily convert email campaigns into SMS messages with just one click. WinstonAI will do all of the hard work for you and suggest an SMS campaign with copy that is aligned with the message of your email campaign.

Why is it important?

A cross-channel approach is key, and SMS adds a lot of value to your marketing mix. With incredible engagement rates, 60% of SMS are read within 1-5 minutes, and the ability to cut through the noise of a busy inbox, SMS campaigns should be a part of your marketing strategy.

This new feature means you can focus on the message first, and the channel second. Creating SMS has never been this easy, allowing you to increase your reach in no time at all

• Save time and drive far more engagement with just one click
• Deliver cross-channel experiences in seconds
• Focus on creating your message first, and channel second

How to get started

When you’ve finished writing your email in our campaign builder, simply click on the WinstonAI icon and select “convert to SMS”. You’ll then find the suggested SMS campaign in the SMS editor and all that’s left to do is hit send. If you’re not sending SMS yet, start by setting up a free trial in your account.

Shorten SMS

What is it?

Ever written the perfect SMS campaign only to realise that you’ve gone over the character limit? WinstonAI can now analyze your text and provide a shortened version that is suitable for mobile messaging while retaining the essentials of your original content.

Why is it important?

Adhering to the 160-character count limit for SMS texts is crucial to avoid sending multiple consecutive messages and impacting your billing. The WinstonAI shorten SMS feature simplifies the task of condensing lengthy messages, without losing their core meaning. You will also receive the character count of the shortened message.

How to get started

You’ll find the WinstonAI Shorten SMS tool in the SMS campaign editor. Simply click on the WinstonAI icon and select “shorten message” to receive your alternative text.

Elevate your strategy with enhanced SMS

SMS is a great tool to have in your cross-channel strategy. It lands in the palm of your customers’ hand and gets the message across in rapid time. This release we’re launching a host of improvements to your SMS experience. This includes making SMS campaign creation easier, offering improved SMS number capture, and delivering detailed new reporting.

Advanced revenue attribution for SMS

What is it?

Get more insight into campaign performance with our new advanced revenue attribution for SMS. By tracking both direct and assisted campaign revenue, you can now easily identify how different touchpoints are performing throughout the customer journey. This is already available for email and now we’ve added the capability to SMS to ensure you can effectively report on campaign performance across both channels.

Why is it important?

Customer journeys are anything but linear and each touchpoint deserves recognition. ROI is a crucial metric for any business so reliable, detailed reporting is key. A comprehensive understanding of the marketing journey and every individual campaign’s impact is invaluable for managing budgets, future campaign planning, and campaign optimization.

How to get started

Find out more about our revenue attribution models in the help center. To benefit from assisted revenue attribution you must be on a CXDP or Amplify package.

Commerce SMS capture

What is it?

Consumers are shopping on mobile devices more than ever before, so we’re making it easier for our ecommerce partners to maximize every conversion opportunity. Merchants using Magento, Shopware, Shopify, or WooCommerce can now capture SMS numbers as part of the check-out process. Shopify merchants are also able to offer an SMS-only checkout to their customers.

Why is it important?

Embrace the mobile shopping trend by integrating SMS capture at checkout and letting consumers decide how they want to be contacted, keeping your brand connected to the pulse of the customer.

• Acquire more marketing contacts that are opted-in to receiving SMS.
• SMS checkout allows customers to complete their purchases faster.
• Send tailored mobile offers and discounts via SMS.
• Send order updates directly via text messages keeping shoppers informed throughout the whole purchase process, leading to higher satisfaction.

How to get started

You must be a merchant using either Shopify, Magento, Shopware, or WooCommerce and SMS. Head to the help center and search for your ecommerce platform to find out more.

Think bigger with extensive integrations

Our integrations allow you to bring your whole customer journey together and share data every step of the way to better inform your marketing strategy. We know how important fast, accurate data flows are, so we made our API even better.

New integrations area in Dotdigital

What is it?

In our new integrations area you will find a comprehensive directory of all of Dotdigital’s tech integrations, including Dotdigital-built, verified partner and app extensions such as Facebook and Google ads. The integrations area is categorized and has search and filtering functionality, plus each integration will have a profile with a description along with instructions on how to install.

Why is it important?

A core part of our offering as a CXDP is our ability to connect with your entire marketing stack. You can now easily find the integrations you need to create a seamless customer experience that delivers conversions and improves ROI.

• One centralized database for improved visibility and connectivity.
• Have the confidence that the integration you’re reviewing is either Dotdigital built or verified, making choosing new tech easier.
• Discover the steps needed to self-install, or how to get in touch with our partners.

How to get started

You can visit the new integrations area from your Dotdigital account. Not a customer? You can also check out our integrations in the partner directory here.

API V3 and improved rate limits

What is it?

Our all-new API offers a top-of-class CXDP experience. Whether you’re wanting to push data into Dotdigital or send it back to other systems, this new API is changing the game. We’ve also enabled higher rate limits for our existing APIs.

Built with the latest RESTful technology, with service versioning embedded from the start, our family of APIs allow you to:

• Integrate quickly with any other system
• Make up to 6,000 calls per minute so data will always be up to date
• Read data in 30ms – that’s five times faster than you can blink

Why is it important?

These new services are the first of a new batch that will be focused on ensuring our customers and partners can integrate even more seamlessly with Dotdigital. This enables you to freely exchange data which in turn drives incredible customer journeys using our communications and automation capabilities.

• Our CXDP allows high-speed data access without burdensome rate limits.
• Sync insight data as you can now retrieve all modified records since your last call.
• Contacts can be identified using any identifier for improved visibility.
• Consolidate many API calls into one by optionally including other contact related data when getting your contact details.

How to get started

Visit the Dotdigital Developer hub for all information relating to our APIs.

The new Dotdigital is now available to all customers

We’ve spent the last few years re-building Dotdigital from the ground up to be able to offer you the functionality of a powerful data platform, paired with our customer experience and marketing automation tools. In short, Dotdigital is now a CXDP.

What is it?

We’ve kept all the things you already love about Dotdigital, and amplified them. Built on our core values of sustainability, privacy, and security, we are continuing to grow the platform to support your business in even more areas.

Dotdigital’s data platform functionality combines email and SMS data to create a unified, single source of truth for your contacts. Unified contacts allows you to bring your data into one place, enabling you to build a deeper connection with your audience.

Why is it important?

Unified contacts, gives you more insights than ever before – all in one place. You now have more ways to identify customers, so you can match up associated data with identifiers including (email, mobile number, and unique contact ID).

A joined-up customer data platform allows you to create an engaging, cohesive customer journey. In today’s market, going beyond the expected is key for brands who want to stand out, be memorable, and offer an exceptional experience.

• Engage with your customers on their preferred channels for optimal engagement and an improved customer experience.
• Deliver a seamless cross-channel experience with multiple touchpoints across the customer journey.
• Gain a 360° view of your contacts to better understand them enabling you to market directly to their interests.
• Deliver campaigns that engage at scale with hyper-personalization techniques and tools that appeal to your audience.

How to get started

We’ve done all the work, unified contacts is now a part of your Dotdigital account from today.

Other key updates

New look and feel: homepage and better UI

You’ll notice a new, refreshed homepage now featuring key performance metrics and personalized recommendations to help you identify key opportunities and effectively manage your to-do list. We’ve also upgraded our navigation and redesigned the SMS editor, making the platform easier and more intuitive to use.

A Dotdigital PWA

We’ve developed our own progressive web app (PWA) for the Dotdigital platform. This app makes it easier for you to access the Dotdigital platform. Simply pin the new app to your task bar at the bottom of your screen for instant, easy access. Head to the help center to find out more.

Shopware multi-store support

Shopware merchants can now connect multiple storefronts to one Dotdigital account in order to communicate with customers more effectively. Having a multi-store setup connected to one back end store can save time and admin work, this is especially valuable for ecommerce merchants that serve multiple countries.

App blocks for partners

The new partner app blocks enable to partners to build their own blocks for customers to use in the EasyEditor. This gives you more control and flexibility over what layouts you use in your campaigns. Plus, automatically matching campaign style functionality saves you time by removing the need to manually adjust the style via the code.

SMS regulations for Singapore

In order to send SMS in Singapore, marketing providers need to be able to block incorrectly formatted sender IDs, as these are considered a risk for illegitimate messages. Our latest update supports this change – get in touch with your Customer Success representative to enable the change in your account.

At Dotdigital we know it’s hard to keep up with the sending rules and regulations of different countries. We keep on top of it for you so that you can continue to send SMS in 220+ countries across the globe confidently.

Improved login experience

We’re increasing the login inactivity window from 2 hours to 3 days. So you can go away for a long lunch or even a long weekend, without being logged out of the platform.

Join the webinar

Personalization and the human touch

Even in our technology-driven age, people appreciate a personal touch in interactions – that’s why personalization remains a vital marketing tool. Human-to-human (H2H) marketing strategies focus on creating individual experiences, like personalized videos or understanding prospects’ interests through social media. These tailored approaches attract quality leads and boost conversion rates.

Why not level up your workflow by blending personalization with marketing automation? Trust us, it’s a game changer, making your marketing feel even more genuine and engaging to your audience.

How to personalize with marketing automation

When done right, marketing automation adds a human touch by catering to each contact’s unique needs and preferences. It teams up with personalization effortlessly, helping you deliver tailor-made experiences at scale. Here are four ways to achieve that:

1. Segment your audience

When it comes to reaching your audience effectively, segmentation is key. Dotdigital offers powerful tools that allow you to create segments based on various criteria, such as age, location, and RFM score. This means you can tailor your marketing efforts to specific groups within your audience.

By utilizing automation programs, Dotdigital makes it easy for you to create segments and deliver targeted messages. This not only saves you time but also ensures that your audience receives personalized content that resonates with them.

2. Use dynamic content

Dynamic content is a game-changer when it comes to email marketing. It enables you to provide personalized and targeted content to your recipients in one email. Achieving this is possible by tapping into your customer analytics and creating engaging content, which can be delivered at scale using dynamic content blocks and smart program logic.

Imagine being able to display images of local stores to recipients based on their location, making them feel like you’re right there with them. Or recommending products based on their recently viewed or purchased items, giving them that extra nudge toward making a purchase.

With dynamic content, you can create highly relevant and engaging emails that cater to each recipient’s unique preferences and behaviors. It’s like having a personal assistant who knows exactly what your customers want, delivering the right message at the right time.

3. Customer-driven journeys

Gone are the days of a one-size-fits-all approach to automation programs. In today’s customer-centric world, it’s all about giving your contacts control over their journey. Instead of bombarding your customers with generic content, why not offer multiple paths based on their actions and preferences?

But it doesn’t stop there. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches like remails to find what truly resonates with your audience. Keep testing and refining your strategies until you discover what works best for each segment of your contacts.

4. Leverage behavior data

Tapping into behavioral data is the key to understanding your audience by tracking their actions and responding in a way that resonates with them. With Dotdigital, crafting automation programs that respond to your contacts’ behavior as it happens becomes a piece of cake, paving the way for timely and relevant communication.

Imagine noticing a shopper leaving items in their cart, and effortlessly sending them a gentle trigger to encourage the completion of their purchase. Or, picture welcoming a new subscriber to your newsletter by guiding them through your brand’s journey, all the while showcasing meaningful offers, using marketing automation.

By harnessing the potential of behavioral data, you’ll never miss an opportunity to connect with your audience when it matters most, leading to stronger relationships and increased satisfaction.

Combine marketing automation and personalization for maximized results

Both personalization and marketing automation have their merits, but combining the two can help you unlock your full marketing potential. With tools like Dotdigital, you can provide personalized experiences at scale, catering to each contact’s unique interests and preferences, without sacrificing the efficiency and reach of automation.

1. Make your content mobile and desktop friendly

In today’s digital age, it’s important to ensure that your content is not only visually appealing but also optimized for both mobile and desktop devices. With more and more people shopping and browsing through their phones and laptops, it’s important to review how your website performs across different devices and make any necessary optimizations.

By making your content mobile and desktop friendly, you can provide a pleasant browsing experience for your users. Nobody wants to zoom in or scroll endlessly just to read the content or view product details. So make sure that your website and email design is responsive, with easy navigation, readable text, and properly sized images.

Optimizing your website for mobile devices can also help reduce abandoned carts and increase conversions. If users find it difficult to navigate or complete a purchase on their phones or tablets, they are more likely to abandon their carts. On the other hand, if the checkout process is smooth and user-friendly on all devices, it can lead to higher conversion rates.

2. Turn abandoned carts into revenue with crafty email follow-ups

The holiday season is here, and with more shoppers turning to online shopping, it’s the perfect time to focus on fine-tuning your abandoned cart recovery strategy. Don’t let those potential customers slip away – give them a chance to save their carts for later.

One effective way to reconnect with shoppers who’ve shown interest in your products is through personalized emails or messages. By sending follow-up messages tailored specifically to their abandoned carts, you can remind them of the items they left behind and entice them to complete their purchase.

Whether it’s a friendly email highlighting the benefits of the products or a text message offering a limited-time discount, these personalized approaches can make a significant difference in recovering lost sales during this busy holiday season.

3. Add a personal touch to your messaging

When it comes to holiday messaging, personalization is key. Gone are the days of generic mass emails and cookie-cutter marketing campaigns. Today, it’s all about creating a personal connection with your audience.

By utilizing the data you’ve gathered from preference centers and first-party data sources, you can tailor your messages to cater to each individual’s preferences and behaviors. This level of personalization not only shows that you value their unique needs but also increases the chances of engagement and conversion.

Imagine receiving an email that speaks directly to your interests or a targeted holiday ad that showcases products you’ve been eyeing. It instantly creates a sense of connection and makes you feel understood as a consumer.

4. Sprinkle some holiday magic into your SEO

The holiday season is the perfect time to sprinkle some festive magic into your website’s SEO. By incorporating festive keywords throughout your SEO copywriting and product descriptions, you can capture the attention of shoppers who are in the holiday spirit.

One way to add a touch of holiday flair to your SEO is by updating your meta tags and headings to showcase that seasonal spirit. By including keywords like “holiday deals,” “gift ideas,” or those related to your product, you can align your website to what customers are searching for at this time of year. By with your customers’ seasonal searches, you can increase the chances of attracting more traffic to your website. 

You can make the most out of your website traffic by incorporating a clear call-to-action (CTA) section. Not only does it help enhance your click-through rate, but it also allows you to drive revenue. By organizing your CTAs with various links, you can cater to the different interests and preferences of your visitors.

To make your CTAs engaging, use simple language that is easy for users to understand. A user-friendly layout will also encourage them to take action. Remember, the goal is to create a seamless experience that entices users to click and explore further.

5. Be social media savvy

The holiday season is the perfect time to have some extra fun on social media. With so many people spending time online during this festive period, using paid and organic social methods is an effective way to reach both new and loyal customers.

On Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, you can use targeted ads to connect with your desired audience uniquely. These platforms offer a range of gamification options to incorporate into your ad campaigns. You can create engaging content that resonates with your demographic using interactive quizzes, polls, and immersive storytelling experiences.

By adding gamification elements to your social media ads, you can transform the user experience from passive viewing to active participation. This approach not only increases brand awareness but also encourages interaction and engagement with your target audience.

But why stop there? For an added layer of flair and authenticity, team up with influencers who resonate with your target audience. Collaborating with influencers can help you tap into their engaged followers and create a buzz around your brand during the holiday season.

Time to wrap up

These five simple and engaging tips will help make your holiday marketing campaign a smashing success. By keeping your messaging personalized, your SEO festive, and your content as device-friendly and heartwarming as possible, you’re setting yourself up for a profitable holiday season. So why wait? Jump into the holiday marketing fun and spread good cheer all around.

We know that in today’s increasingly competitive online retail environment, it’s crucial that brands deliver exceptional customer experiences. The responsibility to deliver good CX increasingly sits on the shoulders of marketers. We also know that consumers are loyal to brands that offer personalized, engaging experiences across the entire buyer journey—not least on their website.

By blending Dotdigital’s customer insight and cross-channel engagement capabilities with Fresh Relevance’s own cross-channel capabilities and especially its on-site personalization tools, we’re able to offer a solution that empowers marketing teams to drive excellent CX at every point in the customer journey.

Welcoming Fresh Relevance to the Dotdigital Group

For me, it’s an incredibly exciting time to be taking the combined business forward. We’ve worked with the Fresh Relevance team for years as partners and have similar values when it comes to how we innovate and how we take care of our people and customers.

The cultural alignment across our organizations gives me confidence that customers old and new will soon reap the benefits of a more tight-knit offering that doesn’t stop at traditional marketing channels.

As part of the Dotdigital group, Fresh Relevance will continue to operate under its existing brand and Mike Austin will retain a leadership position in his new role as SVP Personalization. Existing customers of Fresh Relevance will continue to enjoy the same levels of service as Dotdigital continues to invest in Fresh Relevance.

About Fresh Relevance

Fresh Relevance was launched in 2013 with a vision to optimize the customer journey and solve the challenges of data aggregation in the ecommerce space. Since then its offering has extended to personalize customer experiences across web, email, mobile app, SMS, and ads. Capabilities include triggered emails, product recommendations, onsite popovers, dynamic content, behavioral and geotargeting, optimization, and customer data management.

Fresh Relevance has more than 300 customers around the world spanning consumer and B2B ecommerce, and travel. Customers include Rip Curl, Dreams, Hoseasons, and Wowcher.

“Over the last ten years, Fresh Relevance and Dotdigital have built a very successful partnership, integrating our technologies to provide incredible value to our mutual customers. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining forces with Dotdigital, an organization whose values align so closely with ours. Bringing Fresh Relevance’s industry-leading cross-channel personalization capabilities to Dotdigital’s customer experience and data platform will help marketers better engage with their customers, drive repeat purchases, and build lifelong loyalty across all touch points. I’m proud of what the Fresh Relevance team has built and look forward to the next evolution of this market at Dotdigital.”

Mike Austin, CEO and Founder of Fresh Relevance and incoming SVP Personalization at Dotdigital

A partnership built on proven success

Dotdigital and Fresh Relevance have been long-time business partners and have a growing list of shared customers who already benefit from orchestrating seamless experiences across inboxes, message centers, and websites. We share similar values across our people, culture, and approach to innovation. We’re excited to continue building on this success.

Fresh Relevance already has a strong technical integration with Dotdigital that helps marketers drive engagement with contextual email content like weather feeds, social media feeds, individualized coupons, and web-scraped content. The integration allows users to trigger real-time marketing messages through Dotdigital from a range of Fresh Relevance event triggers including reduced price alerts, new stock availability, browse abandonment, and replenishment. The integration will continue to be available to existing and new customers shared by Dotdigital and Fresh Relevance.

With roots in marketing automation, Dotdigital and Fresh Relevance are experts in building innovative tech that helps marketing teams scale and boost ROI. Over time, we will take our combined strengths and continue to build solutions that empower marketers to build authentic, hyper-personalized customer experiences that are memorable and inspire loyalty. We also look forward to extending Fresh Relevance’s product offering geographically into the Americas and APAC markets.

We are excited about the future—and together with our new colleagues now look forward to delivering even better experiences for our customers, so they can deliver better experiences to theirs. Stay tuned for more updates as we embark on this new journey together!

Partnering for sustainable marketing

Provenance is on a mission to give consumers the info they need to make buying decisions that benefit both people and the planet. Their innovative platform helps retailers share credible, trustworthy social and environmental impact details where it matters most – at the point of sale.

As the first (and only) carbon-neutral cross-channel marketing automation platform out there, we’re a perfect fit for Provenance’s values. We’re also ISO-14001 accredited – which means we meet the International Standard Organisation’s requirements for environmental management systems. This makes Dotdigital the go-to choice for sustainability-minded brands looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

Tink Taylor, Founder & of Dotdigital, said it best, “I’m always supremely impressed by the Dotdigital committees such as DotGreen, DotDEI and DotWellbeing. It’s our employees’ voices who push initiatives like becoming carbon-neutral and ISO-14001 certified forward. And it keeps Dotdigital striving for a more positive impact socially and environmentally. We’re very proud to be the first and only carbon-neutral marketing automation platform.”

Jessi Baker, Founder & CEO of Provenance, added: “Together, we’ll help companies on their path to sustainability, aiming for a future where every purchase helps people and our planet.”

Working together for a greener future

Our partnership with Provenance is all about helping consumers make greener, more sustainable choices. We’re joining forces to support retailers that are serious about their sustainability claims and environmental responsibilities. This means helping companies use marketing technology that matches their mission and nudges customers toward more ethical purchasing decisions. Together, we’re paving the way for informed, earth-friendly shopping choices. Keep your eyes peeled for more news, tips, and insights about this exciting partnership. As a team, we’ll make a real difference for people, the planet, and the world of digital marketing.

Are you curious to learn more about Sarah’s data-driven approach and vision for customer loyalty’s future? Read on and explore her expertise in this compelling conversation that you won’t want to miss.

Q: Can you give us an overview of Spektrix and your role there?

At Spektrix, we’re a team of just over 200 people, providing cloud-based technology for ticketing, marketing, and fundraising to the arts & cultural sector. We partnered with Dotdigital to provide a comprehensive integration that enables our clients to deliver digital communications via Dotdigital. To ensure our users get the most out of our platform we also offer comprehensive and all-inclusive support, training, and consultancy services.

I originally have a background in arts marketing, and I brought that experience and my love of using data to Spektrix eight years ago. In my time at Spektrix, I have worked with numerous arts and entertainment organizations, consulting on loyalty strategy and best practices amongst other things. I co-authored the Spektrix Insights Report in 2019, leading the analysis of sector benchmarks across multiple areas such as loyalty, fundraising, and online purchasing trends. And I continue to lead initiatives to share data learnings, such as the Spektrix Ticket Sales Dashboard, with the sector.

Q: Have you attended the Dotdigital Summit before, what are you particularly looking forward to this year?

I’ve not attended before, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing it for the first time. The breadth of organizations attending and the variety of content being presented looks super interesting. 

At Spektrix we’re always interested in exploring digital communications best practices from other sectors, so we can share that learning with our users. Also, discovering how other experts are using tools like AI, automation, and incentives will be a great opportunity for me, and for our community.

Q: Your talk is focusing on loyalty in 2023, do you think loyalty is harder for brands to come by these days?

I think certain types of loyalty are harder for brands these days – people are much more likely to question their loyalty and look for alternatives rather than just remaining loyal to a brand as default. You can really see that shift in particular with things like switching banks or mobile phone networks. Or the ability to swap and change streaming services on the regular. 

The research also indicates that younger consumers are much more likely to be in tune with the values of a brand and really assess their credentials in terms of value for money, customer service, and bigger mission-driven values such as environmental impact or the way their staff is treated. As a certified B Corp, it’s certainly something that comes up increasingly often from organizations interested in working or partnering with Spektrix.

All this information is much easier to come by these days, rather than relying on the ‘polished’ brand that gets portrayed, you really have to ‘live’ your brand, or you’ll get called out. But I think this also opens up a world of possibilities in terms of loyalty, where you can build genuine loyalty to your brand, rather than repeatedly selling an individual product or service. This is arguably more complex, as you need to understand that your customers’ motivations are variable and ‘messy’.

Q: What will people learn from your talk at the Dotdigital Summit?

Hopefully, people will take away some learnings from specific examples from the Spektrix user community, and how this translates into a process for assessing the variable motivations of your customers. And therefore how you can communicate with them in a much more tailored way, and incentivize them to engage with you, using a more complex, less hierarchical model to the traditional customer loyalty ladder. I’ll be talking about examples from theatre and the performing arts, but the stories will apply to everyone – after all, theatre audiences are the same people who book holidays, buy clothes, or support charities.

Q: What are your top tips for brands who struggle with customer retention?

Try not to do everything. Delve into your data, measure some baselines, experiment, try to get under the skin of your customers and potential customers’ motivations, align your messaging to appeal to them, try things out, and refine it. Ditch anything that’s not working.

Q: What’s your favorite loyalty scheme you’re personally part of as a customer and why?

I’ve become much more aware over the last few years about where I spend my money/who I spend my money with. Often the loyalty scheme itself is not the deciding factor, but if a brand I engage with happens to have one then that is obviously a bonus and encourages me to continue shopping with them.

I’ve hit that time of my life where I have signed up to be a member of the RHS. They have just opened a new public garden on the outskirts of Manchester and I’ve deliberately bought a membership to incentivize me to attend more regularly. There are then the added perks of an excellent app where I can track the plants in my garden, and get regular personalized updates via email.

Q: How do you foresee the loyalty landscape changing in the future?

AI is going to be an interesting one to watch – those one-to-many communications are likely to be able to become hyper-tailored. And profiling to find similar, or lookalike, audiences is becoming much more sophisticated.

Q: You say you’re a self-confessed data nerd, what are your tips for getting the most out of your data?

Make sure you’re measuring what you’re doing – then you can use this to set baselines, compare with industry benchmarks, and test anything new you try. Also, come at your data with an actual question you want to answer. Time and again I see organizations measuring KPIs, but then they aren’t sure what to do with them. If you approach the data with an inquisitive mind and a question you want to find the answer to, you’re much more likely to find something useful.

If you’ve not got your tickets for this year’s Summit yet, grab them here.