Raj De Datta, CEO, Bloomreach
The concept of the customer journey has intrigued marketers long before even the invention of the internet. A customer’s journey doesn’t just consist of a single transaction, but takes in the complete picture of everything they experience when interacting with your brand.
Much has been written about the best ways of mapping the customer journey, with many different takes on the important stops along the way. But have we considered that mapping the customer journey may no longer be the best way to understand your customers?
Bloomreach CEO and co-founder Raj De Datta believes the future is brightest for those who can adapt to a new way of thinking about the concept. In fact, maybe the customer journey never really was what we thought it was to begin with.
“In many ways, it is really an artificial construct,” says De Datta. “We have been told over many years that customers behave in a very linear fashion, when in fact, when we all think about our own shopping experiences, it’s anything but linear.”
But the fact that consumers and their demands are perhaps more complex than brands would like is hardly breaking news. Human beings are complex. Human communication is messy. Companies never truly know how a message might be received.
Where brands set themselves apart from the competition is not only in understanding the complexities of their customers, but knowing what to do about them.
This is where artificial intelligence comes in.
“With the emergence of data science as a category and data present everywhere, machines can play a much more significant role in distilling where customers are and what they might be seeking,” says De Datta. “That’s something that would not have been possible without technology taking giant leaps forward.”
Whether it’s the customer journey or artificial intelligence, digital commerce is an ever-changing marketplace.
To learn more about the future of commerce, check out The Digital Seeker, a book by Raj De Datta. You will specifically learn the importance of having ample amounts of both product and customer data, how personalization can make all the difference, and so much more.
Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure your company isn’t left behind in our new digital-first world.
Article written by Carl Bleich, Content Marketing Manger, Bloomreach
Images provided by Private Bloomreach gallery