Customers Google, compare, click – and decide within seconds whether a brand seems relevant or not. In this highly dynamic environment, having a good product or outstanding service is no longer enough. A study by Verint (2024) shows that 70% of customers switch to competitors if they have a bad digital experience.
This is exactly why a good Digital Customer Experience (DCX) is so important: it encompasses all digital touchpoints – before, during, and after the purchase – and determines how people perceive, evaluate, and recommend your brand. By understanding the expectations of your target audiences and actively shaping the customer journey, you not only build trust but also measurably increase business success.
In this article, we will explain what makes up the Digital Customer Experience, why it is so important, which factors play a role, and how to tailor it specifically to your target groups.
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Digital Customer Experience (DCX), refers to the experience customers have with your brand – before, during, and after the purchase. It includes all digital touchpoints along the customer journey: from the first Google search to the visit of your website, logging into the customer portal, or leaving a review after a support interaction.
It's not just about technology or design. What matters is the interplay of information, functionality, and emotion – that is, the quality of the user experience. Can users quickly find what they’re looking for? Does the page load without delay? Does your brand appear trustworthy? Does the checkout process run smoothly? Every click influences the overall impression and, consequently, customer satisfaction.
Digital Customer Experience Management (DCXM) stands for the targeted planning, management, and optimization of all digital touchpoints with a brand – throughout the entire customer journey. The goal is to provide a positive customer experience at all times – from the first website visit to after-sales service. To achieve this, data, technologies, content, and processes are aligned to meet the needs of the target audience and promote long-term customer loyalty.
At its core, Digital Customer Experience Management is often about one thing: increasing customer satisfaction. Because satisfied customers stay, recommend your brand, and thus contribute significantly to sustainable business growth.
When viewed more specifically, DCX focuses on the following:
A strong Digital Customer Experience is based on a deep understanding of the people for whom it is designed. Therefore, it is essential for businesses to engage intensively with their target audiences – their needs, challenges, and behaviors. Various strategic approaches have proven effective for this purpose.
To describe target audiences in a well-founded way, two methods are particularly useful: the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and the Persona. Both help companies align digital measures precisely with real user needs and design them according to specific requirements.
Both approaches complement each other perfectly: while the ICP provides the strategic focus, the Persona makes the customer experience tangible.
Example of a Persona in the B2B sector:
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Markus Heller |
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„I need solutions that make my machines more efficient while simultaneously reducing production costs, without compromising on quality or reliability. Innovation must be practical and feasible." |
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Goals:
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Challenges:
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Media & Information:
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Personality:
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The Customer Lifecycle describes the phases of a customer relationship – from the first interaction with the brand to long-term loyalty. It provides the strategic framework for all interactions, marketing measures, and service offerings over time.
Typical phases in the lifecycle are:
Each phase brings different expectations, information needs, and touchpoints. A well-thought-out DCX strategy not only addresses individual experiences but also optimizes the entire customer relationship over time – tailored to these lifecycle phases.
While the Customer Lifecycle represents the long-term relationship, the Customer Journey focuses on individual experience paths – such as purchasing a product, making a service inquiry, or using a customer portal. It shows how a specific target person interacts with your brand in a concrete context, often across several digital touchpoints like the website, social media, chat, or customer portal.
For structuring the Customer Journey, the See-Think-Do-Care model is recommended. It divides the decision-making process into four phases – each with its own focus and appropriate digital measures:
A key tool for analyzing and optimizing the Digital Customer Experience is Customer Journey Mapping. It visually shows how a persona interacts with your brand step by step – across all touchpoints.
The map records:
This results in clear, visual representations that help identify gaps in the customer experience and set priorities for improvements – whether in digital marketing, UX design, or customer service.
A strong digital customer experience is based on an intelligent connection of strategy, content, and technology. Specialized tools help design, personalize, and continuously optimize digital experiences efficiently.
The digital customer experience doesn’t just happen – it is the result of many small details that together form a bigger picture. The better the individual elements are aligned, the more positive the overall experience will be, and the higher the customer satisfaction. We’ve summarized some potential influencing factors for you:
Usability & User Guidance: Your users want to reach their goal quickly. Clear structures, understandable navigation, and intuitive operation ensure that visitors can easily find their way on your website or in your app.
Website and Loading Speed: Slow pages cost patience – and customers. Just a few seconds of delay can cause users to drop off. Fast loading times are therefore a must for a strong DCX.
Mobile Optimization: More and more users access content via mobile devices. Those who aren’t optimized for mobile appear outdated. Responsive design and mobile usability are now basic requirements.
Personalized Customer Experience: The more digital content is tailored to individual interests, the more relevant it feels. Personalized recommendations, targeted communication, and dynamic content create closeness and improve customer retention.
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Example: Personalized website content Interroll places a strong emphasis on personalized content on its website: Content changes based on the user’s interests, location, and browsing history. CTAs evolve with the customer journey and lead to different content and forms depending on the purchase phase. Landing pages adapt to the visitor’s profile, and returning visitors receive product recommendations based on previous interactions. The result: more satisfied customers, higher engagement, and conversion rates. |
Digital customer experience and customer satisfaction cannot be defined by a single metric – but they are measurable. There are various approaches and KPIs that can help you determine what is currently working – and what isn’t.
1. Collecting Customer Feedback: Direct feedback shows how users subjectively perceive their digital experience. Classic metrics include:
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Net Promoter Score (NPS) Benchmarks When it comes to measuring customer satisfaction, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) has become widely used in many companies. The basis is the question: "How likely is it that you would recommend us?" What is considered a good score depends on the industry. However, the following general guidelines can be observed:
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2. Analyzing User Behavior: Web and app analytics provide objective data about user behavior – for example:
3. Analyzing Support Data: Your customer service acts as an early warning system for poor digital customer experiences. Typical indicators include:
4. Social Listening & Monitoring Reviews: Users are talking – publicly. Reviews, comments, or social media posts show how your digital presence is perceived.
5. Using Qualitative Methods: Numbers are good, but real user feedback is often better. They can reveal issues that are not apparent from data alone – such as frustration, irritation, or lack of trust. Examples include:
Those who systematically measure the digital customer experience lay the foundation for targeted, sustainable improvements.
The core idea behind Digital Customer Experience (DCX) remains the same in both worlds: it’s about creating digital experiences that enhance customer satisfaction and motivate action. However, how these experiences are designed differs significantly between B2B and B2C.
Why? Because the decision-making processes, target audiences, and requirements are fundamentally different. Here are some examples:
→ While B2C experiences are strongly focused on emotion, design, and convenience, B2B requires clear information structures, functionality, and value for different roles in the decision-making process.
B2C: The journey is often short – sometimes only minutes pass from the first click to the purchase.
B2B: In B2B, the journey takes weeks or months – with many touchpoints, information phases, and alignments.
→ B2B requires a clear structure, trust-building content, and consistent communication over a longer period, such as through targeted lead nurturing.
B2C: Consumers are particularly influenced by emotions – for example, through storytelling, strong visuals, reviews, and direct, personal communication. The goal of communication is to inspire, entertain, and build trust.
B2B: For a long time, it was believed that facts mattered, not emotions. However, this assumption is outdated. B2B decision-makers are people too – they seek trust, security, and a partnership-based relationship. Emotional factors significantly influence purchasing decisions. Nonetheless, well-founded content like whitepapers, case studies, or technical datasheets remains indispensable in B2B.
→ While B2C focuses heavily on emotion and entertainment, B2B requires a smart mix of rational arguments and emotional trust-building.
B2C: Often has high user numbers, which allows for broad personalization through data, algorithms, and behavior (e.g., product recommendations).
B2B: Fewer users, but more individualized – for example, through account-based marketing or personalized portals.
→ In B2B, personalization is deeper but more selective, often tailored to the company level (ICP) or specific roles.
B2C: Fast, intuitive, available 24/7 – via chatbot, app, or self-service.
B2B: Personal, solution-oriented, often with dedicated contact persons and individual agreements.
→ The DCX in B2B must focus more on relationship quality and professional communication, while in B2C, speed and convenience are key.
Customers expect digital experiences that work seamlessly, cater to their needs, and provide real value. Whether B2B or B2C: Those who excel at the right touchpoints not only win new customers but also gain trust, loyalty, and recommendations.
Here are the key insights on Digital Customer Experience at a glance:
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