In The Blink Of An Eye: The Make Or Break Reality Of Customer Experience

It only takes a moment for a business to lose a customer, but if successful, the relationship can last a lifetime.

That was one of the key takeaways from the Adobe Symposium 2019 held in Sydney on Thursday.

“In a split second we can either delight a customer of we can disappoint them,” said Adobe managing director AUNZ Suzanne Steele.

“Once they’re gone, it’s a whole heap of work and money to bring them back and we many never regain their trust.

“Brands have to act with authenticity, integrity and with customers right at the heart of what we do and to do so with a very clear articulation of what our purpose is.”

The make or break nature of customer experience can be seen in one of the most common digital experiences of all – online shopping.

Adobe’s research shows 48 per cent of AUNZ customers have abandoned their shopping carts due to a poor customer experience.

The lifelong customer

But even if you’re savvy enough to not lose a customer in the opening moments, the challenge is only beginning.

“[A customer] clicks and buys, but our job isn’t done,” said Adobe VP of experience marketing Alex Amado.

“This is where modern marketing differs… our job is really only beginning, because we want to have a lifelong relationship with [the customer].

This means finding ways to make sure customers are maximising the value they get out of products.

‘Micro processes’, whereby an emphasis is placed upon a narrow stage of the customer journey, assists in securing the lifelong customer, explained Amado.

“This single-minded focus on a very narrow set of APIs, with people who are broadly empowered to drive change across the organisation… delivers customer improvements.”

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While also enabling its clients to deliver, customer experience is now at the core of what Adobe does, particularly since ‘ditching the boxes’ and making a radical shift to a subscription model for its Creative Cloud in recent years.

“The decision profoundly impacted and changed our relationship with our customers and how we operate the business,” said Adobe VP of marketing APAC Alvaro Del Pozo.

“The subscription model put the customer front and centre and we became a company that embraced the ‘always on’ reality of a digital business.

The change placed an equal emphasis on data and creativity, said Del Pozo, with the goal to deliver a personalised experience for each customer at every endpoint.

Reflecting on the shift, Del Pozo shared his views on what digital transformation truly means.

“Digital transformation starts by reimagining the entire customer journey,” he said. “It’s about engaging with customers in the channel of their choice.”

“It’s about moving them from one step in the journey to the next through the delivery of relevant, emotional experiences.

“It’s about measuring progress, measuring success and perhaps most important of all, scaling a personalised journey, not just for one but for tens of millions of customers.

“It’s the ability to put your customer at the centre of your digital strategy.”

Lyrical experience

Joining the host of Adobe personnel on stage was musical group The Presets, who has recently completely a crowdsourcing project of its own.

The pair, Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton, asked graphic designers and motion graphics professionals to design their latest lyrics video using Adobe Creative Cloud.

‘Tools Down’ has recently been released, featuring the winning designs from the over 450 entries.

“We liked the idea of crowdsourcing it to our fans and getting them to design it and we were thrilled by the result,” said Julian Hamilton from The Presets.

Working with media team BRING, the initiative was led by a sense that it “felt right”.

“It’s about finding an idea for the brand – the right artist for the right idea so that it isn’t just a paycheque, it’s more of an authentic relationship,” said BRING creative director James Griffiths.

“I think this is a really great encapsulation of that.”

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Adobe Customer Experience digital transformation