Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 17 | Page 45

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FEATURE: CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THE KEY TO CREATING CUSTOMER DELIGHT LIES IN ADOPTING A MODERN ARCHITECTURE, BASED ON MICROSERVICES THAT ENABLE A TRULY CONNECTED EXPERIENCE. a technology company. Whether you’re a travel business or a sports club, your investment in technology can be the difference between success and failure. Tjeerd Brenninkmeijer EVP of EMEA at Bloomreach to engage their customers and exceed the expectations they develop about their respective brands. This is because, just like any football team, brands need fans too. Loyal and established relationships are vital and in the age of the modern buyer and digitisation, this means interacting continuously across different touchpoints. These two use cases also prove that every company today (willingly or unwillingly) is www.intelligentcio.com The key to creating customer delight lies in adopting a modern architecture, based on microservices that enable a truly connected experience. The combination of an AI-driven digital experience platform with an agnostic, API-led digital commerce platform allows businesses to embed commerce into new touchpoints as the adoption of consumer technologies continues to accelerate. With the majority of power now in the hands of the consumer, we are all in the business of figuring out what they need and delivering it as quickly and efficiently as possible. This approach should also inspire UK retailers, especially at a time when the UK high street is suffering. There has been a serious decline in footfall figures of late, causing high street retailers including House of Fraser, New Look, M&S, Next and Debenhams to axe multiple brick-and- mortar shops across the country. However, there is an opportunity here for them to innovate and embrace what’s possible with technology like Virtual Assistants, digital signage, in-store contextual selling, chatbots, conversational commerce, Facebook commerce, connected cars and more. It’s possible to create incredible experiences and conveniences from one centralised platform and consumers want it now. Besides, they aren’t only comparing your brand experience with your competitors but they’re comparing it with every digital experience they’ve had. So as a company, it’s important that your digital customer experience stands out. n INTELLIGENTCIO 45