In 2001, Steve Jobs shook the music industry and landscape by announcing a new Apple device that would put “1,000 songs in your pocket.” And while the iPod wasn’t the first example of digitization, it was then one of the most exciting. Listening to music was now a digital experience.
Two decades later, digital experiences are everywhere. Consumers shop online, contact customer support from their phones, and encounter digital marketing as fast as they scroll. Companies need to embrace this reality by building online interactions their audience will love. Digital experiences are a baseline expectation, but the brands that stand out use them to connect with customers.
The what and the why of digital experiences
Digital experiences include any and all of the touchpoints customers can have with your brand that take place online or via technology like their phones and computers. In just a few decades, digital tech has exponentially increased the potential channels for engagement between brands and their customers.
Shoppers visit a brand’s website or mobile app to browse online. Loyal customers can send SMS texts or emails, or even message a representative via live chat. They encounter ads on social media across platforms, via paid search, and from podcasts, video creators, or influencers they trust. These channels offer countless opportunities for brands to engage their audience.
In most cases, digital experiences are your audience’s preferred source for learning about your brand and gaining support. A great digital experience offers a convenient, engaging path for customers to connect with your brand throughout their journey, whether they just saw your logo for the first time or made their fifteenth purchase. Digital channels are also dynamic, so you can make real-time updates and adjust the experience as your business grows.
Now that consumers are digital-first, your brand should be, too!
7 examples of better digital interactions
Brands can approach their digital experiences in one of two ways:
- They offer the bare minimum—a bare-bones online presence, a poor user experience on their website, and minimal digital support.
- They build proactive digital experiences, pointing customers to a variety of ways of reaching out to them, multiple media formats, and flexible, user-friendly touchpoints.
Of course, the second path is the customer-first way to build digital experiences. Brands can find the right paths to engage customers by experimenting with new tools and channels that reach their audience where they are and by focusing on convenient paths to connection.
Here are seven practical examples of digital experiences that are made for your customers.
1. Streamlined support via short link
Offer straightforward pathways to support via short links from any in-person interaction or product package. Provide a simple URL that’s easy to remember and type in that instantly takes them to a digital channel for support—or better yet, to a page that gives multiple support options to choose from.
From the moment they’re holding your product in their hands, give customers a digital option to go deeper with your brand, whether they want to reorder, place a subscription, or make a return or exchange. Turn a moment of delight or frustration into a deeper digital interaction.
2. Brand ethos information online
Make it easy to go deeper with your brand online with an engaging in-store display that also connects them to digital channels like a QR Code that links to your brand story. Online, you can share what shoppers can’t see on shelves—a full rundown of your sustainability practices, your playful social media personality, or the archive of recipes on your website.
Get creative by offering online exclusives or giving back when shoppers interact, like Daily Harvest. The sustainability-minded brand drove engagement with its QR Codes on freezer clings in stores by donating five dollars to support regenerative farms for each scan. Customers learn about a good cause, Daily Harvest gains engagement, and the world gets a little greener—everyone wins!
3. User-friendly mobile app
A mobile app is the ultimate in streamlined digital experiences because it’s a one-stop shop for all your customer needs. Take Starbucks, the coffee giant that offers perhaps the ultimate in quick-service mobile apps. Sure, customers could visit a store or drive-through, wait in line, and order and pay the traditional way. But with a mobile app experience, patrons can do it all straight from their phone:
- Browse the menu (and see what’s in and out of stock) and order
- Pay with a gift card, credit card, or other convenient options
- Check their rewards status and redeem “stars”
- See the wait time and status of their order
- Leave a tip and review their receipt
- Buy a gift card for someone else
These options save customers time and build brand resonance. A mobile app transforms the entire customer experience, driving loyalty and sales. That’s the power of thoughtful digital experiences.
Bonus: With mobile deep linking, you can create convenient interactions before they’ve even downloaded your app when you provide a QR Code that’s linked to an in-app experience. If they have the app, they’ll head straight to that page. If they don’t, the QR Code will send them to the App Store or Google Play Store to download it and begin their ongoing digital experience.
4. Customer referral programs
Turn your loyal customers into brand advocates and gain introductions to others who are the perfect fit for your product or service with a strong referral program. Create sophisticated referral experiences for your customers using digital tools like short links and QR Codes.
For instance, most podcast listeners have probably heard an ad featuring a customized link based on the podcast—in the same way, give your customers referral links to share with their friends in exchange for discounts or free items. CPG or retail brands can drive referrals from loyal customers like Curology. They send a customized QR Code with a link that customers can share with a friend. If the friend places an order, both customers get $5 off. Use digital channels to make “word of mouth” even easier (and more rewarding).
5. Trusted text communication with your brand
SMS marketing is an ideal channel for brands to provide real-time information and offers to their customers. Done right, texting gives you a direct line to your customers via a channel with higher than average open and engagement rates.
When a customer subscribes to texts from you, rely on this channel throughout their journey:
- Send personalized order updates via secure short links, which they can click to check on their order without logging in. (The Bitly API makes this easy—and Koozie Group uses it to send thousands of daily order updates!)
- Use purchase history and order data to send a message when it’s likely time for customers to reorder or when their subscription is due to renew.
- Text thoughtful SMS marketing campaigns like exclusive looks at new products or limited-time offers that don’t get lost in crowded email inboxes
Taken together, these digital experiences all give your audience easy and convenient ways to engage with you from a central channel.
6. Digital tool teamwork
Enhance your customers’ in-person experience with your product or brand by using multiple digital tools to create an entire journey. For instance, provide a QR Code that shoppers or customers can scan to instantly access multiple media types and resources, all from a single immersive landing page.
Build engaging digital experiences like these:
- CPG. Rather than sharing a long URL on product packages or a printed product manual, take them to a Bitly Page with multiple videos or links out to instructions for FAQs.
- Hospitality. Create a central landing page that lets your guests review amenities, menus, property tours, local attractions, and policies in one place.
- Restaurants. Provide a page with pictures and descriptions of menu items, upcoming offerings, and hours and locations.
- Media and Entertainment. When a concert-goer or event attendee scans a QR Code, show them upcoming events, online merch options, and artist information to keep them excited before and after the show.
Craft exciting digital experiences that guide them along their journey to the next step you want them to take and deepen their relationship with you.
7. Interactive experiences
Some of the most innovative brands don’t just build digital experiences around marketing or customer communication. They also create interactive moments with their audiences. They use QR Codes to create unique scavenger hunts or offer digital games, or use augmented reality (AR) experiences to drive brand awareness or help customers test run a product.
Even Taylor Swift got in on the action with her QR Code campaign that revealed Easter eggs to her fans around the world leading up to the release of her album, The Tortured Poets Department. Don’t worry; you don’t have to have Swiftie levels of brand recognition to make a splash with your audience. Start with offering unique and valuable digital experiences via QR Codes or short links, and grow from there.
Digital experiences benefit everyone
The key to a strong digital experience is offering an accessible entry point for your customers. When you start with an easily scannable QR Code or memorable short link and take them to engaging destinations like an immersive landing page, you pave the way to memorable encounters. Those interactions build trust, retention, and connection with your audience.
Everyone wins with this approach. Your customers gain:
- More channels to connect with their favorite brands
- Customizable options to shop or purchase
- Easy, convenient touchpoints for support or information
- More personalized campaigns and communication
Your brand benefits, too. You have more avenues to collect valuable customer data so you can market more effectively, and you can run campaigns from centralized platforms where you manage multiple channels (like the Bitly Connections Platform). Best of all, you build stronger, ongoing relationships with your audience that lead to revenue. Invest in your digital tools, and watch your business grow.
4 best practices for digital tools
If you’re just getting started with digital channels for connecting with your customers, use these four best practices to keep your customers happy and engaged with your brand at any touchpoint.
1. Keep links and QR Codes up to date
Don’t derail your customers with a broken or outdated click or scan—make sure every interaction is current. With dynamic QR Codes and flexible redirects, Bitly makes it easy to update your digital tools across campaigns.
2. Follow the data
Digital tools (like the Bitly Connections Platform) deliver real-time insights on your audience with every click or scan. Use this information to make your campaigns better—review campaign performance with Bitly Analytics, learn about your customers, and test new channels, then respond to the data to refine every interaction.
3. Simplify your workflow with integrations
When your tools work together, your team works better, too. Connect your Bitly digital tools to the rest of your tech stack with integrations. Streamline processes with your automation software, post a short link to social with your favorite scheduler, design QR Codes with ease, and use your CRM to personalize links.
4. Put your brand front and center
A short link, QR Code, or landing page is a powerful tool. But when your brand is consistent across channels—featuring brand elements like your colors, logo, or brand name—customers know they can trust you for an engaging digital experience. Bitly lets you:
- Customize multiple visual elements of your QR Codes
- Use a custom domain to drive recognition and awareness in every interaction
- Mix and match media types on mobile-friendly Bitly Pages
Let your brand shine to create the most inviting digital experience possible.
Drive engagement across the journey
The world of customer engagement is much wider than it was a few years ago, thanks to the many digital tools at our fingertips. This should be a catalyst for innovation that excites brands and inspires them to get creative with how they reach out to and support their audience.
With a whole suite of tools available in the Bitly Connections Platform, you can drive more digital interactions with your customers, enhance the experiences you already offer, and measure every one. Get started with Bitly today!
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