In this age of digital transformation, successful B2C businesses embrace continual evolution. Retailers have to be forward-thinking to stay on top of (and ahead of) evolving B2C trends. As they transform their businesses, they’ll need to provide customers with elevated shopping experiences. This ensures their brand stands out among the competition and captures customers for the long term.
How can you make this happen for your B2C business? Investing in digital product innovation will help you better connect with customers and become a leader in your industry.
It’s time to make innovation an integral part of your digital strategy. Here, we’re covering what you need to know: the importance of digital product innovation in B2C, its benefits for customers and businesses, and what a successful B2C digital product looks like.
Why is digital product innovation important?
These days, it’s important to prioritize customer-centric digital transformation— to put your customers at the center of your business. Digital products give B2C businesses an opportunity to connect with customers in a relevant, innovative way.
According to our 2022 B2C Report, 81% of consumers agree that brands should act like the customer is always right. Customers are searching for brands that understand and meet their unique needs, view them as individuals, and provide real value. Retailers who create an open dialogue with consumers stand to gain market share in the future.
B2C customers have high expectations for their digital experience — and those expectations are only growing. Above all, fairness, accuracy, and safety are major motivators for consumers to trust brands. In recent years, consumers have come to expect accurate orders, timely delivery, and other convenient benefits from brands they believe in. Nearly half of our survey respondents said delivering correct and accurate orders was essential to feeling trust in a brand.
They also want clear navigation, efficient checkout and reordering, transparency into fulfillment process and delivery, reliable returns, and responsive customer service. From browsing inventory to completing a purchase, retailers need to go above and beyond to create a seamless checkout experience across channels. Businesses should prioritize making checking out as a guest, using a digital wallet, and auto-filling promo codes as seamless as possible for online customers.
This sets a high bar for retailers seeking to maintain customer loyalty and leaves sellers vulnerable to losing consumer trust if they don’t deliver on the basics. Offering advanced capabilities shows that a brand is willing to go above and beyond to accommodate customers’ immediate needs and preferences. Effective digital products can make it possible to meet these heightened expectations.
As more organizations focus on digital transformation and expand their capabilities, B2C businesses also face an increasingly crowded competitive space. This means your business has to work harder to stand out, attract customers, and keep them for the long term. Digital products can provide solutions to business problems. They can help build customer trust and loyalty, in turn boosting your brand revenue and growing your market share.
Benefits of digital product development in B2C
Digital product development benefits your customers and your business. With an understanding of your customer needs, you can create a more seamless, personalized experience that leads customers through the buying journey. You’ll be able to offer customized recommendations and relevant content, driving them to make a purchase (and repeat purchases). The key is implementing a digital product design that connects and engages customers on a one-to-one level.
You’ll also be able to gather valuable customer data as they engage with your digital products, and then use that data to guide decisions and optimize the user experience further. When your digital products align with and support your strategy, you’ll maximize your business assets — your people, processes, and technology — and grow your business in a sustainable, scalable way. This type of digital product marketing builds future opportunities for innovation.
By consistently fulfilling customer needs and improving the user experience, your business will gain customer loyalty, increase revenue and market share, and stand as an innovative industry leader.
Examples of digital product innovation in B2C
There are so many options for B2C digital product innovation. To find success, it’s crucial to tailor your digital products to your customer and business. What do they need? How can you provide (and receive) value?
As an example, a B2C company could build a digital quiz that asks different questions about the person’s lifestyle or preferences to help consumers decide which product is best for their unique needs. This can apply to all different types of consumer products – from skincare and supplements to packaged goods and baby gear.
Consider everything that happens as a customer engages with your digital quiz:
- As they share their inputs, they get the sense that your business understands who they are and is open to listening to what they need.
- Based on the questions and answer options, they learn more about your brand’s features and benefits in a way that’s relevant and doesn’t feel “salesy.”
- In viewing their quiz results, they receive a personalized recommendation, simplifying the purchase decision and compelling them to take action.
Plus, quizzes are fun! We all like to learn about ourselves — our personalities, preferences, and what they mean — so this type of digital product is appealing and engaging. At the same time, your company will gain insight into your customers and can use their inputs to further optimize the user experience and your products.
The future of B2C eCommerce is collaborative. To support your 2023 strategy with digital product innovation, start with a customer-centric approach and an agile process. Use these to expand your capabilities in a way that provides value — that solves business challenges and delivers on customer expectations.
Your business will reap the benefits as your digital product sets you apart from competitors and elevates the customer experience. When your customers enjoy a seamless digital experience, they will find products that meet their unique needs and keep coming back for more.
Contact a digital transformation team member, or download our “How To Prioritize Customer-Centric Digital Transformation” white paper.
