You provide your customers with a digital experience on your online platform. This makes it convenient for your target audience to connect with your business whenever they want to. A physical experience, on the flip side, is how you facilitate a customer’s journey when he or she is interacting with your brick-and-mortar. This is where you guarantee a “sensory experience” for your prospects and clients. They have the opportunity to physically interact with your products and services. Both these types of experiences are very distinct, but they offer the same advantage: Building brand loyalty.

Long gone are the times when the source of connection between a customer and a business was only a physical place. A space which boasts all the touchpoints. From the store environment to sales and service staff and transaction points, everything revolved around a physical customer experience. And now? Almost every business has an online platform in one way or another. A prime source that helps it stay in touch with its target audience via the internet. So, now you also have to provide your clients with a seamless digital experience, as well.

Top Differences b/w a Digital and Physical Customer Experience

Dining at a restaurant? Visiting a physical store? All types of such physical interactions fall into the category of a physical experience. When a customer visits an online store or uses an application to make purchases, his or her journey is facilitated through a digital experience. That said, the key characteristic of the former is human-to-human engagement. On the flip side, the key characteristic of the latter is screen-based engagement. Hence, you cannot confuse one with the other. You need to increase your insights into the dissimilarities between the two.

Below are the top differences between a digital and physical customer experience:

1.      Basic Difference

You can see the variations at a very basic level when it comes to differentiating a physical experience from a digital experience. We can elaborate on this fundamental difference by taking a few examples. You own a restaurant, and a consumer comes to dine at your establishment. The way he or she perceives your service from stepping inside to going out after dining is a physical experience he or she appreciates.

When you’ve an app where a person can order food while sitting at home, everything he or she experiences while placing an order is a digital experience. This can make the “basic difference” clear for you. You see, you call the “in-person” part a physical experience and the “on-screen” part a digital experience.

2.      Key Characteristics

The key characteristics of both these types are often the same. The difference exists in how you implement them. Say, when it comes to “convenience of reaching out”, your customers have limited hours for a physical interaction. “Personalization” is delivered in real-time. It has “sensory engagement” that digital experiences cannot offer.

A digital experience guarantees “convenience of reaching out” 24/7. In other words, an online customer can access your services or products whenever they need to. “Personalization” is always driven by data analysis. It has a differentiating characteristic that we know as “reach and scale”, which is very limited in a physical experience.

3.      Benefits

When discussing the advantages, the prime ones are both for them. When you guarantee a seamless digital or physical customer experience, you‘re basically earning customer loyalty and ensuring increased revenue. The benefits that differentiate digital experiences include:

·         24/7 availability

·         Cost savings

·         Competitive differentiation

·         Broader reach

·         Targeted offers

In the same way, there are some perks that make a physical experience superior to a digital one. For instance, it provides you with the opportunity to engage all five senses of your customers. It also increases non-verbal communication and reduces the chance of misunderstandings.

4.      Challenges

There are some challenges that overlap for both these types. Say, consistency and data utilization are the same concerns. Similarly, understanding and adapting to customers’ needs can be an issue that you face in both realms. Significant challenges for a physical customer experience include:

·         Geographic hurdles

·         Time limitations

·         High operational costs

·         Inconsistent service

·         Scalability

Likewise, ensuring a seamless digital experience also poses some specific challenges. From intense competition to data privacy and emotional connection can be problematic here. The lack of a physical touchpoint is another major issue.

5.      Future Trends 

From omnichannel integration to immersive technology and hyper-personalization, both types have the same major future trends. There are, however, some trends that depend solely on whether you’re talking about a digital or a physical experience. For instance, some distinguishing trends for a digital experience are:

·         Privacy-first design

·         Voice commerce

·         Immersive online environments

·         AI-driven chatbots

·         Human-like conversations

Then, experiential retail, tech-empowered associates, and augmented physical spaces are some trends that will be more specific to a physical experience. You’ll need a robust CX strategy and design to implement these trends in your workplace. This is where the help from a CX consultant becomes critical.

You can visit enginecxdesign.com to get in touch with professionals to achieve this milestone.

Ensure a Smooth Experience for Your Customers

Whether your customers are visiting your brick-and-mortar or interacting through your online platforms, you must make their journeys memorable. You can do so when you’ve CX insights you can use to design a customer experience strategy that will work. Get in touch with a reliable customer experience consultant to reach this goal and ensure a smooth experience for your customers.