THE YEAR 2018 JUST STARTED, IT IS TIME TO QUESTION THE DIGITAL TRENDS THAT WILL ENRICH THE CUSTOMER AND USER JOURNEY. BETWEEN HYPER-PERSONALIZATION, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, OMNICHANNEL CONTROL, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MOBILITY, SOCIAL MARKETING ... WHAT ARE THE TOOLS AND BEST PRACTICES THAT THE DIGITAL AND MARKETING PLAYERS WILL HAVE TO ADOPT FOR THIS NEW YEAR? DECRYPTION.

The importance of personalization

In a context where retailers are confronted with a complexification of purchasing routes, a sharp increase in digital at the expense of physical commerce and an increase in marketing costs, the customization of offers and services is more than necessary. This trend does not only impact the web but also the offline trade: choice of products, segmentation of brands, merchandising, digitalization of sales outlets, emails, support ... So much thought to lead to offer an experience tailored to each profile so to convert and retain the customer. Retailers have integrated this "customer centric" approachin their work on topics such as omnichannel, enriching the online and offline customer experience, drive-to-store and improving online transformation to maximize the ROI of marketing investments.

However, the issue of data collection, a few months before the implementation of the GDPR, their processing, analysis and use, will be one of the major topics of the year.

In fact, brands collect, not without authorization, behavioral data from their customers, which is becoming increasingly rich and strategic. And while companies are increasingly savvy in this area, businesses are increasingly pushing operational innovation to best fit the specific needs of each customer.

Biometric technologies and access will normalize: with the facial recognition of the latest iPhone, consumers are waiting for brands to innovate to create fully tailored experiences in 2018.

The comfort and ease in the customer experience are today essential in the interaction with the consumer. Beyond the personalization of the course, it is the mobility of services that enriches this experience. Even if it is expected to increase chatbots in 2018, whether on the platforms (Messenger) and websites or via the launch of a Messenger plugin for e-commerce sites, chatbot experience remains nevertheless limited. Indeed, this chatbot experience will not be optimal until improvements have been made so that the discussion, written or oral, becomes natural. The conversational age is still in its infancy.