Every interaction a customer or potential customer has with a brand online is a digital touchpoint. All of these touchpoints make up a brand's online presence and shape the way consumers perceive a company.
Some examples of digital touchpoints include:
Websites and landing pages
Online listings (Google Business Profile, etc)
Mobile apps
Social media platforms
Emails
Search engines
Chatbots and virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa
Online ads
Online reviews and forums
E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, or a brand's online store
Brand events and webinars
Customer service interactions
Engaging customers through different touchpoints can enhance their experience and boost sales. In 2016, Nike created a Chief Digital Officer position with the goal of reaching $20 billion in revenue by 2020. After hiring Adam Sussman for the role, the company launched a new mobile app. According to Sussman, customers who use the app spend three times more than Nike's typical website visitors.
Not all touchpoints are essential for every company, however. For small restaurants or retail shops, it often doesn't make sense to invest in custom apps—certainly not in the way that Nike did. Instead, businesses like this might invest resources in touchpoints like managing their business listings or responding to online reviews.
Still, businesses should strive to optimize each touchpoint so that a customer has a positive impression at every stage of the customer journey. Take reviews for example. Research shows that 97 percent of people read reviews before making a purchase and that companies that respond to at least 25 percent of their reviews make 35 percent more revenue than those that don't.
From managing review responses to engaging on social media, delivering a great experience across digital touchpoints is one way that businesses can build long-term relationships with their customers that go beyond a single sale.
The Yext Answers platform helps businesses to manage their online reputations and digital touchpoints. The platform features Yext Reviews for efficient review management, Yext Search to address user queries on websites and apps, and Yext Listings, which leverages a network of over 200 third-party publishers to amplify your brand's data. Learn more about how your business can leverage Yext here.
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