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Tips For Picking the Best DXP 2022

May 12th, 2022 22 min read

Delivering a great customer experience today also means managing your online presence. For a contact center or sales teams to achieve customer success you need to offer an amazing, omnichannel customer experience. 

Digital experience software allows you control over each new customer’s first time. You can customize their interactions with your site and give them a personable, human experience. The best digital experience platform out there is one that fits your needs. We talk about some important tips to help you pick the best digital experience platform for your customer-centric team.

What is a Digital Experience Platform

Digital experience (DX) software-as-a-service (SaaS) can be used to grow your customers by gaining insight into their experience with metrics like their real-time sessions on your site. With that information, you can improve the overall usability of your eCommerce site and improve conversions. 

A digital experience platform (DXP) is used to optimize the satisfaction of your virtual consumers and your overall operations. For a more in-depth view of DXP software see our definition article here.

How Can I Use Technology To Provide A Better Customer Experience?

A DXP can offer your team an abundance of valuable capabilities to improve your workflow and your customer experience management. These features will be focused on customer experience management with the goal to optimize the entire customer journey. 

Many DXPs allow integration with content management systems (CMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) apps. Several platforms have their own built-in CRM and CMS features for your benefit. 

Customer relationship software offers tools for the support team like chatbots or a self-service portal to meet customer needs. They can improve daily functions are automated it can make it easier to give a better response time. You can automate customer feedback to gauge whether they are a happy customer or an unhappy customer can be automated as well. 

It’s still important to have real people on your customer support team to listen for pain points and provide a personalized experience. In general, a DXPs goal is to give a personalized digital customer experience. 

The difference between DXPs and CRM software is that you use the DXP to monitor all of your customer touchpoints, including social media. It then takes that customer data across those channels and helps you meet customer expectations. Many DXPs use AI with machine learning to anticipate and track customer behavior in the data it will provide you.

By creating the best digital experience you can, you can build better customer relationships and improve retention and customer loyalty. All. DXPs also have tools to help you develop improved digital marketing strategies to entice your target audience to checkout. 

With a DXP you can improve your consumer experience, get advanced analytics, and develop future marketing campaigns or products. Most platforms aim to offer a complete digital transformation of your technology stack.

Tips And Tricks That Can Help You Pick The Best DXP

If you are a team interested in finding the right DXP but are completely new to it, we have some quick tips and resources to get you started. 

The reality is not every eCommerce site needs a DXP and not all DXPs will meet your needs. We cover some of the most important factors to consider while researching a DXP for your team. The links at the end of the article will help you start your search as well as define common terms and concepts.

Do YOU need a DXP?Not every company needs a DXP cloud service. First consider your size, customer base, budget, and current technology stack. 
The three types of DXP and their benefits.Monolithic
Composable
Hybrid
What are most valuable DXP features for small businesses?CRM
CMS
Eliminates technology bloat
Real-time customer data and analytics
AI and Machine Learning
Omnichannel delivery
Mobile compatibility
Have you looked for free DXPs?Most free DXP are open-source and require technical skills for deployment and maintaining it. 
What should YOU avoid in a DXP?Spending 2x more than your old tech stack
Unnecessary features
Deep learning curves
Check their user reviews!Sometimes the best advice is the most obvious advice. 

If you are in the group of buyers that already know exactly what you want then see our list of DXP software

Do YOU need a DXP?

Do you need a DXP? No, really do you, because not everyone does. The point of a DXP is to influence and analyze your consumers digital experience on your web platforms and from your support teams. 

If your current service teams and website design already deliver high customer satisfaction rates then you don’t want to rock the boat. You can, of course, improve the boat. This does not automatically mean buying an expensive DXP software, and most DXPs are expensive. 

Many CRMs offer customer service, analytics, and marketing automation. If you already use a CRM you could consider upgrading to a larger plan or a different one that can offer more analytics for your web platform. 

If you don’t have multiple websites and can easily manage your current customer volume then you may not need more software. For those of your that need to grow there is plenty of CRM that help with email marketing, customer outreach, and customer engagement campaigns. 

A DXP is best for you if

You struggle to locate the source of the dissatisfaction from end users of you site and social media. With a DXP you can use AI and machine learning to pull data on your consumer’s changing behavior and then offer them a more personal experience. This way you can eliminate obstacles between them and checkout. 

The customer base you manage is growing from all your online channels but you don’t have the applications in your tech stack to fulfill their dynamic needs. 

You want to build up your technology stack and streamline more workflows in your sales and customer service departments. 

You have multiple websites, social media, and mobile apps (or are in the process of growing them).

You’ve seen their capabilities and you want one. 

Shut up and take my money meme

The Three Types Of DXP And Their Benefits

Each DXP is structured differently. There are three common types of DXP, monolithic, composable, and hybrid. Some article will note different classifications but these are what we’re using here. 

Monolithic DXPs are older, they come with a suite of included tools. Monolithic DXPs are sometimes also called Legacy DXPs because their core is a legacy CMS, which is an outdated content management system. 

This doesn’t mean monolithic or legacy DXPs are bad. Many solutions in this category are pretty stacked and great for a team that wants to hit the ground running. Examples of Monolithic DXP include Adobe Experience Manager and SAP. Many DXP that say they are an “all-in-one” solution are monolithic as well. An already built suite of tools that get proven results can save you plenty of time.

Composable DXPs are buildable to your preferences and do not already contain a plethora of software. With them, you can integrate your preferred software and form a modular tech stack.

These DXP can be more flexible and affordable because you pay for what you current needs dictate. Companies that are more established might prefer this level of leeway. Other companies might need a basic DXP with enough included tools to get started.

Hybrid DXPs are best of both worlds. Some companies advertise their DXP solutions as “headless DXP” or “hybrid DXP.” The core is a headless CMS, which is a backend CMS separated from the “head” or what the consumer sees. Hybrid DXPs come with integrations and strong, fast APIs to communicate commands between the front and backend. Hybrids can be flexible, faster, and easy to integrate. 

Hybrid are great for companies that have a strong developer team. This is because they can come with powerful dev tools because of their backend access. 

What Are Most Valuable DXP Features For Small Businesses?

This is really subject to personal preference, but there are some amazing features that can really revolutionize your customer engagement. This is especially true for DXp with built in CRM and CMS applications (or allow integrations). 

With a CRM you can manage customers and with a CMS you can manage all your information. You can follow up with loyal customers, build marketing campaigns, streamline project workflow and more. You need tools to interact with your customer base just as much as you need tools to analyze them. 

Speaking of analysis, one of the most important features of a DXP is gathering customer data so can understand their virtual experience. This is kind of the point so avoid tools that have minimal metrics reporting. 

Most DXP offer an AI program with built in machine learning that tracks, analyzes, and learns based on consumer behavior. This is a key part because if your system can’t change and learn then you can’t follow the changes in consumer behavior. If you run a retail company for example, the buyers interests can change dramatically. People move, they hyperfixate, and they need all sorts of different help and recommendations. 

If you company is especially large you will want to track customer login from multiple channels, devices and touchpoints. So omnichannel delivery can be important for providing consistent customer experiences. This is also where mobile app compatibility comes into play because you need to offer the same quality of experience in the app as on the main website. 

One particularly great benefit of a DXP for small businesses is the chance to downsize or simplify the plethora of applications you’re already using. You can only use so many applications to ‘improve workflow’ before they start overcomplicating your workflow with tech bloat.

Have You Looked For Free DXPs?

This one is tricky because most free DXP are open source which means setting it up and maintaining it is on you. This is an awesome and cost-effective choice if you have a developer team. If this solution calls to you, see our free DXP article here. You can find open source options for many DXP by searching to see if they have any “Community editions” available. 

Another cheaper alternative that can offer open source solutions is BuildYourDXP.com. This site is a build your own adventure store with options for open source and cloud based applications. You can look through categories like AB testing, Analytics, CMS, etc., and build your ideal DXP without actually buying a DXP. 

It’s essentially reworking your tech stack to have open source and compatible tools so that you can accomplish the same goals as you would with a DXP. This is again especially suited for teams that have developers ready, but the website does try to offer cloud based options that don’t require you to take on the burden of hosting so that is a big plus.

What Should You Avoid In A DXP?

You should avoid wasting your time and resources on the wrong DXP, but how do you know which one is the wrong one? Some DXPs may have features you don’t need while also weighing heavily on your budget.

If you choose an all-in-one DXP solution, you might find many of the features you don’t actually need because your current tech stack already fills many of those needs. This makes it important to not get swept up in a sales pitch and focus hard on crunching numbers. If the bundle of features looks less impressive compared to what you already have, avoid them. 

Some DXP will be customizable but you should also compare the cost of having a tech stack that fills all those functions. If the DXP does everything your multiple software do for cheaper then that is a huge benefit. 

Learning curves are also important. You can assume that it will take time for your team to get the hang of the new system. Sometimes, time may not be enough. The interfaces of the applications and dashboards could be slow, buggy or just not intuitive. 

That can make it hard to use even after 3 months of training. Saving money is very important but you can lose quite a bit if no one can actually operate the software. We recommend that even if you see a demo from the sales team, you also go online for unsponsored tutorials to see what using the application is really like. 

Check Their User Reviews!

This is pretty much a no-brainer, but not always. It’s easy to get caught up in your research and get so enticed by a product with all the features you want that you forget to check reviews. You may find that the software that impressed you has some very lukewarm reviews. 

Some products may only have a few reviews, and if you find that’s the case you should look for online video reviews and tutorials. Whatever you do, do not skip the comments section because that’s where you will find more feedback on a product. 

You can find user reviews for the products on our DXP software list here. There you will find user feedback on costs, usability, support, and overall functionality. 

More Resources: Your Digital Experience Starter Guide!

A lot of technical terms, especially acronyms being thrown at you can be pretty overwhelming. We put together concepts and terms you will see alot of while researching DXP.

Common acronyms you will see while looking for a DXP include:

DX means digital experience. 

DXM means digital experience management.

DXCM means digital experience customer management.

DXP means digital experience platform.

DAM means digital asset management.

DMS means data management system.

WCM means web content management system. These can be DXPs.

CRM means customer relationship management.

CMS means content management system.

UI means user interface.

UX means user experience.

CX means customer experience.

If you’re ready for further research into DXP software, we have a list filled with customer reviews and insight for a variety of platforms. You should also see our articles for free DXPs, DXP pricing, and DXP definition

For those that want a look at a CRM or CMS instead of getting a DXP, we have software reviews for those as well. Even if you do want a DXP to handle a good chunk of marketing and customer support, a separate CRM or CMS can still be worth it. 

You may also be interested in a contact management system to keep track of clients so you can apply customer retention practices like email marketing. Digital asset management systems can also be helpful if you need to organize your data. 

If you have used any of the platforms discussed here let us know with a review to help other buyers make informed decisions.

Index of Terms and Concepts

Below we have a list of terms related to DXP software that not everyone will be familiar with. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

Artificial Intelligence is a computer program or algorithm that can accomplish programmed tasks. They can allow the automation of many manual chores users dread and streamline workloads. AIs with machine learning can incorporate lessons from prior tasks and improve without new code being added. 

Technology Stack

This is the collection of software that teams will use to accomplish tasks and projects. It can refer to cloud applications, system databases, developer tools, etc. Technology stacks can become complicated so it’s important to organize and maintain them.

Data Silos

Silos refer to data that is stored separately from the rest of your tech stack because they don’t integrate easily. This makes it harder to share with different departments and access your full tech stack. It’s generally recommended to eliminate data silos so you can search through and find data in your systems faster. For more in-depth information see TechTarget’s article on Silos.

Application Programming Interface (API)

An Application Programming Interface is an interface connecting programs or computer programs. They’re used as an interface to perform services for other systems. API’s instruct the system what to do, so it can function properly for you. Software you may know of with APIs include Google Maps, Twitter, and Instant Message systems. 

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