Why brands need to embrace phygital for meaningful experiences
We are witnessing flat e-commerce, as we currently have almost everything at one click of a distance.
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I reflected a few days ago about this topic. Door-to-door services are available at any time. Tech is accelerating, so we can have almost any product from nearly every part of the world without travelling as Willy Fogg did.
On the other hand, our needs are also changing, especially people willing to have experiences that connect them to their values. I am referring to the group of people named as the regenizers. This community is looking to change their relationship with the way they consume. These are minded citizens who focus on regeneration.
They instigate significant societal shifts by assuming greater personal responsibility in the hope of inspiring brands and governments to follow. They are motivated by shifting priorities and lasting lifestyle changes.
For Regenizens, spending gives them the power to take action by supporting and investing in regenerative brands and businesses that improve local or international communities.
Phygital experiences
The essence of “phygital” — is the combination of physical and digital for enhanced experiences.
In the past decade, digital adoption has grown exponentially. Think about it. How many payments have you made online? How are you communicating? How have you investigated your purchases? Shouted at a virtual assistant or smart device? Have you added voice verification to your credit card?
We have many brand interactions through a smartphone, desktop or connected device. That leaves us with a particular dilemma. How do experts design immersive experiences while leveraging efficiency and meaning?
Phygital is a journey. It’s a strategy that requires constant evaluation, improvement and response to the market.
The cycle of interaction
Let us take a look at the basis of human cognition. We, as users, interact first with the tangible world through our senses. Then, what we assimilate from the tangible depends on how we make sense of it. How we understand the world in our minds is key to cognition. Following this, our actions are taken based on our values, knowledge, expectations, and objectives with the world around us. That relates to emotional well-being.
People want a strong connection with the brands and products, and storytelling can play a role here. What the services or products can do for the people and how they can lead a better life will create an emotional connection leading to great brand love. In that way, people can contextualize them in real-world environments.
Global forces and behaviours
Not only to consider human cognition, but brands must also evaluate societal shifts. Significant events have happened recently on a global scale and are reshaping society.
People have grown accustomed to fast delivery and access to goods 24/7 through digital channels. Some are growing tired of the functionality and looking to other dimensions than flat eCommerce experiences.
On the other hand, the impact of the pandemic, and the uncertainty we live with on a global level, are threatening to reduce disposable income across the world, fostering behaviours on frugality and security in how people spend their money. People seek security, inclusion and community, prompting companies to encourage more reciprocal relationships with their consumers.
The last shift is moving from individualism toward a more collective approach to society — people, communities, countries are valuing empathy, creating alliances and togetherness. Businesses, platforms, profits and products can be harnessed to global causes in times of need and redistribute power at scale.
Customer journey
It’s in the customer journey where the audience meets the brand. Follows the benefits if brands consider all the experience across the touchpoints:
- Empathize with the customers.
- Get a uniform view of their journey.
- Identify gaps in service or communications.
- Predict customer behaviour.
- Improve the customer journey.
- Provide a visual aid for stakeholders.
- Remove silos from departments.
- See the experience from the customer’s standpoint
- Create a seamless experience
- Increase customer involvement
- Attract loyalty
Envisioning experiences that foster an emotional connection
Brands need to empathize with their users, meaning better understanding the purposes and causes that drive people to a specific product or service. On the other hand, users need to feel emotionally connected to the brand values and feel inspired.
Companies must first identify change agents within the business — resilience, the strength of character, objectivity and willingness to be flexible to the business. Following this, they need to have a solid connection to their strategy. Lastly, it should be seen as an entire experience involving all the touchpoints of the customer journey, from inspiration to after purchase.
Follows possible futures I spotted as example that potentially encourage to more meaningful and phygital experiences:
- Try before trading through meaningful moments.
I could give as an example the danish design company Vipp. Dreaming of a world with fewer but better products, with timeless contemporary design, the company measures the quality of products and concepts on their long-term ability, aiming to create meaningful customer experiences.
The retail space moves into a dining room, with the brand’s furniture where it hosts local chefs. So the customers can enjoy dinner as it would be in their homes while they experience the timeless and modular furniture and the environment. - Connected products. Redefining how we buy and sell.
One of the references in this context is the partnership between Pangaia with renewable energy supplier EON. They are now working on launching digital passports — a QR code on the clothing that has detailed information about the product journey. This way, customers can track carbon emissions and understand the effects of the entire product journey until it is in their hands. - Sensorial strategy
The Kulturhuset from Bergen, in Norway, decided to use the medium of sound to capture the audience’s vibe. As the brand typography changes shape, so does the accompanying music, producing a dynamic sonic identity that introduces a new dimension to the usually motionless medium of graphic design.
This example can be in other contexts connecting customers with brands and inviting the community to connect to their physical place through sensory experiences, making spaces more immersive. - Community oriented: Increasing reselling, return, reuse and sharing channels.
The Swedish denim company, Nudie Jeans, has been recognized for their work with sustainability, both environmental and social. They educate consumers throughout their digital journal, gathering a community of like-minded people who can interact and change knowledge in the platform.
They have a reuse and repair program with Repair spots in Sweden and sell free-of-charge DIY repair kits.
In this example, customers have a voice and can help to shape the future of the brand experience.
Brands will have to make the radical move from sellers to coordinators, blurring the boundaries between company, community and collective.
Also, be willing to re-evaluate the business’s roles in the context of the challenges ahead, and take steps now to repurpose or recalibrate.
In the fight for survival, smart brands know that doing partnerships
beats isolation and opens progressive growth towards common goals that benefit their brands, people and the ecosystem.
