What is a DXP? Digital Experience Platforms Explained

How do you deliver exceptional customer experiences across a myriad of touchpoints? Does your tech stack feel disjointed with sales, marketing and service teams operating in silos? What is the trick to unifying your business operations from a single source of truth?

Enter the digital experience platform - also referred to as a DXP. A digital experience platform is a suite of integrated tools designed to manage and optimise personalised digital interactions. By leveraging advanced features like content management, personalisation, and analytics, DXPs enable organisations to provide seamless, engaging, and consistent customer journeys.

This article explores the core components of DXPs, highlighting leading examples, and their impact on business success.

What is a DXP?

A Digital Experience Platform (DXP) is an overarching concept for a comprehensive collection of tools, based on a common platform, designed to enable organisations to create, manage, deliver, and optimise personalised digital experiences.

These platforms are integral for businesses looking to advance their digital strategy to provide seamless, consistent, and engaging customer journeys across website(s), mobile apps, social media, and other digital channels. 

Understanding the Core Components of a Digital Experience Platform

Content Management System (CMS)

At the heart of any DXP lies a robust Content Management System (CMS). The CMS allows businesses to create, edit, and publish digital content efficiently. A strong CMS supports various media types, integrates with other systems, and ensures content is optimised for different devices and channels.

Personalisation

One of the key features of a DXP is its ability to personalise content based on user behaviour, preferences, and demographics. By leveraging data analytics and machine learning, DXPs can deliver targeted content and experiences that resonate with individual users, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.

Customer Data Management

DXPs integrate with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and other data sources to gather and analyse customer data. This holistic view of customer interactions enables businesses to make informed decisions and tailor their strategies to meet the unique needs of their audience.

Omnichannel Delivery

Ensuring a consistent and cohesive experience across all touchpoints is essential. DXPs facilitate the delivery of content across various channels, including websites, mobile apps, email, and social media, ensuring that the user experience remains unified and seamless.

Integration Capabilities

DXPs are designed to integrate with a wide range of third-party tools and systems, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, e-commerce platforms, marketing automation tools, and analytics solutions. This interoperability allows businesses to leverage their existing technology stack while enhancing their digital capabilities.

Analytics and Optimisation

Advanced analytics and optimisation tools are integral to DXPs. These features enable businesses to track and measure the performance of their digital content, gain insights into user behaviour, and continuously improve the customer experience through data-driven decisions.

Security and Compliance

With increasing concerns around data privacy and security, DXPs offer robust security features and compliance tools to help businesses protect customer data and adhere to regulatory requirements such as GDPR.

Workflow and Collaboration

Effective collaboration and streamlined workflows are critical for managing digital content and experiences. DXPs provide tools that facilitate efficient workflows and syncing of various software systems ensuring that collaboration and delivery are streamlined and aligned with creating exceptional customer experiences at every touchpoint. 

Tools that can be Found in a Digital Experience Platform

Content Management System

Create, edit, manage, and publish digital content across various channels. It serves as the backbone for delivering consistent, up-to-date, and engaging content, enabling businesses to efficiently organise and control their digital assets. The CMS within a DXP ensures seamless integration with other tools, facilitates collaboration among teams, supports personalisation efforts, and optimises the delivery of content to enhance the overall digital experience for users.

Digital Asset Managers

A Central repository to store, organise, and manage digital assets such as images, videos, documents, and other media files. It facilitates easy retrieval and efficient distribution of these assets across various channels. A DAM ensures consistency in branding, enhances collaboration among teams by providing a centralised repository, and improves productivity by streamlining the workflow for creating, managing, and publishing digital content.

Learning Management Systems

To deliver training programs to stakeholders such as employees, partners, franchise businesses and customers. It enhances the digital experience by offering personalised learning paths, tracking user progress, and facilitating engagement through interactive elements. This integration supports the overall goal of a DXP by ensuring that users have access to relevant, educational resources that improve their knowledge and skills, contributing to a more comprehensive and engaging digital journey.

Community Management Portals

To facilitate engagement, collaboration, and interaction among users. It provides a space where customers, partners, and employees can share knowledge, ask questions, and provide feedback. This portal helps build a sense of community, encourages user-generated content, and enhances customer loyalty by fostering meaningful connections and support networks. It also allows businesses to gather insights and improve their offerings based on community interactions and feedback.

Resource Centres 

A dedicated area where users can access various digital assets, such as articles, videos, whitepapers, and tutorials. Its purpose is to provide valuable, centralised content that supports user education, engagement, and self-service, enhancing the overall digital experience by offering relevant and easily accessible information.

Some of the Leading Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs) on the Market

1. Adobe Experience Manager (AEM):

Known for its robust content management, digital asset management, and personalisation capabilities.

2. Sitecore Experience Platform:

Offers comprehensive digital marketing tools, personalisation, and data management.

3. Acquia Digital Experience Platform:

Built on Drupal, it provides flexible content management and extensive personalisation.

4. Salesforce DXP:

Integrates with Salesforce CRM to deliver personalised, omnichannel experiences and comprehensive customer insights.

5. SAP Customer Experience:

Combines commerce, marketing, sales, and service for an integrated customer journey.

These platforms are recognised for their advanced features, scalability, and ability to deliver personalised, seamless digital experiences across various touchpoints.

Introducing Struto SPHERE

Struto's SPHERE is built on HubSpot Content Hub, designed to enable digital experiences by unifying marketing, sales, and service delivery for improved customer experiences. The SPHERE DXP extends HubSpot’s functionalities by adding features such as a Learning Management System (LMS) and community management tools, making it a versatile choice for businesses looking to enhance their digital experience capabilities.

SPHERE leverages HubSpot’s robust CRM and marketing tools to provide a unified view of customer interactions and data. Its personalisation features enable businesses to tailor content and experiences based on user behaviour and preferences. This DXP platform supports omnichannel content delivery, ensuring consistency across various touchpoints. Additionally, businesses can benefit from SPHERE’s advanced analytics and optimisation tools to track engagement, measure impact, and continuously refine their strategies.

The Impact of Digital Experience Platforms

The adoption of DXPs allows businesses to deliver exceptional digital experiences that meet the growing expectations of today’s consumers. By integrating various tools and technologies, DXPs provide a unified platform for managing and optimising customer interactions across multiple channels. This holistic approach not only enhances user engagement and satisfaction but also drives business growth by improving conversion rates and customer loyalty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Digital Experience Platforms empower businesses to create, manage, and optimise personalised digital experiences. By leveraging the capabilities of a DXP, organisations can ensure a consistent, engaging, and seamless customer journey, ultimately leading to greater success in the digital landscape.