brent-heslop.jpeg

Brent Heslop

Building a unified commerce experience begins with retail digital experience management. Retail is a tough business – and as connected devices cultivate around-the-clock consumers and the low threshold for entry creates overnight competitors, it’s only getting tougher.&nbsp; 
Not long ago, many experts agreed that <a href="https://www.e-spirit.com/en/blog/what_is_a_digital_experience_platform_and_why_should_you_care.html">by 2020, the consumer experience would be the critical differentiator between retailers</a>. That’s right: The customer’s digital experience has become more important than your products, price and even quality.&nbsp; 
<a href="https://www.decibelinsight.com/resources/ecommerce-customer-experience-management-guide">More than 85% of customers say they’ll pay more for the same products from brands that provide a better experience</a>. In fact, 89% report that they’ll stop doing business with retailers that offer poor experiences. It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for a single negative experience — a negative experience they’re going to tell someone else about.&nbsp; <figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img alt="Customers 2x more likely to share bad experiences" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/bltc78c0f65defa007e/61f43f6b5b57f325c9137c3f/customers-2x-share-bad-experiences.png" data-image="4pkhh3nox3fv"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">customers-2x-more-likely-to-share-bad-experiences.png</figcaption></figure>
 The retail digital experience is the sum of every interaction customers have with your brand across digital channels (think social media), digital devices (smartphones), and in-store digital technology (a kiosk).&nbsp; 
Management of that experience is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2019/01/22/the-ins-and-outs-of-digital-experience-management/#635a3712670a">the strategy you implement to align channels, content and marketing assets</a> to provide experiences that meet consumer demands. It should cycle through three steps: striving to understand the consumer experience, executing improvements and monitoring them to find where progress can be made the next time around.&nbsp;
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img alt="Retail digital experience management cycle" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt909433d9195aa434/61f43f6b12244c25ceb6ea89/retail-digital-experience-management-cycle.png" data-image="lm350wj8xp52"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">retail-digital-experience-management-cycle.png</figcaption></figure>
 To build a unified commerce experience, retail marketers must integrate processes and tools that enable flawless experiences at scale. The first step is understanding what your current and potential customers want, need, like and dislike.&nbsp;

Take their pulse with monitoring and data collection technology. A customer relationship management platform (CRM) will help you manage your relationship with current customers and move leads through the sales and marketing funnel. A few to try: <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/">Salesforce</a>, <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm">HubSpot CRM</a>, <a href="https://www.zendesk.com/">Zendesk</a>, <a href="https://www.intercom.com/">Intercom</a> or <a href="https://www.insightly.com/">Insightly</a>. 
Layer a customer data platform (CDP) on top of your CRM or other customer data stockpile to create more well-rounded and informative customer profiles. Consider <a href="https://www.evergage.com/">Evergage</a> and <a href="https://exponea.com/us/cdp/">Exponea</a> for this functionality.&nbsp; 
Next, <a href="https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/customer-experience-management-for-retailers-from-disbelief-to-action/">“voice of the customer” tools provide insight</a> on what consumers are thinking, often in real time. Social listening tools, such as <a href="https://hootsuite.com/">Hootsuite</a>, <a href="https://buffer.com/">Buffer</a> and others, allow you to see what consumers are saying about your industry or your business.&nbsp; 
Sentiment analysis platforms identify the underlying “feeling” (negative, positive, etc.) in text-based conversations both on and off social media. <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/integrations/ibm-watson/" target="_self">IBM Watson</a>, <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/integrations/monkeylearn/" target="_self">MonkeyLearn</a>, <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/products/einstein/overview/">Salesforce Einstein</a> and <a href="https://rapidminer.com/">RapidMiner</a> provide this service.&nbsp; 
You can also look to your web or app analytics platforms, such as <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/integrations/google-analytics/" target="_self">Google Analytics</a> and <a href="https://count.ly/">Countly</a>, to identify underperforming areas. And of course you’ll want to carefully monitor your own on-site or in-app feedback sources (web forms, chat, call center logs, surveys, reviews, formal complaints, etc.). 
There are more retail consumers and competitors on the scene than ever. It’s critical to focus your marketing efforts on developing a retail digital experience management strategy that provides a unified commerce experience across every consumer touchpoint.&nbsp; 
Gather more helpful marketing tips from our guide: <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/how-to-enterprise-marketing-strategy">How to Nail Your Enterprise Marketing Strategy</a>.

Building a unified commerce experience begins with retail digital experience management. Retail is a tough business – and as connected devices cultivate around-the-clock consumers and the low threshold for entry creates overnight competitors, it’s only getting tougher. 

. That’s right: The customer’s digital experience has become more important than your products, price and even quality. 

. In fact, 89% report that they’ll stop doing business with retailers that offer poor experiences. It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for a single negative experience — a negative experience they’re going to tell someone else about. 

The retail digital experience is the sum of every interaction customers have with your brand across digital channels (think social media), digital devices (smartphones), and in-store digital technology (a kiosk). 

 to provide experiences that meet consumer demands. It should cycle through three steps: striving to understand the consumer experience, executing improvements and monitoring them to find where progress can be made the next time around. 

To build a unified commerce experience, retail marketers must integrate processes and tools that enable flawless experiences at scale. The first step is understanding what your current and potential customers want, need, like and dislike. 

Take their pulse with monitoring and data collection technology. A customer relationship management platform (CRM) will help you manage your relationship with current customers and move leads through the sales and marketing funnel. A few to try: 

Layer a customer data platform (CDP) on top of your CRM or other customer data stockpile to create more well-rounded and informative customer profiles. Consider 

 on what consumers are thinking, often in real time. Social listening tools, such as 

 and others, allow you to see what consumers are saying about your industry or your business. 

Sentiment analysis platforms identify the underlying “feeling” (negative, positive, etc.) in text-based conversations both on and off social media. 

You can also look to your web or app analytics platforms, such as 

, to identify underperforming areas. And of course you’ll want to carefully monitor your own on-site or in-app feedback sources (web forms, chat, call center logs, surveys, reviews, formal complaints, etc.).

There are more retail consumers and competitors on the scene than ever. It’s critical to focus your marketing efforts on developing a retail digital experience management strategy that provides a unified commerce experience across every consumer touchpoint. 

Gather more helpful marketing tips from our guide: 

digital-experience.png

What you need to know about Digital Experience Management

As we journeyed through the last year, the world continued to change and the need for global commerce to adapt grew. More businesses adopted omnichannel approaches and personalization became more important than ever. Looking at the most-visited blog posts of 2021, the focus on headless content management systems are growing.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/headless-cms-vs-building-custom-cms/">1. How Headless CMS Is Killing the Buy vs. Build Decision</a></h3>
It used to be that the only way to get your content management system to do exactly what you wanted was to build it yourself. The headless CMS system and its ability to deliver content seamlessly across every channel changed all that.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/content-management-systems-history-and-headless-cms/">2. The History of Content Management Systems and the Rise of Headless CMS</a></h3>
From the early days of Web 1.0 and HTML to today’s world of headless CMS and global commerce, the CMS playing field has always evolved. Look back at our journey so far and where we might be headed.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/10-tips-on-content-management-systems-cms/">3. How to Choose the Right Content Management System (CMS)</a></h3>
With so many options out there, selecting the right content management system can seem like a daunting task. There are so many variables to consider and choosing poorly could be a costly mistake. Here are 10 tips to help you choose the right CMS for your team.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/content-lifecycle-management/">4. Content Lifecycle Management for the Modern Enterprise</a></h3>
Having a complete content lifecycle management system in place can make life easier for content strategists to guide their programs. Pulling it off can be tricky, though. To make sure you get through without a hitch, check out the seven stages of content lifecycle management.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/content-approval-workflow-guide/">5. The Ultimate Guide to Content Approval Workflows</a></h3>
In the world of enterprise business, you thrive on vast amounts of content that needs to be fresh and relevant. If you need consistency and efficiency, build a content approval workflow that empowers content creators to reach their potential.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/content-modeling-and-headless-cms/">6. Content Modeling and Headless CMS: A Match Made for the Future of Content</a></h3>
To deliver consistent, high-quality content when and where your audience wants it, you’re going to need a carefully structured content strategy. But how do you even know what you need? Enter content modeling.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/localization-and-personalization/">7. Localization and Personalization at Scale</a></h3>
Companies today have access to an incredible amount of data from their customers, including their interests, locations and what type of products they’ve purchased before. Access to this data is making it easier than ever to create an online experience focused on localization and personalization.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/globalization-online-gaming/">8. From Pong to Call of Duty: The Globalization and Localization of Video Games</a></h3>
With the massive rise in gaming popularity came an equally massive shift toward a global launch approach, with producers releasing games in different languages to audiences all over the world at the same time. This globalization of the gaming industry has important implications for companies, gamers and developers.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/state-cms-industry-content-management-statistics/">9. The State of the CMS Industry: 20 Key Content Management Statistics for 2020</a></h3>
From the rise of chatbots to the increasing impact of the headless CMS, look back at the content management trends we were watching for in 2020.<h3><a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/best-content-management-systems-2021/">10. The 11 Best Content Management Systems of 2021: Options for Small, Midmarket, and Enterprise Businesses</a></h3>
There’s never been a one-size-fits-all content management system. There are many things to consider researching a CMS, from size and scalability to omnichannel features to how easy it is to use. Here were our recommendations for the best content management systems of 2021.

contentstack-top-blogs_522x348.png

The top 10 Content Management System blog posts of 2021

When it comes to the digital experience, it can be easy to lose sight of the forest when you’re focused on the trees.

To help you see the bigger picture, we put together a few cutting-edge digital experience examples as well as some advice on how you can create them in your own organization.
<h2>What Digital Customer Experience Means and Why it Matters</h2>
The digital customer experience encompasses the interactions consumers have with your brand on digital channels and devices throughout the customer journey.

Effective digital experiences provide customers with relevant recommendations and convenient access to your products or services, support staff, and any brand information they may need.

Organizations that use modern channels and devices to create digital experiences are able to access and use consumer data to create personalized, omnichannel interactions. <a href="https://www.mulesoft.com/lp/reports/connectivity-benchmark" target="_self">According to MuleSoft’s ​​2021 Connectivity Benchmark Report</a>, businesses that invest in creating personalized digital experiences that flow seamlessly across channels enjoy higher customer engagement, better ROI, and improved business innovation and transformation.

<h2>See it in Action: 4 Digital Experience Examples</h2>
<a href="https://www.mulesoft.com/lp/reports/connectivity-benchmark" target="_self">Fewer than 20% of businesses</a> report having built a seamless digital experience. If you’re looking for ways to make your digital experience more cohesive and ready for whatever customer experience trends the future holds, here are a few examples to inspire you.
<h3>1. Casper: A New Take on the Chatbot</h3>
Many modern companies use artificial intelligence (AI) to support personalized, omnichannel digital experiences. But the direct-to-consumer (DTC) mattress brand Casper is using AI in a simple yet effective way to digitally connect with consumers.

Casper created <a href="https://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/casper-introduces-chatbot-for-insomniacs.html" target="_self">a chatbot named Insomnobot3000</a>. People can text the chatbot, for free, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Casper’s goal with Insomnobot3000 was “ … to make a bot that made 3 a.m. a little less lonely," according to Casper’s former Head of Communications Lindsay Kaplan.

The chatbot represents a new, creative channel where consumers can connect with the organization. It’s also possible the chatbot will be able to gather data that will be useful in creating personalized marketing and messaging.
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/bltde7bd709a478f8e7/61d782985304f04f9446be59/Contentstack_Chatbot.jpeg" alt="Man on Couch Chatting" data-image="6nej3xr8xsgd"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">man-on-couch-chatting.jpg</figcaption></figure>
<h3>2. JetBlue: A True Omnichannel Digital Experience</h3>
JetBlue’s <a href="https://pearlmedia.com/portfolio/jetblue-wingman/" target="_self">“A Better Wingman” campaign</a> involved what most participants thought was simply an interactive digital billboard on a New York City street. However, it also hid a real, in-person flight attendant behind the scenes who was able to immediately respond to consumer questions and feedback — and hand out free flights and other gifts from the airline.

This experience received several awards and generated brand recognition for JetBlue with more than 15 million earned media impressions.
<h3>3. Miami HEAT: Personalization Powers the In-Person Experience</h3>
<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/customers/miami-heat/" target="_self">The Miami HEAT took winning to the next level</a> when they decided to upgrade their digital experience with a switch to a headless platform (<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/" target="_self">more about that here</a>) for their mobile application.

Even before COVID-19, teams were struggling against TV and digital media to bring fans to in-person events, which are a critical revenue stream for both teams and arenas.

The HEAT needed a personalized experience that helped immerse fans in the game day scene. Considering mobile-device penetration was then near 100% for in-person sporting event attendees, a mobile app improvement was a clear choice.

The HEAT’s tech team integrated tools that delivered an innovative mobile experience. At the same time, their marketing pros were finally able to gather the data they needed to create the highly personalized content that powered these experiences.

One example of the success of The HEAT’s new platform and app was a personalized marketing campaign: “We launched a targeted messaging campaign that informed our season ticket members about an exclusive retail offer once they scanned into the arena,” <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/customers/miami-heat/" target="_self">said the HEAT’s Executive Vice President of Business Strategy Matthew Jafarian</a>. “That resulted in an almost 100% influenced app open rate and a spike in sales for our [retail] group.”
<h3>4. Apple: A Personalizable Self-Service Experience</h3>
Self-service may seem like the opposite of providing a thoughtful consumer experience. However, when done right, self-service can be another helpful channel through which consumers interact with your brand. Apple is an example of a company that provides a pleasing self-service experience that users can personalize.

<a href="https://support.apple.com/" target="_self">The main Apple Support website page</a> showcases their self-help portal – a value-adding channel and a key element of their omnichannel, digital experience. Not only is it helpful for consumers, but this portal is also a helpful channel for the Apple team, who can save time and resources by weeding out issues that might not need their personalized attention.
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt02616ae7eeb5dd12/61d782984376c54ccd7d125e/Learn_Create.jpeg" alt="Apple support page screenshot" data-image="nqcrwv8uzdg0"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">apple-support-page-screenshot.jpg</figcaption></figure>
<h2>How to Become a Powerful Digital Experience Example</h2>
In our own <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/eb/the-state-of-digital-experience-investment-in-the-united-kingdom/" target="_self">a recent survey of tech, marketing, and business leaders</a>, we uncovered that more than half of the digital experience capabilities built by businesses never actually get used!

The biggest roadblock to digital experience execution? <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/why-digital-experience-capabilities-sit-on-the-shelf/" target="_self">The cost of implementation</a>. In addition, the majority of respondents also believed their current digital-experience investments would become obsolete in just a few years due to a lack of integration across technologies.
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt00eab92227caa4ca/61d7829808d023513c071575/DX_Innovations.jpeg" alt="Why digital experience is under-utilized infographic" data-image="xzfb68bilujz"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">why-digital-experience-is-under-utilized-infographic.png</figcaption></figure>

Building modern digital experiences upon a monolithic, legacy software platform is difficult. To avoid the endless and sticky tangle of add-ons, organizations should build their digital experiences upon a modular, modern software platform that can shift as easily as experience trends do. You need a MACH system.

<a href="https://machalliance.org/insights/mach-business-technology-for-2020-and-beyond" target="_self">“MACH” is an acronym for software</a> that is made of multiple microservices (M), connected using APIs (A), hosted in and delivered via the cloud (C), and built using headless (H) architecture that separates back-end logic from front-end presentation layers. MACH makes integration simple and implementation much more affordable.

Integration is simpler within a MACH platform because each piece of functionality is a self-contained microservice. The whole system works together via API (application programming interface). This structure eliminates the need for expensive re-platforming projects, but that’s just one way in which implementing MACH is more affordable than going monolithic. MACH platforms are hosted by their vendors and delivered via the cloud, so they pay for maintenance and hosting, not you. Payment for MACH solutions is often subscription-based, so you can pay for your platform in small installments instead of laying out the full amount upfront for a piece of technology that may become outdated in just a few years.

<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt063047f42dfbc0eb/61d7829856212257cdb50a08/MACH_Empowers.jpeg" alt="MACH architecture empowers microservices" data-image="fjyubb54ser5"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">mach-architecture-empowers-microservices.png</figcaption></figure>

Organizations that work with APIs <a href="https://www.mulesoft.com/lp/reports/connectivity-benchmark" target="_self">create 27% of their revenue from those APIs</a> and all the related implementations they bring to life. When you build your digital experiences on API-connected MACH solutions, you’ll be prepared to simply shift, affordably scale and become a powerful digital experience example.

To learn more about the ROI of the digital experience, you can read our free ebook <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/eb/going-beyond-roi-with-return-on-experience-rox/" target="_self">Going Beyond ROI with Return on Experience</a>. To learn more about the MACH concept, start with <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/leaning-away-legacy-tools-mach/" target="_self">Leaning Away from Legacy Tools: Modernize Your Tech Stack with MACH</a> then read <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/6-ways-identify-modern-enterprise-software/" target="_self">6 Ways to Identify Modern Enterprise Software</a> to make sure you’re picking the best tech for creating modern digital experiences. And finally, if you want to see some MACH software in action for free, we invite you to <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo/" target="_self">sign up for a personalized demo of Contentstack today.</a>

When it comes to the digital experience, it can be easy to lose sight of the forest when you’re focused on the trees.

To help you see the bigger picture, we put together a few cutting-edge digital experience examples as well as some advice on how you can create them in your own organization.

What Digital Customer Experience Means and Why it Matters

The digital customer experience encompasses the interactions consumers have with your brand on digital channels and devices throughout the customer journey.

Effective digital experiences provide customers with relevant recommendations and convenient access to your products or services, support staff, and any brand information they may need.

Organizations that use modern channels and devices to create digital experiences are able to access and use consumer data to create personalized, omnichannel interactions. 

, businesses that invest in creating personalized digital experiences that flow seamlessly across channels enjoy higher customer engagement, better ROI, and improved business innovation and transformation.

See it in Action: 4 Digital Experience Examples

 report having built a seamless digital experience. If you’re looking for ways to make your digital experience more cohesive and ready for whatever customer experience trends the future holds, here are a few examples to inspire you.

Many modern companies use artificial intelligence (AI) to support personalized, omnichannel digital experiences. But the direct-to-consumer (DTC) mattress brand Casper is using AI in a simple yet effective way to digitally connect with consumers.

. People can text the chatbot, for free, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Casper’s goal with Insomnobot3000 was “ … to make a bot that made 3 a.m. a little less lonely," according to Casper’s former Head of Communications Lindsay Kaplan.

The chatbot represents a new, creative channel where consumers can connect with the organization. It’s also possible the chatbot will be able to gather data that will be useful in creating personalized marketing and messaging.

2. JetBlue: A True Omnichannel Digital Experience

 involved what most participants thought was simply an interactive digital billboard on a New York City street. However, it also hid a real, in-person flight attendant behind the scenes who was able to immediately respond to consumer questions and feedback — and hand out free flights and other gifts from the airline.

This experience received several awards and generated brand recognition for JetBlue with more than 15 million earned media impressions.

3. Miami HEAT: Personalization Powers the In-Person Experience

 when they decided to upgrade their digital experience with a switch to a headless platform (

Even before COVID-19, teams were struggling against TV and digital media to bring fans to in-person events, which are a critical revenue stream for both teams and arenas.

The HEAT needed a personalized experience that helped immerse fans in the game day scene. Considering mobile-device penetration was then near 100% for in-person sporting event attendees, a mobile app improvement was a clear choice.

The HEAT’s tech team integrated tools that delivered an innovative mobile experience. At the same time, their marketing pros were finally able to gather the data they needed to create the highly personalized content that powered these experiences.

One example of the success of The HEAT’s new platform and app was a personalized marketing campaign: “We launched a targeted messaging campaign that informed our season ticket members about an exclusive retail offer once they scanned into the arena,” 

. “That resulted in an almost 100% influenced app open rate and a spike in sales for our [retail] group.”

4. Apple: A Personalizable Self-Service Experience

Self-service may seem like the opposite of providing a thoughtful consumer experience. However, when done right, self-service can be another helpful channel through which consumers interact with your brand. Apple is an example of a company that provides a pleasing self-service experience that users can personalize.

 showcases their self-help portal – a value-adding channel and a key element of their omnichannel, digital experience. Not only is it helpful for consumers, but this portal is also a helpful channel for the Apple team, who can save time and resources by weeding out issues that might not need their personalized attention.

How to Become a Powerful Digital Experience Example

, we uncovered that more than half of the digital experience capabilities built by businesses never actually get used!

The biggest roadblock to digital experience execution? 

. In addition, the majority of respondents also believed their current digital-experience investments would become obsolete in just a few years due to a lack of integration across technologies.

Building modern digital experiences upon a monolithic, legacy software platform is difficult. To avoid the endless and sticky tangle of add-ons, organizations should build their digital experiences upon a modular, modern software platform that can shift as easily as experience trends do. You need a MACH system.

 that is made of multiple microservices (M), connected using APIs (A), hosted in and delivered via the cloud (C), and built using headless (H) architecture that separates back-end logic from front-end presentation layers. MACH makes integration simple and implementation much more affordable.

Integration is simpler within a MACH platform because each piece of functionality is a self-contained microservice. The whole system works together via API (application programming interface). This structure eliminates the need for expensive re-platforming projects, but that’s just one way in which implementing MACH is more affordable than going monolithic. MACH platforms are hosted by their vendors and delivered via the cloud, so they pay for maintenance and hosting, not you. Payment for MACH solutions is often subscription-based, so you can pay for your platform in small installments instead of laying out the full amount upfront for a piece of technology that may become outdated in just a few years.

 and all the related implementations they bring to life. When you build your digital experiences on API-connected MACH solutions, you’ll be prepared to simply shift, affordably scale and become a powerful digital experience example.

To learn more about the ROI of the digital experience, you can read our free ebook 

. To learn more about the MACH concept, start with 

 to make sure you’re picking the best tech for creating modern digital experiences. And finally, if you want to see some MACH software in action for free, we invite you to 

Futuristic_DX_Examples.jpeg

Digital Experience Examples that Feel Like They're From the Future

While impulse buying still exists, gone are the days when retailers can rely on a single channel — be it their brick-and-mortar store or company website — to sell products or services.In 2021 and beyond, an omnichannel shopping path is becoming the norm. Today, it’s not as simple as a shopper landing on your website, navigating to and buying a product and becoming a lifetime customer from that moment on. Instead, retailers have to be prepared for more complex journeys across a variety of digital and physical channels, such as researching on your website before buying a product in-store and later seeking out customer support over social media.While it’s typical for businesses to use these shopping and communication channels individually, it's much harder to create an omnichannel experience in which many channels work together to create a seamless, personalized journey for each consumer.However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible — which is excellent news considering all the benefits that an omnichannel experience can provide.Allow us to walk you through what the omnichannel experience looks like, data-backed benefits that will help you understand why the investment in omnichannel is worth it, and how you can get started when you’re ready to set up your own omnichannel experience.<h2>What is an omnichannel experience?</h2>Channels are all the places where consumers interact with a business. They may include where products and services are sold (website, physical store), how they’re advertised (email, direct mail, social media) and the devices used to find them (desktop, tablet, smartphone).For businesses, providing effective <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/omnichannel-experiences/" target="_self">omnichannel experiences</a> means collating consumer data, using this information to develop highly relevant content and delivering this content at the best time, in the best format, on the best channels for that consumer.This creates smooth, personalized shopping journeys that help increase revenue and retention in a time of extreme competition.The omnichannel experience puts the consumer at the heart of the action is a powerful improvement upon multi-channel engagement, which revolves around the product instead of the person.These outdated experiences are hallmarked by their only capability — bombarding consumers with static, impersonal, out-of-place content that does more to drive them away than to entice them to interact with your brand.<figure style = "margin: auto; text-align: center;width: auto;"><img alt="A diagram to compare the difference between multi-channel vs. omnichannel engagement" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt9141dc8ccc6fec3b/61f2e421b647832808dee213/multichannel-vs-omnichannel-engagement.jpg" data-image="v4bfytfs7ghp" /></figure><h2>1 data-backed omnichannel benefits for businesses</h2>A Salesforce report found that <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/blog/2020/12/omnichannel-strategy-benefits.html" target="_blank">67% of customers use several channels</a> to complete their purchases. In fact, 40% of customers won’t do business with companies if they can’t use the channels with which they’re the most comfortable.The demand for omnichannel experiences is real, and the benefits of going omnichannel are just as real:<ol style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: left;">Marketing campaigns with three or more channels <a href="https://www.omnisend.com/resources/reports/omnichannel-marketing-automation-statistics-2019/" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">generate 90% higher retention rates </a>than single-channel campaigns.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Harvard Business Review found that <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/01/a-study-of-46000-shoppers-shows-that-omnichannel-retailing-works" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">omnichannel customers make 23% more trips back to a retailer’s store</a> than single-channel shoppers.</li><li style="text-align: left;">The average order value (AOV) for a single-channel campaign is $58.70 while <a href="https://www.omnisend.com/resources/reports/omnichannel-marketing-automation-statistics-2019/" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">the AOV for an omnichannel campaign is 13% higher at $66.31.</a></li><li style="text-align: left;">For the 2021 holiday season, 65% of consumers say they’ll spend as much if not more than they did in 2020. <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210818005019/en/Consumers-Are-Ready-for-an-Omnichannel-Holiday-Shopping-Spree-Brands-Are-You-Ready" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">Half say they plan to shop online more than in previous years</a> and a similar percentage will use more omnichannel shopping options, such as buying online and picking up in-store.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Digital sales at Target grew by almost $10 billion in 2020, thanks to a <a href="https://investors.target.com/news-releases/news-release-details/target-corporation-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2020" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">235% increase in usage of omnichannel same-day services</a> like curbside pickup, buy-online-pick-up-in-store and same-day delivery from local stores.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Customers who give a business a high experience rating <a href="https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-experience-strategy/" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">spend 140% more on average at that business</a> — and keep shopping there for as many as six years.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Marketing campaigns using three or more channels <a href="https://www.omnisend.com/blog/omnichannel-statistics/" target="_blank" style="text-align: left;">generate a purchase rate of over 12%</a> – almost 300% higher than their single-channel counterparts that bring in a purchase rate near 3%.</li><li>Harvard Business Review also found that <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/01/a-study-of-46000-shoppers-shows-that-omnichannel-retailing-works" target="_blank">omnichannel shoppers spend 10% more online and 4% more in-store</a> than their single-channel counterparts, and every additional channel customers use corresponds to more money spent in-store.</li><li>Single-channel campaigns only earn a 5.4% average engagement rate, but with a campaign with three or more channels that <a href="https://www.omnisend.com/resources/reports/omnichannel-marketing-automation-statistics-2019/" target="_blank">number jumps to nearly 19%.</a></li><li>Omnichannel shoppers are more likely to <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/01/a-study-of-46000-shoppers-shows-that-omnichannel-retailing-works" target="_blank">recommend their favorite retailer to friends and family</a> than single-channel shoppers are.</li><li>According to Think with Google, 70% of shoppers say <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/meeting-shoppers-needs-omnichannel-drives-instore/" target="_blank">it’s still important for them to be able to shop in person</a>.</li><li>RetailWire’s BrainTrust members believe <a href="https://www.retailwire.com/discussion/is-curbside-pickup-just-getting-started/" target="_blank">omnichannel services like buy online and pick up in-store are here to stay </a>thanks to COVID-19 forcing many retailers to finally “get in the game” — and consumers loving it.</li></ol><figure style = "margin: auto; text-align: center;width: auto;"><img alt="Infographic showing campaigns with three or more channels increase purchase rates by 287%." src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt7359e2a55efae483/blt99248b38f55a3f20/63caf971dd49ff3d9fff2629/more-channels-more-purchases.jpg" height="auto" /></figure><h2>Where to start your omnichannel journey</h2>As you can see, there’s a lot to gain from building omnichannel experiences for your consumers.However, Digital Marketing Maturity Benchmarks 2021 by Smart Insights and BrightTALK found that only 37% of companies have implemented an omnichannel marketing strategy to meet the demand.The disconnect is because the content management system (CMS) platforms many marketing departments use aren’t up to the task of implementing content-powered omnichannel experiences.The traditional, monolithic CMS tools that were once cutting edge can only service a limited number of channels and employees at any given time. It’s expensive, time-consuming and <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/ease-the-pains-of-legacy-tech-one-step-at-a-time/" target="_self">risky to add new technologies to these old-school platforms</a>.That’s why the answer to reaping omnichannel benefits lies in a modern, agile, MACH headless CMS.“<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/enterprise-ready-for-mach/" target="_self">MACH</a>” stands for microservices-based, API-connected, cloud-native and headless. A modern, agile <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/" target="_self">headless CMS</a> built using MACH principles lets businesses manage every channel from a single, unified hub.The headless architecture separates content creation from content distribution. This allows marketers to create content that powers omnichannel experiences while developers build out delivery systems, without interfering with one another.<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/product-updates/easily-integrate-with-your-marketing-technologies-with-contentstack-cms-custom-fields/" target="_self">Robust integration capabilities</a> also offer smart analytics, personalization tools and other helpful services so businesses can deliver omnichannel experiences via chatbot, in-store kiosk, email campaigns and more.<figure style = "margin: auto; text-align: center;width: auto;"><img alt="Traditional CMS uses separate dashboards for its website; a headless CMS uses a cloud-native content hub to feed all channels" src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt65f13e87c1892161/61f2e53c031a18274b668c6d/traditional-vs-modern-cms.png" data-image="318bytz7vo0n" /></figure>The opportunities for omnichannel benefits are practically boundless, but you’ll only get as far as your CMS can take you. To work with a <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/customer-success/" target="_self">headless, agile CMS that’s uniquely devoted to the success of its users</a>, connect with Contentstack today to <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo/" target="_self">get a free trial or personalized walk-through</a>.

While impulse buying still exists, gone are the days when retailers can rely on a single channel — be it their brick-and-mortar store or company website — to sell products or services.

In 2021 and beyond, an omnichannel shopping path is becoming the norm. Today, it’s not as simple as a shopper landing on your website, navigating to and buying a product and becoming a lifetime customer from that moment on. Instead, retailers have to be prepared for more complex journeys across a variety of digital and physical channels, such as researching on your website before buying a product in-store and later seeking out customer support over social media.

While it’s typical for businesses to use these shopping and communication channels individually, it's much harder to create an omnichannel experience in which many channels work together to create a seamless, personalized journey for each consumer.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible — which is excellent news considering all the benefits that an omnichannel experience can provide.

Allow us to walk you through what the omnichannel experience looks like, data-backed benefits that will help you understand why the investment in omnichannel is worth it, and how you can get started when you’re ready to set up your own omnichannel experience.

Channels are all the places where consumers interact with a business. They may include where products and services are sold (website, physical store), how they’re advertised (email, direct mail, social media) and the devices used to find them (desktop, tablet, smartphone).

 means collating consumer data, using this information to develop highly relevant content and delivering this content at the best time, in the best format, on the best channels for that consumer.

This creates smooth, personalized shopping journeys that help increase revenue and retention in a time of extreme competition.

The omnichannel experience puts the consumer at the heart of the action is a powerful improvement upon multi-channel engagement, which revolves around the product instead of the person.

These outdated experiences are hallmarked by their only capability — bombarding consumers with static, impersonal, out-of-place content that does more to drive them away than to entice them to interact with your brand.

1 data-backed omnichannel benefits for businesses

 to complete their purchases. In fact, 40% of customers won’t do business with companies if they can’t use the channels with which they’re the most comfortable.

The demand for omnichannel experiences is real, and the benefits of going omnichannel are just as real:

As you can see, there’s a lot to gain from building omnichannel experiences for your consumers.

Digital Marketing Maturity Benchmarks 2021

 by Smart Insights and BrightTALK found that only 37% of companies have implemented an omnichannel marketing strategy to meet the demand.

The disconnect is because the content management system (CMS) platforms many marketing departments use aren’t up to the task of implementing content-powered omnichannel experiences.

The traditional, monolithic CMS tools that were once cutting edge can only service a limited number of channels and employees at any given time. It’s expensive, time-consuming and 

That’s why the answer to reaping omnichannel benefits lies in a modern, agile, MACH headless CMS.

” stands for microservices-based, API-connected, cloud-native and headless. A modern, agile 

 built using MACH principles lets businesses manage every channel from a single, unified hub.

The headless architecture separates content creation from content distribution. This allows marketers to create content that powers omnichannel experiences while developers build out delivery systems, without interfering with one another.

 also offer smart analytics, personalization tools and other helpful services so businesses can deliver omnichannel experiences via chatbot, in-store kiosk, email campaigns and more.

The opportunities for omnichannel benefits are practically boundless, but you’ll only get as far as your CMS can take you. To work with a 

13-omnichannel.jpeg

12 data-backed omnichannel benefits

If all you know about omnichannel experiences is that other marketers won’t shut up about them, then you’ve got a lot to learn — and we’ve got a lot to tell you. 

So without further ado, here’s why omnichannel is eating the world and what you can do to get a seat at the dinner table. <h2>What’s Omnichannel? Exploring the Term Marketers Just Can’t Shut Up About </h2>

<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/omnichannel-experiences/" target="_self">An omnichannel experience offers a seamless, personalized customer journey</a> across channels and devices.

That may look like product information management (PIM) + content management system (CMS) integrations that keep your website up to date so consumers can make sure the product they researched online is available at their local store. Or, it could look like customer service software that allows your staff to smoothly continue a conversation carried over from Twitter. 
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/bltac08880c9362aab1/61c37698aac9397f42317521/OmnichannelBlog-photo-2.png" data-image="gsj5v0agl89a" alt="In omnichannel marketing, the consumer is at the center of all interactions, not just one-off interactions as in multi-channel marketing"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Multi-Channel-vs-Omnichannel-Marketing.png</figcaption></figure><h2>Why Omnichannel? Diving Into the Reasons</h2>
It’s no longer enough to simply spread disjointed messages across as many channels as possible and have the leads and sales come rolling in.

Marketing today must focus on omnichannel experiences that put the consumer at the center of every interaction in order to create meaningful (and valuable) relationships. 

Now, let’s explore more of the data behind why omnichannel is eating up every other marketing method in its path.<h3>Omnichannel Shopping + Omnichannel Marketing Are Inextricably Intertwined</h3>
With the invention of hand-held, internet-connected devices came a natural development: shopping at all hours, on all channels, on all devices. 

And that led to omnichannel marketing strategies that could reach every consumer across these channels and devices. 

Many businesses today can’t survive without offering omnichannel shopping opportunities, nor can they survive without omnichannel marketing. <h3>Omnichannel Is Just What the Brick-And-Mortar Ordered </h3>
If physical stores are a key element of your business, don’t count yourself out when it comes to omnichannel marketing.

Today’s buyers want variety. Just because they can shop on digital channels doesn’t mean they don’t want to also shop in-store.

 Home Depot is a great example. 

In early 2020, at the same time the first wave of COVID-19 hit, Home Depot’s online sales were up by 80% — and <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/omnichannel-retail-trends-to-know/" target="_self">over 60% of all orders were picked up at a physical store</a>. 

Brick-and-mortar shopping is still as important for some consumers as it is for many businesses. By adopting marketing strategies that consider both physical and digital shopping channels, businesses can stay ahead of the omnichannel trend. <h2>Personalized Omnichannel Will Push You Ahead of the Pack </h2>
According to Segment’s report “The State of Personalization 2021,” 60% of consumers say that they’re likely to <a href="https://www.twilio.com/blog/announcing-the-state-of-personalization-2021" target="_self">become repeat shoppers after enjoying a single personalized experience</a>. 

And as many marketers know, retention is extremely valuable. In fact, over 40% of an average ecommerce business’ <a href="https://blog.smile.io/repeat-customers-profitable/" target="_self">revenue is generated by just 8% of its customers</a> — the repeat ones. 

But while a whopping <a href="https://marketingtechnews.net/news/2019/nov/07/how-personalisation-will-look-2020-what-do-marketers-need-do-now/" target="_self">90% of consumers feel positive about businesses that provide individualized experiences</a>, only 20% say there are brands that do so successfully! 

Why is this number so low? 

Because most brands focus on personalized experiences that only work when a consumer takes a specific, linear path to purchase. 

Companies that offer a personalized omnichannel experience will capture business from the 90% of consumers who love it. 
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt8094e0ceb3106918/61c37719f5fac37dfc303221/OmnichannelBlog-photo-3.png" data-image="2x0s337zc1sh" alt="90% of consumers feel positive about brands that treat them like individuals"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Consumer-Sentiment-Graph.png</figcaption></figure><h2>How Do I Go Omnichannel? Headless CMS Puts Your Business Ahead of the Curve </h2>
Now that you know why omnichannel is taking over the marketing world and why you should strive to keep up, let’s cover exactly how you can do that. 

It all starts with the right foundation: Headless CMS. 

<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/" target="_self">Headless CMS is a cutting-edge take</a> on the content management systems of old. 

Traditional CMSes such as Wordpress and Drupal have two main components: a back-end repository for content and a front-end programming interface that dictates how that content is displayed.

These two components are deeply interconnected. 

Because of this, content in a traditional CMS needs to be manually reformatted and published every time you want to use it on a new channel or device.

This isn’t just frustrating for marketers; it can become prohibitively expensive for businesses as they attempt to grow in a competitive market.

 <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/all-about-headless/enterprise-ready-for-mach/" target="_self">A headless CMS employs MACH architecture</a>, which means it’s made up of microservices, connected using application programming interfaces (APIs). It lives in the cloud and is built on headless architecture. 

<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/content-architecture/" target="_self">With this architecture</a>, content can be stored independently of how it’s presented. Instead of being constrained by a front-end design template with limited functionality, you can quickly find, optimize and deploy reusable content modules across multiple channels and devices.
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt38ac4068fa0b3aaf/61c37758d9b7374dfa780e99/OmnichannelBlog-photo-4.png" data-image="meya8id98vzn" alt="The traditional CMS uses separate dashboards for its website, mobile app and chatbot; a headless, agile CMS uses a cloud-native content hub to feed all channels"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Traditional-vs-SaaS-CMS.png</figcaption></figure><h2>4 Benefits of Going Omnichannel with Headless CMS </h2>
Now that we’ve covered what a headless CMS is and where it excels, let’s look more closely at how a headless CMS helps marketers create and deliver omnichannel experiences.<h3>Empower Content Personalization</h3>
Personalization is everything in today’s marketing environment.

A headless CMS enables integration with all the tools that make personalization possible.

For example, headless architecture supports integration with third-party applications such as your customer relationship management (CRM) platform. This allows you to pull in customer location, behavior, preferences and more so you can develop content specific to that shopper.<h3>Enable Omnichannel Publishing</h3>
If you are publishing content across multiple channels, a headless CMS makes it easy to quickly repurpose content.

As the omnichannel universe continues to grow, a headless CMS allows you to easily customize content for the web and mobile as well as for IoT devices, chatbots, digital assistants, in-store displays or anywhere else your content could appear.<h3>Easy Content Collaboration</h3>
With all of your content centralized in a modular headless CMS system, your content creation team can collaborate more easily.

Instead of scrambling to locate pieces of content you need to share, team members can simultaneously access the content repository, making it easy to work in parallel to create new digital assets or update legacy content.

Having a unified repository for your most-used apps also makes it easier for teams to leverage each others’ data. This is a huge advantage when launching new campaigns, as well as for reacting quickly to emerging trends and staying ahead of the competition. <h3>Improve Content Consistency with Reusability</h3>
A headless CMS supports consistency across your entire brand by allowing you to reuse content for multiple purposes. 

Eliminating the need to cut and paste supports common messaging across channels and minimizes errors. 

Need to update something? No problem. With headless CMS, editing content becomes much simpler because you only need to make the change once, and that change applies wherever that block of content is used. This allows creative teams to focus on high-value activities instead of mundane, repetitive tasks of tracking down and updating outdated information. <h2>From ‘Why Omnichannel?’ to ‘How to’ With Contentstack Headless CMS</h2>
Now that you know the benefits, your question may have gone from “Why go omnichannel?” to “How do I go omnichannel?”

We can help you do that. 

We’re <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/features/" target="_self">Contentstack — a headless, agile CMS that empowers business and technical users alike</a> to collaborate on creating, optimizing, publishing, and even republishing content that delivers the omnichannel experiences consumers seek. 

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Just check out what <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/customers/" target="_self">any of our awesome customers</a> have to say — or <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo/" target="_self">give Contentstack a test drive yourself with a personalized demo or free, two-week trial</a>.

If all you know about omnichannel experiences is that other marketers won’t shut up about them, then you’ve got a lot to learn — and we’ve got a lot to tell you.

So without further ado, here’s why omnichannel is eating the world and what you can do to get a seat at the dinner table.

What’s Omnichannel? Exploring the Term Marketers Just Can’t Shut Up About

That may look like product information management (PIM) + content management system (CMS) integrations that keep your website up to date so consumers can make sure the product they researched online is available at their local store. Or, it could look like customer service software that allows your staff to smoothly continue a conversation carried over from Twitter.

It’s no longer enough to simply spread disjointed messages across as many channels as possible and have the leads and sales come rolling in.

Marketing today must focus on omnichannel experiences that put the consumer at the center of every interaction in order to create meaningful (and valuable) relationships.

Now, let’s explore more of the data behind why omnichannel is eating up every other marketing method in its path.

Omnichannel Shopping + Omnichannel Marketing Are Inextricably Intertwined

With the invention of hand-held, internet-connected devices came a natural development: shopping at all hours, on all channels, on all devices.

And that led to omnichannel marketing strategies that could reach every consumer across these channels and devices.

Many businesses today can’t survive without offering omnichannel shopping opportunities, nor can they survive without omnichannel marketing.

Omnichannel Is Just What the Brick-And-Mortar Ordered

If physical stores are a key element of your business, don’t count yourself out when it comes to omnichannel marketing.

Today’s buyers want variety. Just because they can shop on digital channels doesn’t mean they don’t want to also shop in-store.

In early 2020, at the same time the first wave of COVID-19 hit, Home Depot’s online sales were up by 80% — and 

Brick-and-mortar shopping is still as important for some consumers as it is for many businesses. By adopting marketing strategies that consider both physical and digital shopping channels, businesses can stay ahead of the omnichannel trend.

Personalized Omnichannel Will Push You Ahead of the Pack

According to Segment’s report “The State of Personalization 2021,” 60% of consumers say that they’re likely to 

And as many marketers know, retention is extremely valuable. In fact, over 40% of an average ecommerce business’ 

, only 20% say there are brands that do so successfully!

Because most brands focus on personalized experiences that only work when a consumer takes a specific, linear path to purchase.

Companies that offer a personalized omnichannel experience will capture business from the 90% of consumers who love it.

How Do I Go Omnichannel? Headless CMS Puts Your Business Ahead of the Curve

Now that you know why omnichannel is taking over the marketing world and why you should strive to keep up, let’s cover exactly how you can do that.

It all starts with the right foundation: Headless CMS.

 on the content management systems of old.

Traditional CMSes such as Wordpress and Drupal have two main components: a back-end repository for content and a front-end programming interface that dictates how that content is displayed.

These two components are deeply interconnected.

Because of this, content in a traditional CMS needs to be manually reformatted and published every time you want to use it on a new channel or device.

This isn’t just frustrating for marketers; it can become prohibitively expensive for businesses as they attempt to grow in a competitive market.

, which means it’s made up of microservices, connected using application programming interfaces (APIs). It lives in the cloud and is built on headless architecture.

, content can be stored independently of how it’s presented. Instead of being constrained by a front-end design template with limited functionality, you can quickly find, optimize and deploy reusable content modules across multiple channels and devices.

4 Benefits of Going Omnichannel with Headless CMS

Now that we’ve covered what a headless CMS is and where it excels, let’s look more closely at how a headless CMS helps marketers create and deliver omnichannel experiences.

Personalization is everything in today’s marketing environment.

A headless CMS enables integration with all the tools that make personalization possible.

For example, headless architecture supports integration with third-party applications such as your customer relationship management (CRM) platform. This allows you to pull in customer location, behavior, preferences and more so you can develop content specific to that shopper.

If you are publishing content across multiple channels, a headless CMS makes it easy to quickly repurpose content.

As the omnichannel universe continues to grow, a headless CMS allows you to easily customize content for the web and mobile as well as for IoT devices, chatbots, digital assistants, in-store displays or anywhere else your content could appear.

With all of your content centralized in a modular headless CMS system, your content creation team can collaborate more easily.

Instead of scrambling to locate pieces of content you need to share, team members can simultaneously access the content repository, making it easy to work in parallel to create new digital assets or update legacy content.

Having a unified repository for your most-used apps also makes it easier for teams to leverage each others’ data. This is a huge advantage when launching new campaigns, as well as for reacting quickly to emerging trends and staying ahead of the competition.

Improve Content Consistency with Reusability

A headless CMS supports consistency across your entire brand by allowing you to reuse content for multiple purposes.

Eliminating the need to cut and paste supports common messaging across channels and minimizes errors.

Need to update something? No problem. With headless CMS, editing content becomes much simpler because you only need to make the change once, and that change applies wherever that block of content is used. This allows creative teams to focus on high-value activities instead of mundane, repetitive tasks of tracking down and updating outdated information.

From ‘Why Omnichannel?’ to ‘How to’ With Contentstack Headless CMS

Now that you know the benefits, your question may have gone from “Why go omnichannel?” to “How do I go omnichannel?”

 to collaborate on creating, optimizing, publishing, and even republishing content that delivers the omnichannel experiences consumers seek.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Just check out what 

OmnichannelBlog-photo-1.png

Why Omnichannel is Eating the World

<a href="https://www.iotone.com/term/composability/t531" target="_self">Composability is a system design principle</a> in which software components can be arranged to meet the needs of a business. 

Highly composable architecture takes this principle to the next level by loosely connecting each technological element so they can each be assembled more quickly and easily than ever before. 

Modern <a href="https://www.avenga.com/magazine/composable-architecture/" target="_self">composable businesses</a> are those that have adopted this high level of composability in order to create agile solutions that can be adapted and scaled as necessary. 

This level of flexibility is what makes <a href="https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-keynote-the-future-of-business-is-composable" target="_self">composability integral to the future of business</a>. With composable architecture, businesses of all sizes can remain resilient through substantial interruptions — such as COVID-19 — and keep up with rapidly changing trends such as the <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/articles/customer-expectations/" target="_self">increased demand for personalized customer experiences</a> COVID-19 has driven. 

A key benefit of a highly composable business is increased capability for integration. Integration allows companies to use all the tools they need to create seamless experiences, personalized campaigns and cutting-edge products and services in days instead of months — outpacing competitors and delivering interactions their customers desire. 

This is what makes integration the lifeblood of modern, future-proof businesses. Contentstack is making integration more attainable for businesses everywhere through our partnership with Zapier. <h2>Introducing Zapier: Achievable Workplace Integrations</h2>
Zapier is a platform that helps people automate everyday tasks — no coding required. 

<a href="https://zapier.com/how-it-works" target="_self">Zapier enables users to set up Zaps</a>, which are customized workflows that automatically complete events or a list of tasks. Users build Zaps by creating “triggers” that cause Zaps to start and “actions” that outline the task(s) Zaps should complete. Zapier saves the workflows you create so you can use them over and over again — or set them to run automatically. 

Zapier connects with <a href="https://zapier.com/apps" target="_self">thousands of app</a>s to create millions of workflows. You are likely to find you can create time-saving automations with tools you already work with every day — including Contentstack.<h2>How Can Contentstack Customers Use Zapier? </h2>
This partnership connects Contentstack customers and buyers to an ecosystem of 3,000+ applications they can connect to <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/" target="_self">Contentstack’s headless agile content management system (CMS)</a>. 

Without the need for code, you can configure Contentstack to work with the apps you open every week. From Stripe to Slack, Asana, Mailchimp, Microsoft Outlook, Facebook Lead Ads, Google Sheets and more — Zapier and Contentstack have you covered. 

With Contentstack and Zapier, users can automatically: <ul><li>Add links from new entries in Contentstack to your master content tracking spreadsheet in Google Sheets </li><li>Share new Contentstack entries to your various marketing tools, including social media schedulers, email marketing platforms, advertising software and more </li><li>Alert a Slack or Microsoft Teams channel when you update a workflow stage in Contentstack</li></ul>

There are many other ways Zapier can help your team handle tasks you perform in Contentstack every day. Get more ideas for automation on <a href="https://zapier.com/blog/all-articles/automation-inspiration/" target="_self">Zapier’s blog</a>.<h2>What Makes The Contentstack + Zapier Partnership Groundbreaking?</h2>
No other enterprise-level CMS providers are working with Zapier the way Contentstack is. 

Why? Many enterprise CMS vendors believe smaller CMS providers should work with smaller, non-enterprise solutions and that their time is better spent focusing on large enterprise customers.

But at Contentstack, we don’t care what other enterprise CMS vendors think; we care about what our customers think. And <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/customer-success/" target="_self">we’re not willing to settle for less</a> than exceeding our customer needs.

Our customers, from large enterprises to startups, consider the ability to easily and quickly integrate non-enterprise tools into their workflows necessary for success. This is the leading reason behind our decision to partner with Zapier’s powerful integration platform. 

In addition, integration is in such demand right now that the Forrester Wave added Zapier support to the back-end extensibility criteria in their Q1, 2021 report on Agile Content Management Systems. <h2>What Does the Future Hold for Contentstack + Zapier? </h2>
Contentstack’s technology team will continue to support the enterprise-level integrations for which our platform has become known. Zapier support will make it easier than ever for users to customize everyday workflows with Zapier’s breadth of non-enterprise integrations.
 
As adoption increases and we move out of the public beta phase, Contentstack will support more Zapier triggers and actions. That means you can continue to build creative automations around Contentstack entries, assets, workflow stages and release functionality. 

Our integration with Zapier is available to all tiers of Contentstack users. <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/request-demo/" target="_self">Sign up for a free two-week trial or a personalized demo of Contentstack today</a> to see how you can make the most of our business features + Zapier integration.

 in which software components can be arranged to meet the needs of a business.

Highly composable architecture takes this principle to the next level by loosely connecting each technological element so they can each be assembled more quickly and easily than ever before.

 are those that have adopted this high level of composability in order to create agile solutions that can be adapted and scaled as necessary.

. With composable architecture, businesses of all sizes can remain resilient through substantial interruptions — such as COVID-19 — and keep up with rapidly changing trends such as the 

A key benefit of a highly composable business is increased capability for integration. Integration allows companies to use all the tools they need to create seamless experiences, personalized campaigns and cutting-edge products and services in days instead of months — outpacing competitors and delivering interactions their customers desire.

This is what makes integration the lifeblood of modern, future-proof businesses. Contentstack is making integration more attainable for businesses everywhere through our partnership with Zapier.

Introducing Zapier: Achievable Workplace Integrations

Zapier is a platform that helps people automate everyday tasks — no coding required.

, which are customized workflows that automatically complete events or a list of tasks. Users build Zaps by creating “triggers” that cause Zaps to start and “actions” that outline the task(s) Zaps should complete. Zapier saves the workflows you create so you can use them over and over again — or set them to run automatically.

s to create millions of workflows. You are likely to find you can create time-saving automations with tools you already work with every day — including Contentstack.

How Can Contentstack Customers Use Zapier?

This partnership connects Contentstack customers and buyers to an ecosystem of 3,000+ applications they can connect to 

Without the need for code, you can configure Contentstack to work with the apps you open every week. From Stripe to Slack, Asana, Mailchimp, Microsoft Outlook, Facebook Lead Ads, Google Sheets and more — Zapier and Contentstack have you covered.

With Contentstack and Zapier, users can automatically:

There are many other ways Zapier can help your team handle tasks you perform in Contentstack every day. Get more ideas for automation on 

What Makes The Contentstack + Zapier Partnership Groundbreaking?

No other enterprise-level CMS providers are working with Zapier the way Contentstack is.

Why? Many enterprise CMS vendors believe smaller CMS providers should work with smaller, non-enterprise solutions and that their time is better spent focusing on large enterprise customers.

But at Contentstack, we don’t care what other enterprise CMS vendors think; we care about what our customers think. And 

Our customers, from large enterprises to startups, consider the ability to easily and quickly integrate non-enterprise tools into their workflows necessary for success. This is the leading reason behind our decision to partner with Zapier’s powerful integration platform.

In addition, integration is in such demand right now that the Forrester Wave added Zapier support to the back-end extensibility criteria in their Q1, 2021 report on Agile Content Management Systems.

What Does the Future Hold for Contentstack + Zapier?

Contentstack’s technology team will continue to support the enterprise-level integrations for which our platform has become known. Zapier support will make it easier than ever for users to customize everyday workflows with Zapier’s breadth of non-enterprise integrations.

As adoption increases and we move out of the public beta phase, Contentstack will support more Zapier triggers and actions. That means you can continue to build creative automations around Contentstack entries, assets, workflow stages and release functionality.

Our integration with Zapier is available to all tiers of Contentstack users. 

 to see how you can make the most of our business features + Zapier integration.

contentstack-zapier-integration.jpeg

Contentstack Supports Integration Powerhouse Zapier

There’s nothing more frustrating as a content strategist than spending your days not strategizing — and often not creating content at all! 

In the world of always-on and ever-expanding channels, content strategists are often stuck tweaking content and publishing it to channel after channel. Any time a new content campaign comes out, they wash, rinse and repeat the process. 

We don’t blame you for wanting to break the cycle. That’s where modular content blocks come in. 

Here’s everything you need to know about modular content blocks, why they’re vital to breaking the cycle of creating more content instead of better content, and how to create and deploy better content at record speed with Contentstack’s Modular Blocks.<h2>What Are Modular Content Blocks?</h2>
In the context of a content management system (CMS), a content block is a field or a group of fields that hosts specific types of content such as videos, images, text, code, products and so on. 

Using content blocks enables content to be managed modularly. That means that each block can be updated, moved, deleted and otherwise managed individually without affecting the rest of the website or page where the content lives. 

With modular content blocks, entire pages can be generated in seconds by pulling together the right blocks. Updates are automatically applied to every instance of the block, no matter where they’re located. <h2>Why Does Modular Content Matter? </h2>
Traditional, monolithic CMSs store content by page instead of by type. While this makes it easy to send content to a single endpoint, it also makes it hard to update content or send it to a different endpoint without going through the steps of republishing the entire page. 

For example, if you’re using a traditional CMS such as WordPress, publishing the same content to both your website and your smartwatch app means creating and publishing two slightly different versions of that content.

But a modern <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/">headless CMS</a> can change all that. 

A headless content management system relies on application programming interface (API) technology to unite the modular blocks where content is stored. <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/content-as-a-service-framework/" target="_self">This enables content to be delivered as a service</a> — instead of as a static unit — to any channel, device, or platform via API. 
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/bltb4d64aef9d7a7507/61bba142f0a5f27e0047fe71/content-as-a-service.png" data-image="wre63ocbfsyo" alt="In content as a service, authors produce content that is delivered on demand to the consumer via the api"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">content-as-a-service.png</figcaption></figure>

Why does the shift to content as a service (CaaS) enabled by modular content blocks matter? You’re about to find out. <h2>5 Key Benefits of CaaS Delivered via Modular Blocks</h2>
Here are five ways modular blocks help businesses keep up in an ever-changing digital world by enabling content to be delivered as a service. <h3>Faster Publishing</h3>
With modular blocks, <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/product-updates/create-dynamic-pages-with-cms-modular-blocks/" target="_self">you can tweak content</a> quickly and without the risk of breaking any structure or functionality. 

Even better, content strategists can make and publish changes without having to wait for help from developers or designers for last-minute updates or launching time-sensitive campaigns. <h3>Improved Scalability and Flexibility </h3>
Another benefit of using modular content blocks to deliver content as a service is flexible content that can be quickly located, optimized and published hundreds of times on any channel.

This flexibility means your content can scale to keep up with your content needs — without scaling the size and expense of your content team to match. <h3>Personalized, Omnichannel Content Distribution</h3>
By 2030, it’s thought that <a href="https://www.reply.com/en/topics/internet-of-things/the-evolution-of-the-consumer-internet-of-things" target="_self">as many as 125 billion smart devices will be online</a>. That works out to every consumer owning about 15 internet-enabled devices. 

Looks like you’re about to have a lot of publishing to do — across a lot of different devices and channels. 

In fact, the shift to delivering content as a service is a result of the introduction of new digital channels and the devices people use to access them. 

Today, consumers want content that’s available around the clock, relevant to their needs and optimized for specific experiences. This is why it’s vital that businesses implement modular blocks that turn their content types into individual, flexible assets that can be personalized, optimized and served to various websites, mobile apps, voice-activated devices and more.
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt1a3aa52907c3b5c5/61bba1424376c54ccd7cea0c/modular-blocks-infographic.png" data-image="o7r9027wzpkk" alt="Customer sees item on phone, later orders on retailer's website, stops at retailed the next day to collect order"></figure><h2>Save Money on Content Creation</h2>
Modular content blocks boost employee morale and save salary dollars by making already-created content highly reusable. 

Content blocks put an end to endless tweaking, copying, reformatting and republishing of content campaigns for each channel or experience. They enable content creators to look ahead at what’s new and what’s next instead of spending hours on mundane reworking. 

While this might not sound like the biggest benefit, the savings can be considerable.

Take for example the time spent formatting content after it’s been translated into a different language — a must for any business that wants to compete on a global stage. With a CMS that empowers employees to reuse content instead of recreating it from scratch, a business can reduce time spent on post-translation formatting by as much as 50%.<h3>Improved Publishing Consistency and Quality</h3>
When the content you enter into a reusable block is published according to your content guidelines the first time around, you won’t have to worry about its consistency even when it’s republished the hundredth time around.

The automation aspect of modular content blocks eliminates the introduction of human error. And when you use these content blocks in conjunction with a CMS that includes a rich set of publishing <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/features/">features</a> such as access controls, approval workflows, versioning and rollback, and more — you can be even more confident in the consistent quality of your content. <h2>Create and Deploy Content Lightning Fast with Contentstack’s Modular Blocks</h2>
In order for content to be successfully delivered as a service, the modular blocks in which it lives have to be in a database where they aren’t attached to anything else such as code or design that governs how they perform or look. 

This independence makes the content easy to find and flexible so it can be optimized quickly and displayed for various consumer channels. 

A <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/cms-guides/headless-cms/" target="_self">headless content management system</a> separates the front-end presentation layer (the head) of content from its back-end storage and programming (the body). This empowers marketing teams to create and manage content while designers and developers build the best front-end interface to display it. Finally, an API is used to call and serve the content the same way it would any other service. 
<figure style="margin: auto; text-align: center;width: autopx;"><img src="https://images.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltc5a09bf374882538/blt1b271d4cd5f5e98c/61bba2c6d9b7374dfa77fe96/omnichannel-delivery.png" data-image="7kyupcpgtaqi" alt="In a headless CMS, the cloud-native content hub feeds commerce, personalization, AI, localization and analytics"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">omnichannel-delivery.png</figcaption></figure>

<a href="https://www.contentstack.com/blog/product-updates/create-dynamic-pages-with-cms-modular-blocks/" target="_self">Modular blocks are one of Contentstack’s most powerful features</a>. They give developers infinite possibilities for customization while making it painless for content managers to create and arrange content components on their websites and apps without compromising design integrity.

For a sneak peek at how easy it is to use Contentstack’s modular blocks, <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/docs/developers/create-content-types/modular-blocks/" target="_self">check out this complete walkthrough we created for developers</a>. 

And for even more information about how Contentstack serves brands like Best Buy, Cisco, Dell, Ellie Mae, Miami HEAT, Walmart and more, <a href="https://www.contentstack.com/resources/ds/contentstack-headless-cms-features-and-benefits/" target="_self">get your hands on this free datasheet that covers everything you need to know</a> about Contentstack’s features, our major business benefits and what sets us apart from the competition.

There’s nothing more frustrating as a content strategist than spending your days not strategizing — and often not creating content at all!

In the world of always-on and ever-expanding channels, content strategists are often stuck tweaking content and publishing it to channel after channel. Any time a new content campaign comes out, they wash, rinse and repeat the process.

We don’t blame you for wanting to break the cycle. That’s where modular content blocks come in.

Here’s everything you need to know about modular content blocks, why they’re vital to breaking the cycle of creating more content instead of better content, and how to create and deploy better content at record speed with Contentstack’s Modular Blocks.

In the context of a content management system (CMS), a content block is a field or a group of fields that hosts specific types of content such as videos, images, text, code, products and so on.

Using content blocks enables content to be managed modularly. That means that each block can be updated, moved, deleted and otherwise managed individually without affecting the rest of the website or page where the content lives.

With modular content blocks, entire pages can be generated in seconds by pulling together the right blocks. Updates are automatically applied to every instance of the block, no matter where they’re located.

Traditional, monolithic CMSs store content by page instead of by type. While this makes it easy to send content to a single endpoint, it also makes it hard to update content or send it to a different endpoint without going through the steps of republishing the entire page.

For example, if you’re using a traditional CMS such as WordPress, publishing the same content to both your website and your smartwatch app means creating and publishing two slightly different versions of that content.

A headless content management system relies on application programming interface (API) technology to unite the modular blocks where content is stored. 

 — instead of as a static unit — to any channel, device, or platform via API.

Why does the shift to content as a service (CaaS) enabled by modular content blocks matter? You’re about to find out.

5 Key Benefits of CaaS Delivered via Modular Blocks

Here are five ways modular blocks help businesses keep up in an ever-changing digital world by enabling content to be delivered as a service.

 quickly and without the risk of breaking any structure or functionality.

Even better, content strategists can make and publish changes without having to wait for help from developers or designers for last-minute updates or launching time-sensitive campaigns.

Another benefit of using modular content blocks to deliver content as a service is flexible content that can be quickly located, optimized and published hundreds of times on any channel.

This flexibility means your content can scale to keep up with your content needs — without scaling the size and expense of your content team to match.

Personalized, Omnichannel Content Distribution

. That works out to every consumer owning about 15 internet-enabled devices.

Looks like you’re about to have a lot of publishing to do — across a lot of different devices and channels.

In fact, the shift to delivering content as a service is a result of the introduction of new digital channels and the devices people use to access them.

Today, consumers want content that’s available around the clock, relevant to their needs and optimized for specific experiences. This is why it’s vital that businesses implement modular blocks that turn their content types into individual, flexible assets that can be personalized, optimized and served to various websites, mobile apps, voice-activated devices and more.

Modular content blocks boost employee morale and save salary dollars by making already-created content highly reusable.

Content blocks put an end to endless tweaking, copying, reformatting and republishing of content campaigns for each channel or experience. They enable content creators to look ahead at what’s new and what’s next instead of spending hours on mundane reworking.

While this might not sound like the biggest benefit, the savings can be considerable.

Take for example the time spent formatting content after it’s been translated into a different language — a must for any business that wants to compete on a global stage. With a CMS that empowers employees to reuse content instead of recreating it from scratch, a business can reduce time spent on post-translation formatting by as much as 50%.

Improved Publishing Consistency and Quality

When the content you enter into a reusable block is published according to your content guidelines the first time around, you won’t have to worry about its consistency even when it’s republished the hundredth time around.

Brent Heslop

Posts by Brent Heslop