From new normal to new opportunities.

Despite the immense challenges during the pandemic, there is a silver lining. More businesses made much-needed transformations and more people tried — and liked — digital experiences.

Consumers discovered that great digital experiences could recreate the in-person connections they craved — opening up opportunities for businesses to forge even deeper connections going forward.  And that, like really good ice cream, will keep their customers coming back for more.

When the pandemic forced Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops to temporarily close, and people limited trips to the grocery story, getting their ice cream got a lot harder. So the company pivoted to home delivery in a very unique way. They quickly created a “Food Pairings” campaign, thoughtfully pairing inventive new flavors with popular delivery meals. But that created a need for an immense amount of authentic and local photography for their 150 flavors and 38 markets — reassuring customers that the ice cream wasn’t traveling far and wouldn’t arrive as “ice cream soup.

They got all that photography without shooting a single scoop of ice cream. Using Adobe Dimension, they were able to create 3D renderings of ice cream that looked stunningly realistic, then with backgrounds from Adobe Stock, composited a 3D pint onto a 2D image. Doing a small photo shoot, they captured enough environmental shots to serve as background images. When combined with the 3D Dimension renderings, the results were astounding. They were able to produce all the assets they needed in a remarkably short time — and gain greater control over them, which will serve them well into the future. Learn more about   Ben & Jerry’s story.

Where challenge meets opportunity.

But a lot of these activities are very transactional — because that’s what consumers needed in the moment. As we move forward, they’ll expect the same kind of responsiveness in all of their experiences online. And that’s where you’ll find the greatest opportunities.

When we asked consumers what features they want in their digital experiences, the most important by far was convenience. Interestingly, brands tend to underestimate that desire, assuming that brand name and brand values are more important. Yet convenience alone isn’t enough. Consumers also want experiences that are informative and authentic.

Businesses reported that consumers also want help from them during uncertain times. And a lot of that comes down to empathy. Jill Steinhour, director of high-tech and B2B strategy at Adobe, says a lot of companies had to retool their messaging during COVID — focusing on really understanding what their customers needed. And then Black Lives Matter hit, and they had to retool messaging around that. “It’s that kind of human experience that matters — understanding what people are going through and being able to react to that through content velocity.”

Michael Grier, former Adobe industry strategy leader for media, entertainment, and communications, agrees, saying the telco industry showed a heightened sense of corporate humanity during the pandemic. They knew their customer community was feeling pain and wanted to make sure that they were able to continue their service in a time of real need. Several companies amped up ways to contact them, gave their customers several months of additional data for free, and offered postponed billing or payment help.

A great digital experience is all about knowing what people want — and then going above and beyond in the experiences you deliver. We spoke to our industry experts to get their insights on how the pandemic has changed the way businesses are successfully doing this. Here’s what they had to say.

New opportunities for every industry

The pandemic created opportunities for real, human connections in our digital experiences. Firms that do this well are 3.3 times more likely to have significantly increased customer lifetime value, 1.7 times more likely to have significantly increased customer advocacy, and 3.8 times more likely to have significantly increased basket sizes.

Click here to learn  best practices for creating human experiences that lead to better business results.