Customer experience is the interaction that a consumer has, or comes to expect, when engaging with a brand. However, this simple concept has become a minefield for brands in this era of digital transformation, as the consumer decision journey focuses on online channels.

Consumers now expect a customised experience from brands, with a recent Salesforce report on the ‘connected customer’ revealing 84pc of them believe that this experience is as important as a company’s products and services.

The unstoppable rise of e-commerce has opened borders for companies, securing a global marketplace with more customers – as well as more competitors. As a result, customers are becoming more discerning; brand loyalty is eroded by a plethora of equally compelling offerings available at the mere click of a button.

Omnichannel experiences are cited as the most effective method to reach and maintain a modern customer base. Brands employing this strategy aim to provide an integrated customer experience across all channels, according to Hubspot. This is becoming commonplace; 69pc of customers expect brands to provide a ‘connected experience’ across multiple channels, such as apps, chatbots and email.

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Franco De Bonis, marketing director of LogoGrab, says: “I don’t believe there has been a time with such a significant shift in how consumers choose to engage with brands. From researching to purchasing and sharing their product experiences, consumers live in multiple places.”

To assist brands in securing this integrated experience, customer engagement solutions are growing in importance.

According to a Mordor Intelligence report, these solutions, such as virtual reality experiences, artificial intelligence and data analytics, are the software applications present at each stage of a customer’s interaction with a brand.

Irish firms are now making their mark on this space, which is expected to be valued at $29.49bn (€26.3bn) by 2024. LogoGrab is one example, providing a logo and mark recognition API, used by platforms such as Brandwatch and Synthesio in delivering insights to their customers.

Another is e-commerce platform Luzern, currently working with brands like Nestle and Fossil. Marketing director Orla Power reveals: “We increasingly see investment in the underlying platform technology to help [brands] gain operational intelligence to improve how they sell online.”

The growing success of Irish companies was celebrated recently at an Enterprise Ireland event in Zurich. At the Consumer Engagement Solutions for Global Brands seminar, seven Irish companies presented to representatives from leading brands, including Nespresso, Mondelez and Swarovski.

Present was Niall O’Gorman, CSO and co-founder of ChannelSight, who said: “Online is cannibalising the high street – brands are responding to the drop in footfall to bricks-and-mortar stores by offering click-and-collect or buy-online-pick-up-in-store options to consumers.” ChannelSight’s e-commerce solution guides consumers to purchasing, enabling brands to increase sales, and is utilised by leading brands such as Siemens and Duracell.

Jane Greene, senior market adviser at Enterprise Ireland, explains why Zurich was a natural fit for this event: “Irish companies are recognising the potential of the Swiss market, with double-digit growth for three consecutive years. Digitally savvy and internationally out-looking consumers are driving this trend. Irish companies targeting global brands should be considering Switzerland as part of their export strategy.”

Switzerland is home to one of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies in the world, as well as a host of luxury brands.

Lauded for their high purchasing power, Swiss consumers are embracing e-commerce, with 90pc of the population having shopped online at least once. Switzerland’s inclusion in the European Economic Area makes the market attractive.

Brands are influenced by the international nature of the market and are willing to look externally to source technologies to maintain their strong reputation.

De Bonis confirms this: “If you think of Switzerland as a small country nestled in the middle of mainland Europe, you’re missing a vital point. The Swiss are masters at branding and marketing, especially in the luxury goods space. Not only that, they are masters at taking those brands international.”

• Caoimhe Gordon is market executive for Enterprise Ireland in Dusseldorf, Germany

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