Introducing ‘The Digital Seeker’: A Guide for Winning Digital Experiences

I am incredibly excited to announce the publication of my new book, The Digital Seeker: A Guide for Digital Teams to Build Winning Experiences. 

The book is the culmination of years of hard work at Bloomreach and is truly my life’s work. But I did not just write this book because of my work as the CEO and co-founder of Bloomreach or my experience as a seed investor for startups that invest in digital. 

I wrote this book because I am a consumer like everyone else. A consumer who often wonders whether these last 20 years of digital has made things any simpler. A consumer who is convinced that if the web were built for digital seekers, things would be far less complicated. 

The Digital Seeker is a how-to guide for building magical digital experiences that encourages companies to prioritize a seeker-centric philosophy. It will serve as a core operational playbook for companies thanks to compelling lessons from seeker-centric businesses that span a wide range of industries. 

Winning Digital Experiences Are Built for the Seeker

In 2021, winning digital experiences are built for the seeker rather than the customer. When companies fail to offer a compelling seeker-centric digital experience, consumers miss out on great products and a growth opportunity is missed. 

What is the difference between a customer and a seeker? A customer desires to make a purchase while a seeker desires to fulfill an intention. This is an important distinction. 

Creating digital experiences with the seeker in mind rather than the customer allows companies to understand the motivations of those they serve. It is in asking “why are you here?” rather than “what do you want?” that a business can uncover its seeker and provide everything necessary for a winning digital experience.  

Winning digital means winning the seekers. 

Shifting to a seeker-centric mindset helps companies to understand customers on a deeper level. For example, a husband shopping for an anniversary gift for his wife is not simply looking for a special handbag or necklace. He is seeking a physical gift that manifests his love and appreciation for his wife. 

Likewise, if someone is searching for planks of wood, surely that individual has an intention behind the purchase. Perhaps it’s to build or fix a back porch deck where family memories will be made for years to come. A customer-centric approach sees a purchase of planks of wood, while the seeker-centric mindset facilitates a more personalized, engaging experience, helping the consumer achieve the higher-order intention of creating family memories on a new back porch.

If customer experiences can be built for seekers rather than buyers, that’s when customer loyalty can truly be fostered. Businesses must stop searching for customers and begin the search for seekers. 

The Digital Seeker is for Digital Teams

Nothing significant can be accomplished in digital commerce without a fully functional digital team clicking on all cylinders. 

I wrote this book specifically for digital teams everywhere. Many books have been written for CEOs, marketers, IT professionals, and so on. This book is not specific to any individual or role: the stories shared in it are applicable to all members of a digital team. 

Those stories can also lead to a very important outcome for digital teams: the adoption of a roadmap that is personalized to your company that outlines how to win digital seekers. 

“When the digital team gathers, team members come from different worlds -- technology, marketing, finance, and products,” said Andy Main, CEO of Ogilvy. “The Digital Seeker gives that team a common text to win together.”

In large part due to the recent global pandemic, the separation between the real world and the digital world no longer exists. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the digital landscape and digital teams have had to adapt. This has left many digital teams scrambling for answers as the demands from seekers for a better experience become louder and more first-time seekers have entered the ecommerce space. 

The team’s solution? A true investment into the seeker-centric philosophy. That investment will allow deeper problems to be solved and true brand loyalty to be fostered.  

The Digital Seeker is Your Playbook for the Future

The Digital Seeker is an actionable playbook for those looking to rise above commerce challenges and deliver outstanding digital experiences. Its emphasis on prioritizing the seeker-centric mentality will allow your digital team to understand the motivations of those they serve and do what’s necessary to provide a winning experience. 

I wrote the book with the goal of helping digital teams with daily challenges. Understanding that winning digital experiences are built for the seeker rather than the customer is the key to overcoming many everyday obstacles facing digital teams. 

I hope you find the book to be impactful and it leads to a full adoption of the seeker-centric mindset within your company so you can unlock the opportunity to grow. 

With ecommerce booming and customer demands seemingly at an all-time high, something has got to change. It should be our mindset. Learn more about why it’s so imperative to start prioritizing the seeker by ordering your copy of The Digital Seeker today. 

The State of Commerce Experience · Episode 32: The Digital Seeker Part 2 with Raj De Datta, CEO and Co-Founder at Bloomreach

About Bloomreach 

Bloomreach is the leader in commerce experience™. Our flagship product, brX, is the only digital experience platform that utilizes the full spectrum of commerce data, from product to customer, alongside content management capabilities, and AI-driven search, merchandising, and personalization in one flexible, API-first platform. We serve over 700 global brands including Albertsons,  Bosch, Puma, FC Bayern München, and Marks & Spencer, and power $200 billion in digital commerce experiences annually.