The world of sports is competitive not only on the playing field but also extends to other facets of this industry, such as sportswear and apparel. Among all the players in this fierce competition, one brand stands out for its focus on its products and the experience it offers to its customers – we’re referring to Adidas.
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at Adidas’ Customer Experience to explore some of its notable initiatives and discover the impact such actions can have on businesses and their buyer journey.
The Importance of Customer Experience for Adidas
As one of the leading players in the industry, Adidas knows that differentiation is one of the key ingredients to secure a prominent place among its competitors. To achieve this, launching great products and promotional campaigns is just the beginning of building brand loyalty. However, one element that often goes unnoticed or even neglected by many companies is Customer Experience.
Customer Experience is one of the central elements in reputation building, brand recognition, churn reduction, and industry relevance. This has made such initiatives or strategies a priority for companies aware of this fact.
Adidas is well aware of this, and they are constantly searching for ideas, improvements, and customer-centric strategies that allow them to delight their customers and elevate their satisfaction levels when interacting with the brand at any of its customer touchpoints.
Notable Customer Experience Initiatives by Adidas
In addition to incredible sponsorships, bold collaborations, and unconventional campaigns, Adidas excels in providing experiences and implementing improvements at each of its touchpoints to ensure that customers have a pleasant interaction with their brand.
Therefore, we’ve compiled some examples where this spirit is reflected. These initiatives can serve as inspiration and illustrate how major brands go above and beyond to exceed their customers’ expectations.
- Personalized Shopping Experience: Adidas offers advanced personalization capabilities to enhance website engagement and conversion rates. Visitors receive hyper-relevant content and product recommendations based on their browsing history, interests, and past purchases.
- Customer Reactivation and Churn Prevention: Adidas employs machine learning to identify potential customer churn patterns in advance. By recognizing distinct behavioral cues, Adidas can proactively re-engage customers through the right channels and messages, fostering loyalty and preventing churn.
- Adidas Flagship Stores: Adidas is rolling out its flagship stores, with the Beijing location featuring high-resolution screens, digital interactions, a “digitized footwear bar,” and an entrance tunnel reminiscent of players entering a stadium. These spaces aim to immerse customers in a unique Adidas experience, complete with digital fanfare.
- Customization Experience: Through the “Customization Experience” project, Adidas empowers consumers to design their own footwear, tailored to their specific preferences in terms of function, fit, and style. This offering extends customization options beyond soccer stars like David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.
- AI-Generated Avatar Platform: Adidas Originals collaborates with Ready Player Me to introduce the world’s first personality-based AI-generated avatar creation platform, called Ozworld. This online experience allows users to craft their unique digital personas for exploration in the metaverse, ensuring consistent identity across virtual worlds.
- “We Are Originals” Campaign: Adidas promotes user-generated content under the banner “We Are Originals” and forms unique partnerships with Instagram influencers. By tailoring content and messaging for each influencer, Adidas fosters authentic connections between the brand, influencers, and their followers.
The Importance of the Customer Journey Map
A customer journey map represents all the interaction points between users and a brand visually, encompassing every form of contact, from encountering an advertisement to making a purchase.
These touchpoints are typically categorized into stages with additional details to understand the steps and actions a prospective customer takes comprehensively.
Each of these customer touchpoints presents an opportunity to delight your consumers.
Example of Adidas’ Customer Journey Map
Here’s a hypothetical customer journey map for Adidas, developed by referencing common touchpoints in the industry and insights gleaned from media and specialized portals.
Stage 01: AWARENESS
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Adidas.com | Customers visit Adidas’s website to explore the latest products and collections. | Difficulty in finding desired items. | Enhance website navigation and search functionality. |
| Adidas App | Customers download and engage with the Adidas app for personalized shopping experiences. | Challenges in app navigation and product discovery. | Improve app’s user interface and recommendations. |
| Adidas Flagship Stores | Customers encounter Adidas’s innovative flagship stores for a unique brand experience. | Limited awareness of store offerings. | Promote the flagship store experiences through marketing. |
Stage 02: CONSIDERATION
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Customer Personalization | Adidas offers advanced personalization capabilities, enhancing website engagement. | Challenges in finding relevant products. | Utilize personalization for tailored product recommendations. |
| Customization Experience | Customers design their own personalized footwear using Adidas’s customization options. | Limited customization options. | Extend customization choices and styles. |
| Recommendations | Adidas recommends products on customers’ preferred channels, making engagement more effective. | Receiving irrelevant recommendations. | Improve recommendation algorithms for relevance. |
| “We Are Originals” Campaign | Adidas collaborates with Instagram influencers for authentic content and connections. | Difficulty in tailoring content for influencers. | Customize content and messaging for each influencer. |
Stage 03: PURCHASE
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Online Shopping | Customers make online purchases through Adidas.com. | Lengthy checkout process. | Streamline the online shopping experience. |
| Adidas App | Customers make purchases directly through the Adidas app. | Challenges with mobile checkout. | Improve mobile app’s checkout process. |
| In-Store Purchases | Customers buy Adidas products in physical retail stores. | Difficulty in finding specific items. | Enhance in-store product organization and assistance. |
| Customization Experience | Customers finalize and purchase their personalized Adidas footwear. | Complex customization process. | Simplify the customization and purchase flow. |
Stage 04: USAGE
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Adidas App | Customers use the Adidas app for tracking workouts and managing benefits. | Challenges in app navigation. | Improve app usability and guidance. |
| AI-Generated Avatar Platform | Users craft their unique digital personas with the AI-generated avatar creation platform, Ozworld. | Limited awareness of Ozworld. | Promote Ozworld and its metaverse exploration experience. |
| Customer Support | Customers contact Adidas’s customer support for assistance. | Frustration with unhelpful or slow support. | Enhance customer support with knowledgeable agents. |
Stage 05: LOYALTY
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Customer Loyalty Program | Customers earn and redeem rewards through the Adidas loyalty program. | Unclear program benefits. | Clearly communicate the advantages of the loyalty program. |
| Exclusive Drops | Loyal customers get early access to limited-edition product releases. | Limited opportunities for early access. | Expand exclusive release opportunities. |
Stage 06: ADVOCACY
| Touchpoint | Activity | Pain Point | Solution |
| Social Media Engagement | Customers engage with Adidas on social media, sharing their purchases and experiences. | Limited engagement and interaction. | Foster active and meaningful social media interactions. |
| Customer Reactivation and Churn Prevention | Adidas proactively re-engages customers at risk of churn. | Identifying potential churn patterns. | Utilize machine learning to identify churn signals. |
| “We Are Originals” Campaign | Adidas fosters authentic connections with Instagram influencers and their followers. | Difficulty in tailoring content for influencers. | Customize content and messaging for each influencer. |
Start Improving Your Own Customer Experience
By meticulously crafting their customer journey and embracing cutting-edge technology, Adidas has won customers and created fervent brand advocates. The lessons from Adidas’ success can serve as a beacon for businesses aiming to elevate their own customer experience strategies and thrive in the competitive landscape.
At QuestionPro, we have an ongoing commitment to helping more and more companies implement successful customer experience programs effectively to achieve their goals and enjoy the benefits of placing their users at the center of all their actions.
With our powerful customer experience management software, you can conduct satisfaction studies, share reports with employees and managers, and close the feedback loop using our ticketing system.
If you want to learn more about QuestionPro CX, we invite you to explore our platform and get in touch with us. We’d love to discuss your needs and find the best way to collaborate and start delighting your customers at every stage.
