By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as a key brand differentiator — and, for the most part, that experience will be digital.

According to PwC, over the last several years virtually all the inflation-adjusted gains in retailer revenue “have been driven by online channels, which enjoy growth rates as much as 7 percent higher than retail sector growth as a whole.”

[source: Forbes] And McKinsey reports that it’s not just digital “pure plays” like Amazon, Apple and Uber that recognize the power of digital and mobile: “Even traditional business-to-business players in sectors such as chemicals and steel are making bold moves to build dynamic shared digital ecosystems around customer needs.”

As consumers continue to embrace digital and mobile channels, the question remains: How can brands nurture their trust and emotional attachment?

Creating positive digital experiences for consumers requires a multifaceted approach and a commitment up and down your organization. Here are five digital strategies that work:

Provide stellar customer service.

Customers are willing to spend more with companies that provide excellent customer service. So, what constitutes a superior digital customer service experience? In a word, accessibility. And while your website and mobile app are there for customers around the clock, they don’t always meet their needs. Providing customers with a full-service safety net remains critical in the digital age.

Post customer service information such as phone numbers, email addresses and FAQs prominently across digital and mobile sites. Maintain 24/7 call centers and online chat support and train your service teams well. Their interactions with customers speak directly to your value proposition — and can make or break your brand image.

Be transparent.

Nearly 25% of employees don’t trust their employers, according to the American Psychological Association. This lack of trust is passed from employee to customer and is typically the result of a lack of transparency. When leadership embraces openness and transparency, on the other hand, company culture, employee engagement, customer loyalty and productivity will all improve.

Making your digital presence transparent to customers requires honest and full disclosure. Products should perform as they are advertised online. Pricing, fees and warranties should be clearly explained. Consumers today are quick to assess the transparency of your business practices. Saying what you mean, and meaning what you say, are fundamental to building consumer trust.

Keep it simple.

Customers value convenience. Complexity rarely makes an experience more convenient, while simplicity does. Ultimately, convenience determines usage. The more convenient an experience is, the more consumers will seek it out.

For today’s digital consumer, speed and convenience go hand in hand. To make the digital experience you provide swift and seamless for customers, remember that clicks count. Don’t saddle users with multiple logins or bounce them from screen to screen to locate product information or complete a transaction. Instead, look for ways to simplify navigation. Study the websites of Amazon and others that have mastered the art of simplicity and follow their lead.

Perfect your omnichannel delivery.

Customers expect to receive immediate service from organizations on the channel of their choice, whether that’s an app, email, text, voice or social platform. And they expect that experience to have the same look, feel and functionality across channels.

Achieving this requires tight integration across systems, solutions and data. For many organizations, this is easier said than done because applications are developed and advanced over time in their own technological silos. Investing in a flexible API-driven enterprise architecture going forward is essential to delivering an engaging omnichannel experience.

While every channel is important, we live in a mobile-first economy. All omnichannel strategies should center around the mobile phone, as consumers consider it their primary channel.

Anticipate customer needs.

Consumers want personalization from online businesses. To personalize digital interactions with customers, you must first understand who they are and what they are trying to accomplish, and that takes data.

Mining and analyzing the data in your systems can reveal valuable insights on the purchasing, support and payment histories of customers and can uncover new opportunities to serve them. Keep in mind, though, that data strategies walk a fine line. Instead of using data to sell to customers, the most successful brands understand that it is much more powerful to anticipate customer needs and then deliver more value to them. Less marketing, more value creation.

Ultimately, every customer experience is a journey, not a touchpoint. The emotional attachment your brand establishes with customers is built over time. In their eyes, a great consumer experience — digital and otherwise — is honest, innovative, service-oriented and empathetic. Brands that embrace these values are poised for success in the digital age and beyond.