How are brands -- particularly those with something to sell -- supposed to reach today's time-strapped, multitasking, option-overloaded consumer?
From mobile and social to store branches and
call-centers, it's critical that brands understand how their customers are interacting with various touchpoints, according to Brian Walker, a principal analyst at Forrester and author of its latest
ecommerce report.
"As consumer adoption and integration of touchpoints multiplies, challenges intensify for the e-business professionals seeking to serve those customers," according to Walker.
The profusion of touchpoints, which Forrester calls the "Splinternet," means that businesses need to develop cohesive systems to support each one. "It is no longer about channels," an SVP of a
major airline told Walker. "It is about the customer life cycle across everywhere we touch them."
That means driving personalized and linked offers across email marketing, social media, display
marketing, company Web sites and mobile applications, according to Walker.
Such efforts are hugely beneficial to brands. "Multichannel customers are worth more than single-channel customers,
often five or six times that of a single-channel customer," according to Walker.
Good thing, too, as well over half of the 177 million U.S. online adults --105 million -- now have two or more
different types of devices connected to the Web, while one-third have at least four.
What's more, "super-connected" consumers -- those who dominate mobile usage -- now represent 21% of US adults,
accessing information and each other as never before across a network of rapidly changing consumer technologies.