For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Publishers Need Multichannel Subscription Models

Charging For Online Content Is Just One Part Of A Multichannel Product Strategy

by Sarah Rotman Epps, November 10, 2009

Newspaper and magazine publishers' current monetization models are broken: They are overly reliant on the "free" model of having advertisers subsidize consumer usage. But shifting more of the burden of payment to consumers is no easy task. In this report, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Reality Of Customer Service In Europe: How Europeans Use And Rate Service Channels

by Patti Freeman Evans, October 9, 2009

With 51% of European adults having sought company support in the past three months, customer service must be a key component of any company retention strategy. We found that Europeans favor traditional service channels like the phone and in-store interaction, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Best Practices: Mastering Output Options For Customer Communications

Simple Ways To Cut Costs And Improve Customer Experiences Are Hard To Achieve

by Craig Le Clair, Sheri McLeish, September 29, 2009

A new generation of document output for customer communications management (DoCCM) technology promises to reduce costs, improve the customer experience, and expand output beyond the print channel. Yet best practices must also evolve to achieve these promises. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Why Americans Research Financial Products Online But Buy Through Other Channels

Channel Switching Is Driven Largely By Security And Support Issues

by Edward Kountz, Peter Wannemacher, September 22, 2009

Many US customers use multiple channels when buying financial services products, crossing channels during their path to purchase. Among online adults, 41% of financial product applicants research online but buy offline. Security and a need for hand-holding . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Firms Struggle To Measure Customer Experience Across Channels

Technical And Organizational Silos Hinder Cross-Channel Tracking

by Megan Burns, September 22, 2009

Forrester recently surveyed decision-makers at 41 companies and found that their primary challenges when it comes to customer experience measurement relate to tracking experiences across channels. Several factors contribute to this problem, including . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Footwear Manufacturers' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Adele Sage, September 18, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large footwear manufacturers — adidas, New Balance, Nike, and Puma. Overall, the footwear manufacturers lagged relative to most of the other industries. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Discount Retailers' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Bruce D. Temkin, September 3, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large discount retailers — Kmart, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart. Overall, the discount retailers performed poorly compared to the other industries we evaluated. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Health Plans' Cross-Channel Service Imperative

Self-Service Success Requires Strong Integration With Phone Channels

by Elizabeth Boehm, August 12, 2009

More than half of US online, nonelderly, commercially insured consumers have visited their health plan's Web site last year. Once there, members avail themselves of an array of administrative tools like finding a doctor, checking a claim, and checking . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Executive Q&A: Cross-Channel Reviews

by Adele Sage, July 31, 2009

Cross-channel reviews uncover flaws that prevent users from accomplishing goals when their paths take them across multiple channels, like Web sites and interactive voice response (IVR) systems. When companies fix these flaws they improve business results. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Health Plans Face A Member Experience Crisis

by Elizabeth Boehm, July 28, 2009

Health plan member experience is broken. Not only do members pan their health plan experiences across the board, but those who use health plan service solutions more frequently are less satisfied with their overall health plan experiences. Fixing this . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Auto Insurers' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Bruce D. Temkin, July 10, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large auto insurers — 21st Century Insurance, Allstate Insurance, Geico, and State Farm. Overall, the auto insurers performed fairly well relative to the . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Social Tools Help Pharma Marketers Build Customer Intelligence

Why Pharma Should Integrate Social Into The Multichannel Customer View

by Carlton A. Doty, June 24, 2009

The pharmaceutical industry faces significant sales and marketing challenges as many of its blockbuster drugs come off of patent and access to healthcare providers becomes increasingly restricted. In the midst of this doom and gloom, some pharma marketers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Millionaires Use Multiple Channels To Interact With Their Financial Advisors

Satisfaction Rises With Range Of Channels Used — Not Just Contact Frequency

by Bill Doyle, Peter Wannemacher, June 12, 2009

Four in five US millionaires have financial advisors, and they use a variety of channels to communicate with them: three or more, on average, in the past year. Phone and in-person are the most widely used channels. But more than half of all advised affluent . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Develop An Effective Multichannel Insurance Distribution Strategy

Creating Channel Harmony Versus Channel Conflict

by Chad Mitchell, June 8, 2009

Insurance distribution is evolving and becoming more complex as more customers go online and switch channels to research and buy insurance. eBusiness and channel strategy executives struggle to manage distribution through multiple channels, resulting . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Italian Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., June 1, 2009

Italian banking customers' channel use differs from that of most other Western Europeans. While customers elsewhere in Europe migrate from the branch to the Web, branch use in Italy keeps growing and online banking use remains low. eBusiness and channel . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Swedish Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Alexander Hesse, May 27, 2009

With only 12% of Swedish banking customers using branches, Sweden has the lowest branch use in Europe. Swedish banks have successfully migrated the majority of their customers to ATMs and online banking — 83% and 71%, respectively. When they move customers . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Online Travel Agencies' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Adele Sage, May 22, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large online travel agencies — Expedia, Orbitz, priceline.com, and Travelocity. Overall, the travel agencies ended up with the highest average score compared . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Defining A CPG Web Site Strategy

Marketing Leaders Must Define Web Sites' Role In Each Brand's Marketing Mix

by Lisa Bradner, May 19, 2009

CPG Web sites continue to be a mecca for consumers searching for coupons and deals — and in today's economy, those activities are likely to be more popular than ever. However, many CPG Web sites can — and should — do more than provide cents off. For marketing . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2009: European Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy

The Financial Crisis And The Recession Have Changed Priorities For Executives

by Benjamin Ensor, May 12, 2009

Under the impact of the financial crisis and the recession, eBusiness and channel strategy executives at European retail banks will focus on retaining customers and increasing efficiency in 2009. In this environment, we expect to see eBusiness and channel . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Spanish Consumers Use Banking Channels

by Alexander Hesse, April 16, 2009

Age and Internet access continue to be the strongest predictors of channel choice in Spain. Branches are used by mainstream consumers, whereas online and telephone banking attract a niche of young, high-value Net users. Online banking adoption in Spain . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

eBusiness Customer Service And Support Benchmark

Aligning Availability And Accessibility With Customer Needs And Desires

by Zachary McGeary, March 27, 2009

Consumers continue to embrace online customer service and support. According to a November 2008 survey, 48% more consumers claimed that a company Web site was more useful than a physical store for their servicing needs. Yet availability and accessibility . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Customer Centricity Drives Esurance's eBusiness Strategy

by Chad Mitchell, March 23, 2009

Over the past decade, US direct insurer Esurance has survived the dot-com bubble while carving out a growing share of the auto insurance market. The firm established itself as a viable challenger brand to direct insurance Goliaths GEICO and Progressive . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Widgets Complement Mobile Operators' Consumer Mobile Internet Services

But They Accelerate Operator "Deportalization"

by Ian Fogg, March 19, 2009

Only 5% of European mobile phone owners access the Internet on their mobile phones weekly. Widgets — mini, single-purpose applications — improve the convenience and accessibility of the mobile Internet. Alongside flat-rate mobile Internet plans, they . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Inquiry Insights: Financial Services, Q4 2008

What Was On The Minds Of Bank And Insurer Roles In '08?

by Ellen Carney, March 10, 2009

To understand how the recession, particularly the collapse of Wall Street and the housing market, is affecting technology decision-makers in the financial services industries, Forrester sorted through more than 20,000 inquiries that it received during . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How French Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., February 23, 2009

French banking customers remained true to the branch for a long time. In the past three years, however, the growth of online banking in France has finally started to draw customers away from use of their traditional channel — with online banking especially . . .