For Customer Experience Professionals

Member Registration Plagues Health Plan Sites

Interviews Of 17 Health Plans Uncover The Need For Email Addresses

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 20, 2009

The Web is becoming a bigger part of health plans' member service and member communication strategies, but health plans struggle to drive adoption. Forrester recently interviewed customer experience professionals responsible for member service Web sites . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Design Sites To Work In A High-Resolution World

The Decline Of 1024 x 768 And What To Do About It

by Ron Rogowski, November 20, 2009

The proliferation of high-resolution screens that well surpass 1024 x 768 adds a new layer of complexity to site design. Not only is there no standard resolution to design for, but higher-resolution screens pose usability challenges for sites that were . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

For Gen Y, Mobility Trumps Web 2.0 At Work

Workforce Technographics®

by Ted Schadler, November 19, 2009

Gen Y is four times more likely to visit a social networking site at home than they are to use one for work purposes. But if they are unable to bring their Social Computing habits and sensibility to work, Gen Yers can at least use their personal mobile . . .

For B2B Market Research Professionals

What Type Of Market Research Online Community Vendor Should Tech B2B Market Researchers Use?

Three Choices Exist, Dependent On Budget, Usage Pattern, And Support Needs

by Brad Bortner, November 19, 2009

Market research online communities (MROCS) are the next wave in qualitative research, due to their combination of new qualitative research capabilities and ability to provide cheaper faster results. There is, however, buyer confusion about what type of . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Navigating The Twittersphere

How To Market On Twitter

by Nate Elliott, November 19, 2009

Successfully engaging with consumers on Twitter requires both the right overarching strategy and a series of small best practices. Interactive marketers must ensure that consumers can find their brands' accounts, confirm that they are legitimate, and . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Harnessing Social Networking To Drive Transformation

by Rob Koplowitz, November 19, 2009

When one of the world's largest defense contractors says, "We need to move from a culture of 'need to know' to a culture of 'need to share,'" you stop and listen. Competing in an industry driven by the mantra "loose lips sink ships," BAE Systems has identified . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

A Deep Dive Into Asia Pacific Consumers' Online Behavior

by Olesia Klevchuk, November 18, 2009

For the past four years, Forrester has been tracking consumers' online and offline behavior in Asia Pacific. This is a dedicated report about Asia Pacific consumers' online behavior aimed at understanding the changes in this emerging medium. This year's . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

eBusiness Professionals: Plan Your Customer Intelligence Strategy Now

How To Develop A Focused Customer-Centric Approach

by Brian K. Walker, November 16, 2009

The importance of eBusiness professionals to the customer intelligence (CI) effort is clear. As owners of the online profit and loss (P&L), they must align with the CI command center to drive a true multichannel, multipronged approach, which Dave . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Hunter Douglas Europe Grows Via Distributed Content Management Platform

ChannelNet Solution Improves Network Of Web Sites For Local Dealers

by Chad Mitchell, November 16, 2009

Hunter Douglas, a leading manufacturer of window coverings and architectural products, distributes its products through thousands of local dealers. Hunter Douglas saw an expanding online consumer retail market in Europe and wanted to use eBusiness to . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Sixteen Voice Of The Customer Recommendations

Insights From 40 Companies With Voice Of The Customer Programs

by Bruce D. Temkin, November 11, 2009

To understand the best practices in voice of the customer (VoC) programs, Forrester analyzed the 40 applications it received for its Voice Of The Customer award. When we examined the advice that applicants listed for other companies, we found 16 recommendations . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Four Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring An Interactive Agency For Design Projects

by Vidya L. Drego, November 11, 2009

Finding the right agency is difficult for clients and agencies alike. With so many agencies to choose from and so many skill sets to evaluate, narrowing a list of similar players down to one can be an overwhelming task — one fraught with potential missteps . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Next-Generation Contact Centers

Solutions To Keep Pace With Your Customers

by Elizabeth Herrell, November 11, 2009

Contact center customer support needs to evolve to better serve customers who no longer rely on one venue for receiving information but instead engage multiple sources. In addition to checking a company's Web site and its brochures, many customers research . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Enterprise Platform Trends, H1 2009: Bye-Bye Vista

by Ellen Daley, November 10, 2009

Forrester's six-month study of 75,453 enterprise users during H1 2009 reveals interesting insights into browser type, operating system, screen resolution, color depth, and Java and Flash adoption. These insights are especially useful for enterprise software . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Top Customer Experience Takeaways From SpeechTEK 2009

by Adele Sage, November 10, 2009

Forrester recently attended SpeechTEK 2009, where presenters focused on using speech technologies to improve the phone self-service customer experience. Among speakers' top recommendations: Don't ignore customer experience, do focus on target users and . . .

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 Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: US Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009

Brightcove And Ooyala Lead A Maturing Market

by Bobby Tulsiani, November 6, 2009

In Forrester's 37-criteria evaluation of online video platform vendors, Brightcove and Ooyala lead the pack with their end-to-end product offerings that target organizations of all sizes. VMIX and Kaltura follow closely behind with comprehensive offerings . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Lessons From Online Consultation In Australia

Organizations Worldwide Can Learn From Recent Experiments

by Steven Noble, November 6, 2009

Online consultation can range from the government's hosting an online discussion about policy issues to its co-authoring policy documents with its citizens. It's still a minority practice, but Australia has completed more than 100 online consultations . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Case Study: The NHL Uses Tweet-Ups To Energize Its Fan Base And Reach New Audiences

by Nate Elliott, November 4, 2009

To create excitement around the start of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the National Hockey League (NHL) worked with fans to organize a series of tweet-ups that took place simultaneously around the world — energizing more than 1,000 fans directly and . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Assumption Personas Help Overcome Hurdles To Using Research-Based Design Personas

by Jonathan Browne, November 4, 2009

Forrester recommends that customer experience professionals use personas founded in ethnographic research to guide the design of products, channels, and messages. However, some organizations struggle to use personas effectively. To overcome common barriers . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards Winners Offer B2B Tech Marketers Valuable Social Media Lessons

by Laura Ramos, November 4, 2009

Business-to-business (B2B) marketers approach social strategy with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. Most want to know which firms execute social pursuits well and what tangible outcomes occur. The B2B Division winners of the 2009 Forrester Groundswell . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

PHRs: Scant Penetration And Lots Of Confusion

Consumers Report On Which Personal Health Records They're Using

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 4, 2009

In a recent Forrester survey, almost one-third of consumers reported having a personal health record (PHR) — the vast majority of which are from their health plan. Forrester doesn't believe it. These high adoption levels don't jibe with either past surveys . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Who Will Pay For Online Content?

Integrate Social Media To Attract European Online Movie Buyers

by Nick Thomas, November 4, 2009

Despite widespread gloom, it appears that European Internet users are willing to pay for certain kinds of online content, including music, movies, and eBooks, although none of these markets is anywhere near maturity. Understanding how and where current . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Hotels Will Rely On The Web To Survive 2010

by Henry H. Harteveldt, November 3, 2009

The global financial crisis hit the hotel industry particularly hard in 2009. A survey of 27 hotel professionals shows an expectation that business will have to be "bought" with low pricing for the balance of 2009, but cautious optimism exists for room . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

US Online Holiday Retail Forecast, 2009

by Sucharita Mulpuru, November 2, 2009

Forrester expects online retail sales to reach $44.7 billion during the months of November and December 2009, an 8% increase over 2008. Despite the lingering effects of the global financial crisis, the online space remains the retail industry's growth . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Tracking Augmented Reality

The Next Consumer Application To Watch

by Paul Jackson, October 30, 2009

Augmented reality has emerged from the shadows in the past six months as fun consumer applications move beyond dedicated Webcam software and academic experiments. The widespread availability of applications for mobile handsets has driven augmented reality . . .