For Customer Experience Professionals

Emotional Experience Design

Creating Online Experiences That Deeply Engage Customers

by Ron Rogowski, October 26, 2009

As consumers increasingly look to connect with companies online, lackluster Web experiences will damage many brands. But better functional design won't solve the problem. Instead, Forrester recommends that companies master the three principles of a new . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Social Media Helps Toyota Communicate Complex Attributes Of New iQ

by Rebecca Jennings, September 9, 2009

Faced with the challenge of communicating the complex, advanced features of a new vehicle — the iQ — Toyota supplemented more traditional online and offline marketing with social media activities that focused on an attempt by two drivers from agency iCrossing . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Social Media Can Improve The Automotive Customer Experience

by Ron Rogowski, July 31, 2009

A recent Forrester survey of 4,500 online consumers showed that people want auto manufacturers to engage them with social media. For auto manufacturers, a good social media strategy can help strengthen relationships with consumers while providing cost-effective . . .

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 Experience Professionals

Engage Gen Y Online With Social Interactivity

by Bruce D. Temkin, June 2, 2009

Gen Y is a unique breed. Firms can't interact with these young consumers in the same way they do with older consumers. That's why Forrester identified four design approaches for reaching Gen Y online: immediacy, Gen Y literacy, individualism, and social . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

What Consumers Want From Automotive Web Sites In 2009

by Ron Rogowski, May 4, 2009

Forrester recently asked more than 4,500 consumers why they visit auto manufacturer sites. While most site visitors come to perform basic research activities, users expect to find less-trafficked content such as local pricing incentives and post-purchase . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Who Are Automotive Video Viewers?

And Who Will They Become?

by Patti Freeman Evans, March 6, 2009

Automotive online video viewers — consumers who found online videos helpful in their car-buying process — make up a small and distinct segment of car shoppers. They are young buyers with higher than average household incomes and a desire to purchase relatively . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Younger Buyers: Fast, Furious, And In Need Of Financing

How To Attract And Retain Younger Automotive Buyers

by Patti Freeman Evans, February 6, 2009

Younger automotive buyers are less concerned with the pragmatic car-buying realities of older shoppers: Instead of expert reviews, they worry about image. Automotive marketers should make an active effort to reach out to younger buyers but also need to . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Engage Gen Y Online With Immediacy

by Bruce D. Temkin, November 13, 2008

Gen Y is a unique breed. Firms can't interact with these young consumers in the same way they do with older consumers. That's why Forrester identified four design approaches for reaching Gen Y online: immediacy, Gen Y literacy, individualism, and social . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Brand-Building Online Content Matters For eBusiness And Channel Strategy In A Recession

by Henry H. Harteveldt, October 8, 2008

eBusiness executives need all the help they can get during this economic downturn in making their online businesses more successful. When looking for opportunities to optimize sales, executives must turn an eye toward online content. As an example of . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

An Interactive Marketer's Introduction To Web Site Imagery That Builds Brands

by Christine Spivey Overby, September 19, 2008

Web site imagery builds brands when it is both helpful and engaging. Interactive marketers should work with their customer experience counterparts to ensure that Web site imagery supports brand attributes and follows basic design principles such as contrast, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Web Dominates US Auto Insurance Research

How Auto Insurers Can Take Advantage Of Consumers' Online Research Habits

by Bill Doyle, Peter Wannemacher, September 11, 2008

In 2007, nearly 15 million Americans researched auto insurance on the Internet. These US online auto insurance researchers are an attractive group for insurers: They are relatively wealthy, financially active online, and prone to buying financial products. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Web Site Imagery That Builds Brands

by Ron Rogowski, August 27, 2008

Brand-building Web site imagery helps target users accomplish their goals while reinforcing key brand attributes. While many firms struggle to incorporate brand-building imagery on their sites, we uncovered several companies that successfully employ design . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Don't Miss These Opportunities To Differentiate Your Site With Brand-Building Copy

by Ron Rogowski, July 30, 2008

Done correctly, subtle changes to link names, system feedback, and error messages can help take a site experience from bland to differentiated. To get the maximum brand-building benefit from their sites, customer experience professionals should specify . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Best And Worst Of Social Network Marketing, 2008

Forrester Applies Its Social Network Marketing Review Methodology To 16 Major Firms

by Jeremiah K. Owyang, July 18, 2008

Forrester applied its Social Network Marketing Review methodology to programs run by 16 firms in four industries: automotive, media, technology, and consumer products. Only the BMW Series 1 received a passing grade, and half of the firms scored a zero . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Web Site Copy That Builds Brands

by Ron Rogowski, July 1, 2008

Few companies achieve the proper balance of clarity and color when it comes to the language used in their online content. But some firms have done an exceptional job at describing their products and services clearly in a tone that reflects their brands. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Which Car Brands Should Pursue Social Applications?

Mazda And Honda Have The Most Active Customers; GMC And Mercury The Least

by Josh Bernoff, April 3, 2008

Car owners have widely different affinities for social applications. Mazda, Honda, Pontiac, Hyundai, and Jeep have the most active customers; Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, GMC, and Mercury have the least. Car brands should use these tendencies to plan strategy. . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Technographics® Survey Highlights: NA Consumer Technographics Financial Services And Automotive Online Survey, Q3 2007  (330 KB PPT)

by Ted Schadler, February 15, 2008

This highlight deck reviews the key findings from the Q3 2007 Financial Services and Automotive Online Survey. This survey covered questions given to US adults around their experience with researching automotive and financial servicse products and services.

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

North American Technographics® Finance, Healthcare, Government, Automotive And Travel Benchmark Survey, Q4 2007

North American Consumer Technographics Technographics Survey, December 30, 2007

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

eBranding Is The Key To Winning Car Techies

by Chloe Stromberg, December 13, 2007

Today, one in four new vehicle buyers says, "I am very likely to buy vehicles with the latest in-car electronics." These Car Techies are a sweet spot for automakers because they buy more new vehicles than Non-Techies do. Luxury automakers have the most . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Best And Worst Of Brand Building Web Sites, 2007: Automotive

Forrester Applies Its Web Site Brand Review Methodology To The Sites Of Five Top Automotive Brands

by Ron Rogowski, November 13, 2007

The automotive industry features some of the most recognized high-end brand names in the world including Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. But how good is the brand experience offered by major automotive Web sites? To find out, we graded the . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Female Car Buyers Are Lost In Translation

OEM Sites Need New Communication Strategies To Engage Women

by Chloe Stromberg, September 14, 2007

Women make up half of new vehicle buyers with Web access. But you'd never know it by visiting today's automotive brand sites. Women are less likely than men to speak car talk, yet words like "trim level," "power train," and "MSRP" abound on auto manufacturers' . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Best And Worst Of Brand-Building Web Sites, 2007

Forrester Applies Its Web Site Brand Review Methodology To The Sites Of 20 Top Brands

by Ron Rogowski, September 13, 2007

How good is the overall experience offered by top brands' Web sites today? To find out, we graded the sites of 20 of the world's top brands on how well they cater to user needs (Brand Action) and how well they infuse their Brand Image into the Web experience. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

User-Generated Automotive Content

Tactics for Capitalizing on an Emerging Tool

by Belis Aksoy, September 12, 2007

User-generated automotive content (UGAC) is increasingly influencing online automotive consumers' vehicle purchasing decisions.

North American Technographics® Financial Services And Automotive Online Survey, Q3 2007

North American Consumer Technographics Technographics Survey, September 5, 2007