A final snapshot of our Marketing Forum EMEA

By Zia Daniell Wigder

Forgive the
long post, but I wanted to make sure I captured the final sessions of our
Marketing Forum EMEA for those of you who were unable to join us in London over the past
couple of days.

Four different Forrester analysts spoke during the eBusiness track sessions:

• Chad Mitchell analyzed online self-service and discussed how to
  increase its adoption. He showed that although there is still an overall preference for human
  channels the benefits of online self-service are here. Some companies are
  already doing a great job: For example, GEICO
  and Best Buy use “click to chat “,
  enabling real time communication. The key in online self service is to
  create relevance and personalized interaction. A combination of tactics
  from eBusiness, marketing and IT should help make this service successful
  overall.
• Thomas offered insights on adding a mobile dimension to a
  multichannel strategy. With young generations mastering mobile phones
  and being the future, mobility will change the way we do business. The
  mass market uptake of mobile services is only a question of time: by the
  end of the year, some 4.6 billion people will use a mobile regularly. Around
  60% of Japanese consumers already access the mobile Internet today. Mobile
  Internet adoption in Europe will grow
  from 17% penetration in 2009 to 39% in 2014. Some companies have already anticipated
  the importance of the mobile channel, for example to enhance its brand, just
  as Zippo did: its
  iPhone app was downloaded on more than a million times and generated
  revenue.
• Alexander Hesse discussed what next-generation financial services sites
  will look like. With more and
  more Europeans now migrating to the Net, it’s easy to think that digitizing
  the bank will eliminate the human element. And it’s true to a certain
  extent: most of today’s financial sites don’t create an integrated experience
  and don’t support cross-channel behavior. However, next-generation sites
  will provide an experience that is as personal as the one you can get with
  a personal advisor, and some financial companies are already demonstrating
  best practices. For example, RaboDirect
  uses a human face on its site and as well as a blog to reassure customers
  about the economic crisis.
  

• Finally, Benjamin Ensor delivered a presentation on
  developing the next generation of sales and services. With consumer
  behavior changing, there is an urgent need to develop more integrated and
  personalized sales and services in order to support cross-channel
  behavior. If believing in cross-channel is one thing, making it work is
  much more complex: there is a need to change cultures and evangelize,
  understand customers, create a clear and strong vision, and align all
  channels that consumers need. Some companies like Argos already offer
  their customers a seamless cross-channel experience  

And for keynotes on the final day, we heard
two speakers:

• According to the keynote by Forrester's Moira Dorsey (pictured above) on The Future of Online Experiences: Prepare Now For
  Recovery, online experiences have yet to find their true forms, and they will be shaped by capabilities, consumers and competition.
  Online experiences will be customized, aggregated, relevant, and social.
  Moira shared a few fascinating examples to illustrate this. For example, MIT Media Lab has been working on Sixth
  Sense, a portable device that works on every surface, including
  your hand, for only €235. Fashion company Charlotte
  Russe lets people co-browse and shop online. And people do care about
  these technologies: for example 60% of Europeans are interested in
  interactive features on a site.
• Conny
  Kalcher, Vice President Consumer Experiences at LEGO explained how LEGO managed to bounce back and
  become successful again by focusing on their key customer and going back to their
  core products, values and vision. Today, LEGO
  delivers a customized and personal customer experience and engages and involves
  its customers through many touchpoints. Their web site, for example, has 18
  million unique visitors a month. LEGO drives change and excellence by focusing
  on its numerous communities, making them a part of the product innovation and
  by measuring customer satisfaction and always wanting to increase the score.

  
  

A special
thanks goes out to our researcher Lauriane Camus for her help in covering these
events at the conference!