Engage Gen Y Online With Social Interactivity

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 interactivity. To examine best practices in one of these approaches — social interactivity — we examined the online experiences of 20 large companies. Some good social interactivity tactics we found: Zappos.com provides several ways to share product information, Sprint offers forums for product and service suggestions, and Toyota presents customers' "stories from the road." Customer experience professionals can start infusing social interactivity by identifying the specific paths that Gen Yers take through their sites.