Cross-channel

The challenge of understanding how customers engage across multiple channels is the ‘Everest’ of measuring customer behaviour.

Just think for a moment how complex modern business channels have become. What we now think of as a traditional transactional business would have a single real-world store-front. A customer would come in and buy products or services, the business owner would talk to them in an attempt to understand their needs, and they would leave. Perhaps the experience next time would be slightly more tailored to their liking based on that conversation. Today a customer may still walk in to a store, but they would just as likely order online, or via a call centre. That’s three different channels without thinking too deeply about it, and as Paul mentions in his article, if we think about touch points there are hundreds. And how does that business owner now know how many of its online customers also use the call centre or the store? How many store customers checked stock online or usually prefer to use the call centre? Read more…

By Katie Buchanan

As a User Experience Consultant I spend a lot of my time designing websites and understanding the value and impact that the Internet has on people’s lives; how they interact with brands and services, shop online, communicate online, and bank online. A personal experience recently has reminded me of participants in my various forms of research over the years; why they and now realising why I, are traditionalists at heart. Read more…

I’m delighted to be able to share a recent conversation I had with Frank Ma, a close associate in China for the last two years now, and the man who will be responsible for ensuring the success of Foviance’s exciting new venture in Shanghai – Foviance Asia.

Frank, can you tell me a bit about your background and what attracted you to research?

I started out in research over 13 years ago right out of university. Like many fresh graduates I had little clue of what I wanted to do except that I wanted to get exposure to a number of different industries. This is what the research offers – a chance to work with a broad range of companies and learn how they do things. Read more…

It’s coming up to 9 months since I got an eReader and in that time barely a month has gone by without a new development in either the eBook or eReader space. I have been watching these developments with interest – recent events to note are the UK Kindle release and the growing dominance of applications (apps) to both sell and display eBooks. Read more…

Foviance white paper released. ‘Allowing customers to self-serve cross-channel’ looks at the increasing value of transactions carried out online, with survey feedback on why people aren’t purchasing online.

Foviance survey reveals that 44% of people don’t buy online because they want to physically see the product and asks what retailers are doing to provide a joined up experience.

London, UK, 9 December 2009 – Foviance, the expert in cross-channel customer experience, carried out a survey in the autumn of 2009 and found that 44% of people don’t buy online as they want to physically see the product. In addition, a further 18% cited the cost of delivery as a barrier to online shopping. Read more…

Even during recessionary times, the value of online transactions continues to increase. However, in a recent study carried out by Foviance, 44% of people surveyed said they didn’t buy online because they wanted to physically see the product. A further 18% cited the cost of delivery as a barrier to online shopping.

This white paper provides insight from over 100 respondents, into the buying habits and behaviours in the run up to the busiest time of year for retailers.  We probed respondents to understand their motivations, the barriers they are confronted with, and examples of best and worst websites that exist.

This paper highlights that customers are already using multiple channels as part of their purchase process dependent on what it is they are buying and the information provided at the various touch points. By enhancing the cross-channel customer experience, retailers can diminish the impact of the main barriers to conversion.

By Marty Carroll

This month’s newsletter combines November and December. In this last newsletter of 2009 we reflect on a difficult but eventful business year.

We saw customer experience play a critical role for many organisations strengthening their digital presence and cross-channel offering in order to provide the best possible levels of service for existing and new customers alike.

Looking back at 2009, Paul assesses how predictable the current landscape was at the outset, and then looks positively towards a tricky but exciting 2010. Meanwhile Amanda shares her insights from a conference on mobile, for those more concerned about sweating the small-screen stuff, and Lis takes a look down both sides of the narrowing divide between mobility and accessibility. Also, I look at the non-rational consumer, a lucrative segment.

Finally, Clare has been analysing our research into online retail habits ahead of the festive shopping season. If you would like a copy of the whitepaper as soon as it’s released, please e-mail info@foviance.com

I hope you have enjoyed your regular newsletters throughout the year. I’d also be very happy to hear from you directly with any feedback.

Marty.

In this issue:

• Looking back on 2009 and forward to 2010
• Researching the mobile experience
• The fine line between mobility and accessibility
• Tapping a lucrative segment: the non-rational consumer