The Future is Digital
Becoming digital is the surest way for you to understand your customers' needs and meet their expectations. Learn how Perficient can help anticipate what's ahead for you and your customer with a digital strategy centered around empathy, alignment, and agility.
Jim: Well, the BIG Show is over, the tent is coming down, and everyone is scrambling to make flights home and make something out of four days in the Big Apple. The question is just what did we learn and what do we intend to do with it, Michael?
Michael: Like everyone else, after I file my expenses I’m going to need a few days to really digest what I heard. But, if I were to thumbnail it here it is:
- One-on-one consumer engagement means making sure your offers are as individually personalized and more relevant to the shopper than ever.
- Go mobile or go home, because everyone is carrying one and everyone is always on it. Even at the show I was dodging folks who were talking, texting and doing deals! This is the essence of the Connected Consumer now at the center of the whole affair.
- Making it matter also means making yourself convenient to the shopper before, during and even after the sale. Omnichannel and convergence is still top of mind.
Jim: Yes, the convergence suggest that we really are heading into a new world where “stack it high and watch it fly” is giving way to a non-linear path-to-purchase. The digital age continues with online shoppers representing an ever increasing share of purchases. In fact, I saw that 2015 is predicted to be the first $300B eCommerce year. And it looks like the marketing dollars are following with something close to 25% of the marketing mix going to this medium.
Michael: I was a marketer once, Jim, and was always reminded of John Wanamaker’s famous dictum: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” That’s changing very fast now given the real-time insights we can glean from so many connections. Even so, I think we’ll have to guard against thinking we’ve found the holy grail since the consumer, as well is evolving just a fast as the marketers and merchants trying to entice them.
Jim: So true and clearly decision makers are going to have to move at a pace far quicker than has been the case for years. Gone are the days you could study a market for a year and take several more to penetrate and consolidate. Gone too are the cash cows that refuse to continuously innovate. And sacred cows make the best burgers! Flexibility and agility are as important than ever to be nimble and adapt.
Michael: Brave new world indeed. Relevant, mobile, and seamless. Hail to the Consumer!
