For Customer Experience Professionals

Design Sites To Work In A High-Resolution World

The Decline Of 1024 x 768 And What To Do About It

by Ron Rogowski, November 20, 2009

The proliferation of high-resolution screens that well surpass 1024 x 768 adds a new layer of complexity to site design. Not only is there no standard resolution to design for, but higher-resolution screens pose usability challenges for sites that were . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

eBusiness Professionals: Plan Your Customer Intelligence Strategy Now

How To Develop A Focused Customer-Centric Approach

by Brian K. Walker, November 16, 2009

The importance of eBusiness professionals to the customer intelligence (CI) effort is clear. As owners of the online profit and loss (P&L), they must align with the CI command center to drive a true multichannel, multipronged approach, which Dave . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Assumption Personas Help Overcome Hurdles To Using Research-Based Design Personas

by Jonathan Browne, November 4, 2009

Forrester recommends that customer experience professionals use personas founded in ethnographic research to guide the design of products, channels, and messages. However, some organizations struggle to use personas effectively. To overcome common barriers . . .

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 Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Reaching Consumers Who Will Help Product Development

Where And Who Are Those Key Social Media Users That Can Help You Deliver New Killer Products And Services?

by Paul Jackson, October 21, 2009

Having established a need or desire to engage with a consumer community to help product and service development, how do you find, target, and engage the appropriate people? Locating the right channels, forums, and communities is not hard, but this should . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Online Testing Vendor Landscape

A Mature Discipline Offers The Next Frontier In Site Optimization

by John Lovett, October 20, 2009

Online testing is an underused technology solution in the burgeoning field of Web site optimization. Numerous methodologies and testing disciplines exist, each with evidence of success in improved Web site usability, increased relevance, and elevated . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Interactive Attribution Landscape

Understanding Emerging Offerings Across The Value Chain

by Emily Riley, October 20, 2009

Over the past year, a number of interactive marketing attribution offerings have emerged — giving marketers insight into their marketing ROI and allowing vendors to create a more entrenched relationship with their clients. But early movers, such as Atlas . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Intelligent Approach To Customer Intelligence

A Framework For Turning Customer Data Into Smart Business Strategy

by Dave Frankland, October 16, 2009

Marketers who measure the impact of their Customer Intelligence (CI) say that it not only boosts campaign-specific metrics but also improves customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction, as well as revenue, profitability, and customer value. Yet, . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Marketing And Customer Analytics Software Landscape

Unraveling A Potpourri Of Technology Options For Customer Analysis

by Suresh Vittal, October 16, 2009

Marketers recognize that Customer Intelligence is rapidly becoming a mission-critical discipline. This should come as no surprise — valuing, targeting, and retaining the best customers are skills in high demand. But few marketing organizations can muster . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Targeting Small Business Tech Buyers: The Power Of Owner Personalities

Factoring For Small Business Market Heterogeneity

by Tim Harmon, October 15, 2009

The siren call of the small business (SB) market's sheer size, along with its propensity to lead technology investment in an economic recovery and its increasingly advanced technology adoption patterns, is a compelling target. But the small business market . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Interactive Agencies Struggle With Web Usability

by Vidya L. Drego, September 25, 2009

Forrester applied its Web Site Review methodology to 36 reference sites provided by 18 interactive agencies. Only one site received a passing score in our evaluation. The highest numbers of severe failures resulted from poor text legibility, unclear menus, . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Adobe's Acquisition Of Omniture Rocks Online Marketing

by Suresh Vittal, John Lovett, September 24, 2009

On September 15, 2009, Adobe announced that it would acquire Omniture for $1.8 billion. Adobe's CEO, Shantanu Narayen, promised that the combined entity would help marketers "realize the full value of their digital assets." Forrester believes that while . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Firms Struggle To Measure Customer Experience Across Channels

Technical And Organizational Silos Hinder Cross-Channel Tracking

by Megan Burns, September 22, 2009

Forrester recently surveyed decision-makers at 41 companies and found that their primary challenges when it comes to customer experience measurement relate to tracking experiences across channels. Several factors contribute to this problem, including . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How To Survive The Browser Wars

Top Considerations When Designing For Cross-Browser Interoperability

by Harley Manning, September 17, 2009

The browser wars have turned hot! How can companies deliver a high-quality Web experience in a world of proliferating platforms — without breaking the bank? The answer lies in best practices for effective cross-browser design and testing. By embracing . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The ROI Of Email Relevance, 2009

New Rules To Improve The Bottom Line

by David Daniels, September 16, 2009

Email marketer expectations and sophistication are increasing. Forrester's Q1 survey of 104 email marketers found that the number of email marketers using click-through data as a segmentation attribute grew to 51%, its highest level ever. Yet, the survey . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

What's Holding Back Your Intranet?

Forrester's Web Site Review For Intranets Exposes Barriers To Use And Adoption

by Tim Walters, Ph.D., September 11, 2009

Rapidly changing business environments and sharp competition now make it more important than ever to empower employees with an intranet that makes their work more efficient and productive. At the same time, budget constraints leave no room for guesswork . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

Best Practices In User Experience (UX) Design

Design Compelling User Experiences To Wow Your Customers

by Mike Gualtieri, September 4, 2009

Users have great expectations when they visit your Web and mobile applications. They increasingly want an experience that's valuable, easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, and emotionally satisfying. To retain and gain customers, you have to continually . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Interactive Design Agencies Go "Above The Line"

by Vidya L. Drego, September 3, 2009

Dramatic changes in consumer behavior and the economy have caused companies to shift budgets from traditional advertising to interactive marketing. Interactive agencies ride the trend with partnerships, acquisitions, new services — and a much bigger role . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Best And Worst Of UK Brand Building Web Sites, 2009: Internet Service Providers

Forrester Applies Its Web Site Brand Review Methodology To The Sites Of Four Top UK Internet Service Providers

by Jonathan Browne, August 27, 2009

How good are the overall experiences offered by leading Internet service providers' Web sites in the UK in 2009? To find out, we graded the sites of four top UK ISP sites using Forrester's Web Site Brand Review methodology. Our tests measure how well . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Persona Best Practices Of Interactive Agencies

Forrester Applies Its Evaluation Methodology To Personas Provided By 18 Large Interactive Agencies

by Vidya L. Drego, August 27, 2009

Forrester applied its persona evaluation criteria to reference personas provided by 18 interactive agencies for the recent Forrester Wave™. Most of the personas showed some room for improvement, with problems running the gamut in both type and severity. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising And Web Optimization

by Sucharita Mulpuru, August 14, 2009

The annual fielding of "The State of Retailing Online," a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research, asked retailers about their prioritization and success rates regarding more than 50 site merchandising and Web optimization tools. Even though retailers . . .

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 eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Financial Web Sites Need Customer Service Help

Financial Services eBusiness Customer Service And Support Benchmark, 2009

by Diane Clarkson, Elizabeth Stark, July 31, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 90 Web sites, Forrester evaluated the availability of online customer service and support among 30 leading financial services Web sites. Forrester found that most sites delivered inconsistent customer service availability, . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Executive Q&A: Cross-Channel Reviews

by Adele Sage, July 31, 2009

Cross-channel reviews uncover flaws that prevent users from accomplishing goals when their paths take them across multiple channels, like Web sites and interactive voice response (IVR) systems. When companies fix these flaws they improve business results. . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Web Analytics, Q3 2009

Omniture, Coremetrics, Unica, And Webtrends Lead, With Nedstat Close

by John Lovett, July 23, 2009

In Forrester's evaluation of eight Web analytics vendors, we reviewed 105 criteria that exposed a tight Leader board because of each vendor's ability to process copious amounts of data and offer robust customization capabilities. Leaders in this field . . .