Forrester’s Consumer Forum
Friday, November 6th, 2009
This post was originally published on www.InspiredConceptsInc.com.
I recently attended Forrester’s Consumer Forum, which took place in Chicago at the end of October. Though I had managed my former employer’s relationship with Forrester, and engaged a number of analysts over the years, the Consumer Forum was the first time I experienced Forrester’s culture in person. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to attend and was thoroughly impressed with the event overall.
Aside from the orchestration and attention to detail in running a conference with more than 600 attendees, the quality of the speakers and the content was second to none. Forrester was able to draw upon a vast array of internal and external thought leaders including Josh Bernoff (co-author of Groundswell), Prasanna Dhore (VP at Hewlett Packard), Michael Darviche (Chief Marketing Officer at Acxiom), Bob Kraut (VP of Marketing Communications at Pizza Hut), Virginia Suliman (VP of Web Design & Development at Hilton Hotels) and the very insightful Brad Brooks (VP of Windows Consumer Product Marketing at Microsoft).
Attendees were able to gain insight on how organizations have adjusted to the challenges of an increasingly interactive world and I was able to confirm a number marketing-related thoughts, opinions and ideas that I have had for years.
For instance, never before has it been so important for businesses to focus on the customer/client experience, and to do so across multiple channels. Consumers expect a seamless experience regardless of how they interact with companies. If companies cannot deliver these experiences, a competitor is always just a mouse click away. Embracing customers across all multiple channels is becoming crucial to survival.
What’s more, the rise of interactive channels has changed the way companies communicate with their customers. Where once marketers could broadcast messages to a relatively captive audience with a single TV or radio spot, media channels have become much more fragmented and there’s a constant struggle to capture a customer’s attention. The need for marketers to be flexible and creative in reaching their target audiences has never been greater.
Having attended the Consumer forum, it’s clear that rise of interactivity presents both unprecedented challenges and unbelievable opportunities, and it was interesting to see how so many companies have adapted.
Category: Marketing | Tags:
