The Interactive Mediums

Which to Use?

This depends on a number of factors:

• Customer or Prospect Ownership
• Current Customer's Use of the Mediums
• Customer Preferences
• Your Planned Use of the Mediums
• Your Current or Planned Infrastructure
• Your Brand and Your Strategy
   

Customer or Prospect Ownership

You need to be aware of the extent of ownership of these mediums with your actual or target customer base. It might be useful to ascertain planned ownership and if there are any inhibitors to acquiring the equipment. This may identify an opportunity to assist your customers, for example, with discounts on purchase of a modem, training and advice, free software, etc..
     

• Safeway's personalised shopping service is targetted squarely at busy consumers. They have therefore opted for a telephone and fax based service.
• In the US, Citibank are offering free PCs to existing customers in order to consolidate their position as one of the leaders in 24 hour banking.
     
     
     
     

Current Customer's Use of the Mediums

When undertaking household surveys, you should seek to identify the current use and by whom. For example, a house may have a PC, but it may be located in the children's bedroom and used by them for playing games.
   

Customer Preferences

Many customers will have more than one medium. Aim to give them multiple choices rather than going for the lowest common denominator. Remember, its about meeting personal needs. There are also different customers costs associated with each medium as well as an expected use. For example, a customer doesn't want to interrupt a business meeting only to see an advert on his pager display.
     

• 1-800 BIRTHDAY provides a reminder service with customer's choosing whether to receive the reminder by e-mail, post, or telephone.
• Gateway Europe (right) allows customers to design their custom PC either via the Internet or via the phone with the customer service representative offering one-to-one advice. Customers can start from scratch or they can modify one of the suggested specifications that are aimed at different segments of users. The system recalculates the price as the specification changes).
    (Click screen shot to see a larger portion - 70K)
• The US Citibank customers can use either an ATM, PC, traditional branch, touch tone phone or screen phone to access their accounts.
     
     

Your Planned Use of the Mediums

The degree of interaction and the richness of any visuals is obviously dependent on the medium being used. Interaction with your design system will probably need a PC with a fast modem. Sending share price movements could be achieved using pagers or voice mail.
 

• Gap Inc uses virtual reality so that customers can see the selected clothes displayed on a manikin.
• San Paolo Bank in Italy uses multimedia kiosks to print off personalised coupons sponsored by its corporate customers.
     
     

Your Current or Planned Infrastructure

Your processes and IT systems need to be able to create attention grabbing messages at the appropriate time and then be able to handle the customer response and interactions. What you provide needs to be seamless, efficient, effective and professional - not appearing to be Heath Robinson. Various other technologies will play their part and there are also organisational aspects to be addressed.
   

• Companies like IBM Credit Corp. and the insurer USAA have case workers who are responsible for the customer relations and for ensuring that the service they receive is seamless.
• More advanced E-commerce sites have direct real-time links into their inventory, logistics, and accounting systems.
       
  

Your Brand and Your Strategy

Whatever you do must reflect and not distract from your brand image, and it must support your business strategy.
 

• Ragú's web site has adopted the persona of an Italian Mama. She is your host to the site, which aims to re-inforce the Italian authenticity of the Ragacute brand and to get visitors to engage with it. There is a pizza party, a tour of Little Italy and, of course, details of a her favorite recipes. To complete the feedback loop, Mama doesn't forget to cajole you into filling out a survey of your own eating and cooking habits. Note the http reference: www.eat.com.
     
     

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