A day at the Forrester Consumer Forum

Today was the first day of the customer forum. The focus of the event is Innovation in a consumer-driven world. I really enjoyed the opening Chris Charron it was focused on how the world is rapidly changing to a pull society, where the consumer has all the power. The key quote was "The consumers aren't listening to you anymore... They are listening to each other". I have been seeing this trend and hearing it more and more frequently lately. I believe it is a reality that marketers have to deal with and deal with now. I think marketers have to stop dreaming up what they perceive is cool and start watching what their consumers think is cool. I think I have stated this before but I will do it again. "A marketer is a sample of ONE" This means, stop listening to yourself and start listening to your consumers, because one persons perception will never be enough sway the consumer.

Why am I writing about this on a web analytics blog? Well, one of the main gate keepers for the consumer is web analytics data. Watching trends, identifying issues and testing scenarios help with the consumer experience. Web Analytics is one of the best ways to understand your consumers. So, to me one of the biggest take-aways from this first day is the Web Analytics is more important now than it has ever been and companies really need to get a plan in place or start investing in the talent to use the information they have at their fingertips!

Chris