The so-called “customer journey” has changed irrevocably in the digital age—the way customers make decisions, interact with media and brands, and become loyal has changed forever. Obviously it’s vital for marketers to address this paradigm shift and capitalize on it.

General Assembly, a worldwide company that specializes in training, staffing and career transitions in data, design and technology fields, brought their insights to The Conference this year.

Arshad Wala, lead enterprise instructor, General Assembly and CEO, Digitalworks, outlined the four traits of the newly connected consumer: dependence on online reviews and recommendations, a desire for additional brand content (such as viral videos or iPhone games), constant connection via mobile and the expectation of an ongoing dialogue in customer relationships.

The push of traditional marketing has become a pull on the consumer side—they seek information on products themselves. According to Nielsen, 92 percent of consumers trust peer reviews and recommendations, whereas less than 14 percent are swayed by TV commercials, and 8 percent by magazine ads. Indeed, according to a survey by Crowdtap, Some 25 percent of respondents listed their friends as their top influence.

Now brands need to become a consumer’s friend, and given a customer’s willingness to research, this presents a tremendous opportunity. After all, brands used to have to reach consumers through the morning paper, their morning commute or during the nightly news. Now, 81 percent of smartphone users do product research from their mobile device while shopping at a brick and mortar store. Half of smartphone users used their device to make a purchase in last year. The barrier between customer and brand has broken down—the companies best positioned to take advantage will reap the benefits.

Amazon is the envy of everyone in this industry, but Wala also praised Walgreens’ best-in-class social experience. The company recently won best retailer app at SXSW and that’s because it’s jam-packed with features: the ability to refill prescriptions, a reminder feature to take pills or get a refill, the option to print photos for same-day pickup, get paperless coupons, receive onscreen rewards cards, create shopping lists, and even look at customized maps that show you the best route to pick up all your items.

Globally, people have more access to the internet on mobile devices than on a PC, and Walgreens has found that app users spend six times more than if they just go to the store, while users of their mobile-friendly website spend four times more. Walgreens also has a social media team in place to handle customer service, something that’s become an expectation in the digital climate, as inept Twitter or Facebook responses to customers can squander any goodwill you have.

The airline KLM has taken this kind of customer service public, by promising responses within a time stamp on their Twitter banner (updated every five minutes), and making their interactions transparent.

There’s now an ongoing relationship with consumers, and Amazon has figured out the best way to leverage it, or secure it. A college student can get Amazon Prime for free for six months, and when they graduate, they’re offered the service for 50 percent off for the rest of their life. Who is going to cancel that service, knowing that they would have to pay double if they signed back?

They go even further with their Amazon Mom program, offering discounts on diapers and other services to new Moms. The only thing these Moms have to do is register their baby, creating a data profile as early as possible and allowing Amazon to develop a relationship from day one with a potential new customer.

That may get your spidey sense tingling, and indeed, predictive analytics can get creepy. In 2012, Target was able to figure out when women were pregnant before these women had even told their parents based on their purchasing patterns. Target estimated that they made over a billion dollars based on these predictive models, and there’s no law prohibiting Target from profiling its customers.

But Target is careful with how they use this information—because people are rightfully turned off by such an invasion of privacy. Instead of sending them blatant baby supplies coupons, they place discounted crib ads next to lawnmowers or other random products, making people believe it’s a stroke of luck. But luck has nothing to do with it.

Customers today are more discerning, well-informed, and expect the same level of effort from brands they choose to engage with. If the company is willing to work for it, they could be getting customers for life.

That’s where General Assembly comes in, offering online and offline courses to help companies succeed in the digital age—because Wala believes the best route is not to outsource this work beyond the company, but to do it in-house.

“You can’t outsource understanding or empathy,” Wala said.

But you can learn to embrace the new wave—companies can’t afford to be limited by what they sell.

“If you think Domino’s is a pizza company, you’re not paying attention,” said Wala. “They are a technology company.”

Domino’s has better insights than USPS about delivery. They have a vehicle that cooks pizza as it’s being driven to you. They recently received clearance to deliver pizza by drone. All innovations made to bring the best experience for the consumer—working to earn the company loyalty that is increasingly up for grabs in the digital age.

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