Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

The pace of digital technology has forced the industry to change--and quickly. Now, digital marketers are at the forefront of relationship marketing, using the immediacy of the Web married with its access to data.

Today the Web is a social experience. It is this expectation that is lessening the usefulness of the company/product website as the best way to engage with customers, at least from a digital standpoint.

You can see in the graph below that Facebook alone has almost caught Google in terms of unique visitors per month. This time last year, there was more than a 50 million visitor-per-month difference, which shows that people are often finding the information they need from Facebook, relying less on search engines.

To benefit from this movement, you must carefully review the networks your customers are in, exploring whether or not your brand can be relevant within them. But that's not enough. You also have to look at the applications within these networks. For example, Facebook has become a "mini-Internet," with more than 350 million users. There are destinations all within the confines of the Facebook network that allow people to get their news, shop, and communicate.

Another force moving us away from the website as a focal point of customer engagement is a growing demand from customers to control content, to consume content when they want it, in the form they want it in, and where they want it. In fact, the iPhone has really paved the way, making the smartphone a viable way to consume Web-based content.

We like to think of digital marketing based on content distribution. Facebook is a great channel for ongoing dialogue. Twitter provides a real-time mechanism for soliciting audience feedback. Mobile is quickly becoming a viable method for delivering specific content at the point of purchase. And Google Wave offers the possibility for marketers to conduct virtual focus groups about new product launches.

Now is the time to rethink your approach to digital marketing in 2010. Look beyond the way you might typically approach digital marketing plans by starting with "the website." Instead, think about where your customers are and the best ways to be a relevant part of their lives, in the right place and time. That's the only way you'll really be able to create a true one-to-one relationship with them.

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About the Author: Jeff Hilimire is chief digital officer at Engauge.