For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Travel eBusiness Can Win Friends And Influence Travelers

An In-Depth Look At Travel Social Fans, The Travelers Who Friend, Follow, Or Fan Travel Companies And Destinations On Social Media Sites

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, September 3, 2010

Travelers view social media as more than a way to stay in touch with people they know. Forrester data reveals that two in five US online leisure travelers have friended, followed, or become a fan of a travel company or destination on a social networking . . .

For Content & Collaboration Professionals

Disciplined Social Innovation

Three Firms Achieve Tangible Results

by Rob Koplowitz, Leslie Owens, August 30, 2010

Companies depend on innovation to sprint out of the current economic doldrums and to return to profitability and growth. Innovation is a discipline with established best practices, needed skill sets, and proven processes and tools. Many organizations . . .

For Market Research Professionals

How Consumers Around The World Use The Internet To Buy Products

Global Overview: Online Retail 2009

by Olesia Klevchuk, August 13, 2010

The Internet has evolved into an important retail channel, with millions of online consumers across the globe turning to it to make their purchases. As with many other online activities, Asian markets like Japan and South Korea are leading in the adoption . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Online LGBT Traveler: A Fabulous, Value-Focused Travel eBusiness Niche Market

by Henry H. Harteveldt, August 3, 2010

There are more than 7 million US online lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) leisure travelers. LGBT travelers spend more than $41 billion per year on their personal and leisure travel and tend to be more engaged with online travel booking than . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Travel eBusiness Can Engage Conversationalists, The New Social Media Group

by Henry H. Harteveldt, July 28, 2010

From 2008 to 2010, 26.3 million more US online leisure travelers began using social media. Members of the group that travel eBusiness professionals need to pay attention to for their social commerce potential are the 53.8 million US online leisure travelers . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Satisfied Are Consumers With Phone Experiences In 2010?

Consumers Rate Their Satisfaction With Phone Experiences Across 13 Industries

by Megan Burns, July 12, 2010

For many companies, the phone is a major channel through which they interact with customers. Forrester surveyed 4,653 consumers to find out how satisfied they were with the phone interactions they had with companies across 13 different industries. Marriott . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Smart Computing Fuels Biometrics Growth

How Biometrics Enable Smart Computing Solutions

by Heidi Shey, July 7, 2010

Biometrics is already a growing market today in a variety of applications. Smart Computing will help to fuel biometrics growth as smart applications call for a greater level of security and accountability in order to be enabled and accepted. As the tech . . .

For Market Research Professionals

Case Study: How KLM Expanded The Influence Of Market Research With Its "In Touch" Community

In Touch Significantly Increases Efficiencies In KLM's Multicountry Research

by Tamara Barber, July 6, 2010

In 2008, Dutch airline KLM worked with Communispace to launch its first market research online community (MROC) — called In touch — to better understand the Elite members of its Flying Blue frequent flyer program across five different European countries. . . .

For Market Research Professionals

A Market Researcher's Introduction To The Future Of Online Customer Experience

by Reineke Reitsma, June 30, 2010

The types of devices people use to connect to the Web are proliferating. Portable devices are rapidly getting more powerful, and as a result, the tradeoff between mobility and capability is shrinking. And as the hardware evolves, the interfaces on the . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Alternative Payment Methods Landscape For Travel eBusiness

The Payment Methods That Appeal Most And Least To Leisure Travel Bookers

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, June 22, 2010

Since 2007, US travelers' usage and interest in alternative payment methods (APMs) for online travel purchases has been slowly, but steadily, increasing. Fifteen percent of US online leisure travel Bookers used APMs to buy travel online in the past 12 . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Satisfied Are Consumers With Web Site Experiences In 2010?

Consumers Rate Their Satisfaction With 87 Web Sites Across 13 Industries

by Megan Burns, June 14, 2010

Forrester recently asked US online consumers to rate their satisfaction with Web site experiences at companies they've done business with across multiple industries. When the results were tallied, retail and financial services dominated the top 10 rankings. . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Case Study: Mandarin Oriental Creates A Brand-Appropriate Mobile Experience

The Hotel Group Provides Luxury Travelers With A Customized Mobile Web Site

by Vidya L. Drego, June 8, 2010

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) noticed that a growing percentage of its Web traffic came from mobile devices. To address a growing need, the team partnered with Siteworx to design and build a customized mobile Web site that was tailored to the needs . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Why Travel eBusiness Misses The Mark By Only Emphasizing Price

Leisure Travelers Place As Much Emphasis On Value And Reliability As Price

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, May 19, 2010

Price, price, price. In today's Wal-Mart world, travel eBusiness professionals constantly say that price is the most important element that leisure travelers focus on. That perception illustrates an incomplete view of the customer. An equal percentage . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Booking-Baffled Traveler

The Problems US Online Leisure Travel Bookers Encounter When Booking Travel Online — And How Travelers Resolve These Booking Snafus

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, April 23, 2010

Stale planning and booking processes make it difficult for a critical mass of travelers to complete the simplest of tasks on travel sites. Nearly one in five US online leisure travel Bookers encounters problems when booking travel online. These people . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Black-And-Blue World Of Online Business Travel

by Henry H. Harteveldt, April 22, 2010

Business travel has taken a terrible beating over the past two years. There are about 10% fewer online business travelers in the US now than in Q1 2008. The 45.7 million people who travel for business have also dramatically changed how they get from point . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Travel eBusiness Can Persuade More Travelers To Share Valuable Personal Information

Travelers' Faltering Sense Of Security Inhibits Online Sales Success

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, March 3, 2010

Its 2010, the Web should be safe and secure for personal information, right? Wrong. Online privacy is constantly threatened with phishing and malware attacks, and US online leisure travelers are perceptive: Forrester data reveals that 37% of US online . . .

For Business Process Professionals

Adding Social Media To Customer Service Initiatives Can Break Down Barriers To Change

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., February 11, 2010

According to Forrester data, 91% of executives say that customer experiences are critical or very important to their businesses, nearly 5,000 consumers prefer better customer experiences over lower prices, and better customer experiences drive higher . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Experiences Across The Customer Life Cycle

Satisfaction With Researching, Buying, Product Usage, And Customer Service

by Bruce D. Temkin, February 11, 2010

Forrester asked more than 4,600 US consumers about their experiences in researching, buying, and using products or services as well as with customer service interactions across 14 industries. In 12 of the industries, customer service had the lowest satisfaction . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Which Travelers Are Most And Least Optimistic About Their 2010 Financial Outlook?

How Understanding These Travelers Spells Big Bucks For eBusiness

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, February 10, 2010

The travel industry is coming out of 2009 like a war-battled soldier — exhausted and aching, but ready to take on another challenge. The good news is that 2010 looks to be a "less bad" year for travel sellers, with signs that the economic recovery isn't . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2010: A "Less Bad" Year For US Travel eBusiness

Travel eBusiness Will Have To Work Hard To Engage Tentative Travel Spenders

by Henry H. Harteveldt, February 10, 2010

2010 will not be an easy year for travel sellers. Total US leisure and unmanaged travel sales in 2010 will be $2.3 billion below 2009 levels, although online travel sales are expected to increase slightly. US online leisure travelers are scared: Many . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Digital Channels To Create Breakthrough Multichannel Relationships

How eBusiness Executives Can Adapt To Changing Consumer Behavior

by Henry H. Harteveldt, February 5, 2010

Operating in a multichannel environment isn't new, but it's becoming increasingly complex. Customers spend more time online and increasingly use digital channels to do more than just buy goods — they now routinely use digital channels to gather information, . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Consumers' Likelihood To Recommend 133 Firms

How Likely Are US Consumers To Recommend Firms Across 14 Industries?

by Bruce D. Temkin, February 2, 2010

Forrester asked more than 4,600 US consumers about their likelihood to recommend 133 companies across 14 different industries. As an industry, retailers were the most recommended, while utility providers, health insurance plans, and TV service providers . . .

For Market Research Professionals

Technographics® Survey Highlights: US Travel Social And Mobile Adoption

North American Technographics Travel and Automotive Online Survey, Q4 2009 (US)

by Ina Mitskaviets, January 28, 2010

This highlight deck summarizes the key findings on travel-related social and mobile adoption from Forrester's North American Technographics Travel And Automotive Online Survey, Q4 2009 (US).

For Customer Experience Professionals

Rating Customer Service Experiences, 2010

Consumers Evaluate Customer Service At 92 Companies

by Bruce D. Temkin, January 28, 2010

Forrester asked more than 4,600 US consumers about their customer service experiences with companies across 14 industries. Barnes & Noble and Kohl's received the highest rating, while Charter Communications fell to the bottom. Kaiser, on the other . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

The Future Of Online Customer Experience

It Looks Customized, Aggregated, Relevant, And Social

by Moira Dorsey, January 28, 2010

Forrester believes that four attributes will characterize the next phase of development of the Web. Online experiences will be: customized by the end user, aggregated at the point of use, relevant to the moment, and social as a rule, not an exception. . . .