In an experience economy, customer experience is the brand - you are in control of how you shape that experience

I purchased my round trip ticket for a Continental business flight online. I even got a confirmation email the day before departure that let me check in right online. That was wonderful! With my confirmation print-out, I managed to forego the large lineup at the airport. I thought I was off to a great start.

But then the brown stuff hit the fan! What was supposed to be a 1 hour and 35 minute flight from NYC to Ottawa, turned into 12 hours of too much coffee, a couple of beers and an unhappy customer! My tally of blacklisted airlines just grows longer.

Any more, online conversion rarely happens in a vacuum. And that precious loyalty you want to build is going out with this week’s garbage if you overlook the fact that what happens offline influences whether customers ever return to do business with you again online. Some of what happens offline - like your customer service - is in your control. Botch that, and you set in motion an out-of-your-control avalanche of word-of-mouth that requires serious attention on your part.

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Read the entire newsletter: Volume 131

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• Toys 'R' Us Scares Away Customers, Giraffes
• The Transparency Imperative: Moving Beyond the Suggestion Box
• Dishing Out What the Customer Really Wants
• The Cooperative Marketing Waggle
• Word of Mouth Meets the Internet

Learn how to maintain your persuasive momentum and messaging across channels

You run a lavish, expensive ad on network television encouraging viewers to go to your website. Your site’s conversion goal is to direct potential customers to the nearest brick-and-mortar store, where they can purchase what you are selling. A customer follows this trail and enters the store. Will her experience there reinforce everything that has come before?You send a promotional coupon to loyal customers who have purchased from your retail store that offers a special discount if they make their purchase online. When those customers come to your virtual store, will their experience reinforce their perception of your brand or shatter it?

What’s happening here? Multi-channel marketing. It isn’t exactly a new idea, but it’s breadth has grown considerably because of emerging media. The thing is, when you’re doing business in multiple channels, are you the same business?

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Read the entire newsletter: Volume 131

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