The widespread multichannel technology subject to necessary integration of virtual and physical channels and the possibility to connect from anywhere have changed the use of products and services, resulting in a shift of behaviour and expectations of the current and potential customers.

Businesses can no longer be product-oriented.
Customer is now the real protagonist of the purchase experience, expecting transparency, personalisation, rapidity, emotion, involvement and instant and future satisfaction.

Needs should be identified where competition is weak and through a careful use of both quantitative and qualitative data based not on occasional research but an untainted, continuous feedback from current and prospective customers.

A business is more efficient when it identifies certain segments or specific clusters of valuable customers that can be served better than the others through the study of their habits, needs, interests and pre-purchase and post-purchase behaviour (the infamous customer journey).