Call it the next-generation web, web 2.0, or any other popular term for the phenomenon – consumers now demand a personalized and interactive experience online.Websites today must behave more like the real world by offering interactions that simulate face-to-face interpersonal encounters.

eTailers, retailers, manufacturers, and other businesses selling goods and services online are faced with an increasingly complex environment in which sophisticated consumers around the globe search, browse, read, and click their way to online purchases. Traditional mass marketing methods have limited success with these consumers and online merchandising techniques thought to be cutting edge just a few years ago often are not enough to increase sales with today’s consumers.

Savvy marketers and merchandisers today are finding that persuasion is key to online success. Rather than implementing a one-size-fits-all sales process that inevitably leads consumers to a “Buy Now” button, persuasion is about encouraging desired actions at every stage of complex, varied, and personalized buying processes. With persuasive Web experiences, organizations selling goods and services online have the opportunity– even the imperative—to build personalized, relevant, cross-channel interactions with customers to drive and increase sales.