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Part 1  Introduction

 In the first part of  Chapter   2    we show how companies can review their presence in the  

online 

marketplace

  to increase their visibility across different customer touchpoints The  

path to 

purchase

  is now much complex since purchase decisions are influenced by many more 

touchpoints today. For example, decisions are influenced when accessing social media sites 

via desktop and mobile sites plus communications in traditional channels. Increasingly 

multiple devices are used simultaneously, for example when using smartphones or tablets 

while watching TV, the process known as  

multiscreening

 .       

 To determine the best way to influence purchasers requires careful consideration. 

Businesses must collect and review insights that help them understand this behaviour and 

then improve their visibility and communications on different channels to improve this. 

Consider a B2B organisation. Traditionally it will have sold its products through a network 

of distributors. With the advent of e‑commerce, it now has the opportunity to bypass dis‑

tributors and trade directly with customers via a destination website, and it also has the 

opportunity to reach customers through new types of online sites such as blogs and B2B 

marketplaces. Similarly, for B2C organisations such as an e‑retail