Most retailers cling to product-focused and promotion-centric models. However, there is increased consumer resistance to intrusive marketing, such as unsolicited e-mails and direct mail.

In response, some retailers are beginning to pay more attention to the customer experience and have adjusted their marketing practices so that they are delivering fewer, more relevant messages that reflect the multichannel relationship they have with the customer, e.g. retail stores, website, and catalogs, or "brick, click, and flip".

Switching to a customer-centric marketing approach helps to increase customer loyalty and as a result, customers will buy more from you over a longer period of time. Research by Bain and Harvard Business School shows that the longer a customer stays with you, the greater the annual profit generated from that customer. These increased profits come from a combination of increased purchases, cost savings in marketing, and word-of-mouth referrals.

The majority of multichannel retailers do not design their marketing programs around acquiring new customers that have the best potential to become long-term customers and rewarding existing high-value, loyal customers with special treatment in order to retain them. Instead, they wrongly focus on market share as the key measure of success.

THE MOST MARKETING-SAVVY segment a business will ever target is undoubtedly Generation Y. With no illusions about how much manufacturers covet their disposable income, the children of the eighties scrutinize any new brand on the block with icy cool. It's not enough just to talk the talk: only genuinely youth-oriented brands can also walk the walk.

So just how do top Gen-Y brands like Converse (shoes), Ben & Jerry's (ice cream) and Jet Blue (air travel) succeed where so many others fall? Their secret lies in establishing an emotional connection with their customers, a powerful, psychological attraction that allows these emotionally driven brands to nurture a special relationship and motivate purchase intent.

What are the brand-building strategies to help your business walk the walk? In every market segment, a strong brand not only attracts an initial purchase but also brings longer-term benefits like customer loyalty and premium pricing. But Gen Y-ers are especially influenced by brands that project an emotional appeal they can share in and exploit. For these consumers, a brand is a form of self-expression that communicates an identity to their peers. This emotional investment means that Gen Y-ers will support and recommend the brands they use: they willingly become brand endorsers, creating the kind of buzz that can make market share rocket.

To build an emotionally potent brand, first consider Gen Y-ers' values, and what benefits buying your brand will bring them. Then, fine-tune your brand by positioning it so as to satisfy your target customers' emotional needs: in particular, try to own the all-important 'lifestyle empowerment' brand position. Finally, learn from the Converses and Ben & Jerrys of this world by creating a sense of brand ownership — every truly successful brand in this market manages to foster the impression that it belongs to Gen Y-ers, and to them alone.