Bert DuMars, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, says that marketers today have to have a post-digital mindset.

“You don’t want a commodity relationship, because then it’s all about price,” DuMars said. “If it’s all about price the big players are going to win.”

Instead, brands have to figure out how to form relationships with customers so that customers prefer to shop with them because they recognize that those brands are there when the customer needs them.

In this interview below, you’ll hear DuMars talk about this and how brands like 7/11, Chick-Fil-A and SkinnyGirl started to understand this concept, along with the concept of “actionable data,” as DuMars calls it. And if you’re looking for a bit more of an in-depth analysis around his theories and research, check out the article here detailing the strategies of some of these companies.