Watch out when technologists talk about "convergence." In its name, propeller-heads have brought us such nearly useless devices as the "hydra," which was supposed to photocopy, print, send e-mails, crunch data, and maybe even buff your shoes. Technology convergence never happens as fast as gurus predict, and it really matters only to, say, the personal-computer company that hopes to expand into the television business.

But don’t ignore convergence. There is a kind that already has happened—in the minds of consumers—and to powerful effect. Consumers’ digital and real-life experiences have converged to create an expectation of fantastic, integrated services that are cheap, convenient, highly personalized, and available from a variety of on-line and physical outlets. Woe to the company that isn’t moving as fast as it can to live up to these expectations.

The new goal needs to be to deliver a retail customer the following experience: During a TV show, he sees a clothing item of interest. Clicking on a button to travel to the advertiser’s Web page, he is immediately connected to the item in the company’s catalog. A shopping expert inquires, in a voice-over, about size and color, custom features, or alternatives, all of which can be modeled three-dimensionally. The customer buys the item, which is shipped to his front door. If the item isn’t suitable, it can be dropped off for credit or exchange at a nearby store.

This needs to be the goal because of what might be called "digital leakage"—on-line experiences that have leaked over into the physical world and raised expectations. For example, once somebody buys a book, video, or CD on-line, his view of the bricks-and-mortar experience changes forever. All of a sudden, the physical store’s price seems too high—it is likely $15.99 and up for a CD, vs. $12.99 or less on-line. The physical store’s availability also seems too limited, especially for backlist recordings. Physical stores make most of their sales from the highly promoted top 20, while some 70% of on-line music sales come from Web sites’ well-developed backlists.

Similarly, databases, automation, and personalization software have enhanced service in ways that may spoil on-line consumers. They carry those expectations back into the physical world, where they are underwhelmed with the knowledge possessed by store clerks.

Basically, e-conditioned consumers remember the lowest price they’ve seen; they recall the widest selection of inventory; and they recollect the most streamlined and personalized experience. Recent focus groups by our researchers have found that consumers compare in-store prices with those offered by Buy.com, even though Buy.com offers astonishingly low prices that are often below wholesale. The researchers found that consumers compare in-store selection with what they get from firms such as Amazon.com, which lists in its inventory just about every book in print.

In addition to the convergence of experiences, convergence also happens in two other ways. First is location. Consumers expect to be able to move back and forth between the physical and the virtual. They expect bricks-and-mortar companies to have robust, integrated on-line efforts. Conversely, they expect pure-play Internet companies to offer real service people, easy returns, and multiple distribution channels. Gateway, which primarily sells its computers on-line, has had great success with its physical Gateway Pavilions (165 to date), and I’ll bet it won’t be long before Amazon has physical stores, as well.

Second is devices. Despite what the technologists say, this isn’t happening literally—the television, personal computer, and telephone haven’t yet combined in an important way. But consumers’ use of the devices has converged. They expect to be able to buy things using any combination of computer, television, wire-based telephone, and cell phone. Soon, personal digital assistants and some other devices will also land in the mix of devices that any seller needs to be able to accommodate.

Even Dell Computer, the poster child of on-line sellers, finds that it finalizes most of its on-line sales over the phone. Why? Comparison-shopping and research may be done on-line. But consumers still feel comfortable speaking to a human sales rep, with a name, to ensure they’ve not made a mistake. Similarly, half the folks who surf the Web have their TVs on at the same time. This phenomenon is confirmed by our Kidscope research that indicates multitasking is the norm, particularly among youngsters.

Increasingly, companies of all kinds are getting the message about the kind of convergence that is really happening. Charles Schwab has done exceptionally well producing a converged, consumer-driven approach that lets consumers use any combination of trips to the branch office, phone calls, and Web-site visits. Recreational Equipment, or REI, likewise has done a great job of integrating its aircraft-hangar-size stores, its catalog, a cool Internet site, and Web-based, in-store kiosks that help keep shoppers inside for a staggering average of two hours. [See "Getting Physical," Context, September/October 1999.] America Online believes so strongly in the integration of devices that it speaks of "AOL Anywhere."

Which isn’t to say there won’t be challenges galore. There will be, principally in three areas:

CULTURE: Blending analog and digital cultures and groups isn’t easy. For every Schwab, there’s a Merrill Lynch that is at war with itself.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Yup, the technologists do have a major role. They have to somehow link legacy information systems with new customer interfaces and fulfillment systems, so companies can deal with customers anytime, anywhere, using any device. The good news is that the widespread use of the Internet by partners, suppliers, shippers, credit approvers, and customers should keep the costs bearable.

BRAND: As customers deal with companies in more and more ways, it becomes harder to maintain the kind of consistent experience that is crucial in building a brand. In addition, because so many companies use the coordination capabilities of the Internet to take on new partners, companies will have to expand their brands to provide trust in those partners. Think of the complexities facing Yahoo!, which coordinates the offering of services and products by hundreds of partners.

All of which reminds me of football’s old "triple-threat" players. By analogy, companies must hark back to the 1930s and become like backs who can run, pass, or kick the ball to score.

Tobaccowala is president of Starcom IP, a global unit of Starcom Worldwide that is focused on the Internet. The future-oriented Tobaccowala realized the importance of interactive digital marketing way back in 1993 and formed Leo Burnett’s first Internet business unit soon afterward. He can be reached at Rishad_Tobaccowala@starcomip.com.