UNDERSTANDING the market these days is more complex because of the new breed of "digital" customers. But how are they different from the traditional customer? The key difference is in the manageable relationship between buyer and seller, say digital marketing specialists.

That liaison starts the moment the customer lands on your website, says Sherwin Tien Siregar, deputy CEO, Atlas Sound & Vision. The company ventured into e-commerce last August and has since found it to be exciting and fruitful. He says: "It is important to understand the customer and her journey - what she needs at each point of that journey, and being relevant and useful to her at those points are important factors."

Google agrees. Says Ghislain Le Chatelier, regional director, enterprise, South-east Asia and Greater China: "The single most important thing any business can do is to make sure they're connecting with their customers at the appropriate touch points."