This article originally appeared in the March 2011 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY.

Sure, they aren’t as photogenic as Brad and Angelina, but there is a hot new couple in town. In fact, in my previous column, I introduced them: Consumer 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 and the promise that they collectively hold in making next-generation customer experiences a practical reality. By providing a rich and seamless customer experience for every touch point and channel, companies can take a major step forward in meeting the needs of today’s consumer.

How the organization decides to wield the power of Enterprise 2.0 in serving its customers will vary from company to company. The good news is there are myriad of ways to satisfy consumer wants and desires with the technology and processes of the organization.

Below are two different, but equally impactful next-generation customer contact tactics.

A large American retail chain realized that traditional contact center technologies would never satisfy its customers – who are primarily teenage girls. It’s taken its marketing and contact center strategies out into the social world and has had much success. With a media-rich website, thousands of followers on Twitter and YouTube and more than two million fans on Facebook (News - Alert), any teen can interact with the company via their preferred method of contact, whether it’s text, chat, or e-mail to get what they are looking for.

One of the world’s largest paint companies with a massive network of 25,000 dealers recognized the need for improved service, responsiveness and communication with end customers. It embarked on a mission to better engage customers and build loyalty by offering new consultation and support services to end customers and aligning other components of its business including marketing and pre-sales campaigns, customer loyalty programs and after sales, and complaint handling systems—many managed in collaboration with dealers.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to companies displaying and acting upon innovative thinking. The next-generation of customer contact opens up a multitude of opportunities for new, creative ways to execute a company’s approach to customer contact. What is certain, though, is that organizations need to understand the importance of strategy. And while traditional technologies may still work in some facets of the company, when it comes to customer contact, companies that carry on only with traditional modes of communication will be quickly and dramatically outpaced.

Mike Sheridan (News - Alert) is  executive vice president of worldwide sales with Aspect.