A report from 2015 contains a statistic that should make every brand looking to sell anything – from shoes to insurance - take a sharp breath. More than 80 percent of the consumer brands surveyed said they had a working holistic view of their customers. That shows tremendous confidence in their ability to understand what their customers want, and to be able to use that vital knowledge to tailor their products and services, and the way they are promoted, to people who want them. Looking at that statistic, a brand might believe that the problem of understanding the many conflicting needs of the modern customer, as expressed through a bewildering range of channels, was well on its way to a solution.