Guest post by John Bergquist (@JohnFlurry), who leads Content and Communications at Saddleback Leather Co. So much has changed in business in the past 20 years. And it continues to change daily. As Brian has said before, today a business has to engage… or die. And you know what? That delights me. It is the way it used to be. Shopkeepers knew their customers very well. They didn’t need mechanical analysts or teams of test consumers to determine how to…
Made in Detroit: How Shinola’s Good Ole Fashioned Business Values Outperform the Status Quo
You don’t know shit from Shinola. Ever heard that saying before? This World War II era colloquialism caused a movement to revive the American watchmaking industry and with it bring to Detroit yet another chapter in its storied history in manufacturing. This year at SXSWV2V, I was fortunate enough to interview Shinola president Jacques Panis live on the main stage. He’s not only the president of a thriving lifestyle company contributing to the resurgence of Detroit, he’s also incredibly genuine and…
The 2014 State of Digital Transformation
Today, I’m proud to announce the release of Altimeter Group’s second report on Digital Transformation. This new report is aimed at executives and digital strategists to help them (you) further understand the state of digital transformation as you plan your next steps and investments. In our initial report, “Digital Transformation: Why and How Companies are Investing in New Business Models to Lead Digital Customer Experiences (DCX),” we learned that digital transformation was as much about technology as it was about…
Live Your Brand the Way Your Customers Do
I recently spent some time with PRNews editor Steve Goldstein. As part of a fireside chat we’re doing at the upcoming 20/20 Summit in San Francisco, Steve asked a few questions that lead to a pretty deep conversation. I wanted to share it with you here. Digital Darwinism is Real: Compete for the Future (Compete for You) Now PR News: In your book “What’s the Future of Business?” you suggest that while it’s a good thing that companies are investing…
The Top 25 Socially Engaged Companies on LinkedIn Invest in Employee and Customer Relationships
LinkedIn and Altimeter Group published a joint report on the value of corporate social media and its role in customer and employee engagement. To do, we formed a baseline of companies that were actively engaged on a platform we could effectively study. After eight months of research, we assembled a list of the Top 25 Socially Engaged Companies based on how they use LinkedIn to engage employees and customers in the following areas: 1. Content marketing 2. Employee engagement 3….
Broadcast Yourself(ie): If You Think Gen Y is Different, Wait Until You Meet Generation Z
How teens use social media and why it matters to you. Generation Z = (Today’s Teens, Preteens and Children) If you want a glimpse of the future of technology and its impact on society, study how younger generations interact with one another today. While everyone is talking about Millennials these days, there’s another, potential more disruptive generation behind them…Generation Z. With the sting of a face palm, you’ll experience a sheer rush of humility as you realize that everything you…
Disrupting the B-to-B-to-C Model
Guest post by Gib Bassett (@gibbassett), Global Program Director, Consumer Goods, Teradata Business disruption sometimes happens very quickly, almost too fast to react. Consider what happened to Blockbuster as movie rentals shifted online. Other times it happens more slowly but is no less impactful. Case in point: how online, mobile and social channels are transforming the way we shop and make purchase decisions. The industries most affected – retail and branded consumer products – possess entrenched business models that pre-date…
10 Quotes on The Future of Business
10 quotes by Brian Solis on the Future of Business from Prezly Every now and then, I receive a nice surprise that gives me pause. Today is one such moment. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to share it with you. The team over at Prezly put together a wonderful Slideshare that features some key quotes from my last three books Engage, The End of Business as Usual and What’s the Future of Business (WTF). I could only…
The Accidental Narcissist and The Future of Customer Engagement
Have you ever noticed that your Facebook News Feed is the digital equivalent to “It’s a Wonderful Life?” Perhaps you’ve liked your Instagram stream to that of “Lifestyles of the Digital Rich and Internet Famous.” In each network, and across multiple social streams, you’re fed a visual buffet of travel, food, fashion, celebrations, which in assemblage, tell the story of life well lived or at least a life well curated. And at the center of each of these experiences is…
Connected Customers are Invisible to Those Who Value Demographics
Why Generation-C requires empathy and personalization not marketing… In 2012, I spoke at a conference in Amsterdam focused on big data and intelligence to help businesses keep pace with the new generation of connected customers. I remember watching an informative and entertaining presentation by Dr. Peter Gentsch, founder of the Business Intelligence Group (B.I.G.) in Berlin. While this was two-years ago, a lifetime in today’s new media world, I feel his example is still as relevant today as it was…
