We live in a world where where information and misinformation is prevalent and weighted equally all too often. As human beings, we are learning how to use social media effectively to communicate and connect. At the same time, we’re drowning in abundance, complexity of choices and and unfortunately, the misappropriation or misdirection of influence. Concurrently in professional realms, many leadership teams are overwhelmed with trying to keep up with the sheer scope and scale of the digital evolution. For many…
The Future of Brand, Tech and Business is Experience
If you’ve never attended the Next Conference in Germany, plan for the next event. It combines elements of SXSW in a festival, city-wide format where people, technology, music and art converge into an experience that’s anything but a conference. I’ve had the privilege of presenting at Next over the years. In 2016, I was invited once again (I think for the third time) and I jumped at the chance. Well, actually, I flew to Hamburg, but you know what I…
Contrary to Its Name, Digital Transformation is not Digital-First: An Interview with Steve Snyder of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority
“To thrive in a digital economy, create a safe and empowered environment for employees to learn and take risks.” Technology may be at the core of digital transformation, but it’s severely limited in its promise if it’s not influenced by human beings. Yet, every day, companies invest in digital transformation strategies and roadmaps that are absent of human-centered insights and perspectives. On this episode of Digital Outliers, I sit down with Steve Snyder, CIO, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to talk…
Breaking the Digital Fourth Wall Through Experiential Storytelling
The fourth wall is the space that separates a performer or performance from an audience. A character, actor, author or storyteller “breaks the fourth wall” when they address the audience directly. As an analyst, author, blogger, podcaster and creator, I am by default, in the content business. Dedicating time to produce my work matters not if no one happens upon it. But once someone discovers my work, it must convincingly pierce the fourth wall between the medium and them to…
It’s not the End of Retail, It’s the End of Retail As We Know It
Retail, like every industry, faces digital Darwinism as technology and markets evolve and disrupt. This isn’t new. But what is clear, executives are not prioritizing bold strategies and investments that save them from their “Kodak Moment,” that moment when consumer behaviors and values evolve beyond brand recognition. If you read about the state of retail today, you’ll see dramatic descriptors such as “apocalypse,” “the end…,” “dying,” you get the picture. While doom and gloom and disruption is inherent in every…
Brand Innovation and Customer Experience Design: An Interview with Comcast’s Chris Satchell
The potential for breakthrough innovation is at its greatest when there’s purpose. And in an age of disruptive technology, humanity is becoming a killer app. Often in my research on digital transformation and innovation, I find the most compelling catalyst for finding purpose and accelerating change and improvement is customer experience (CX). Think about it. Who owns the customer experience? Yes. The customer owns it. That might seem like one big “duh.” But, believe it or note, many organizations are…
Insights on the Future of the Internet of Things (IoT)
I once referred to the consumer-facing Internet of Things (IoT) as the Internet of Sh!t. My point was that the entire ecosystem of IoT devices was created through technology-centered devices that were limited in scope, breadth and compatibility. I was and still am an advocate for something more universal, platform approaches that are human-centered and optimized for cross-device collaboration and optimization. The Internet of Things is a mess with too many products and apps competing for consumer attention. This creates…
The CX Imperative and The Role You Play in Making Business Personal
i Every now and then, I am asked to write the foreword for a great book. And, every now and then, I say yes. The deal is always the same. Once the book is released, I ask that I’m able to publish the foreword in full to share with you here. My friends Lars Birkholm Petersen, Ron Person and Christopher Nash wrote a book, Connect: How to use data and experience marketing to create lifetime customers. As they describe, marketing is…
Digital Transformation – Rewriting the Rules of Business
We live in an era of digital Darwinism. As customer expectations evolve and move toward personalized experiences and beyond transactions, companies in every industry must focus digital transformation on not only digital, but also people, purpose, and relevance. Digital transformation has become an absolute must-have to secure future growth, improve customer experience and loyalty as well as operational efficiency. Along with it, digital transformation also represents an opportunity to rewrite the rules of business? I got to spend some time with…
Deepening Customer Relationships with Contextual Content
Guest post by Rebecca Lieb and Jaimy Szymanski, Content: The Atomic Particle of Marketing In the “phygital” world that marries our physical and digital presences, content is ubiquitous. Only by offering content through the lens of context can marketers achieve relevancy to today’s uber-connected consumer. Beacons, sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT) are moving marketing past the screen to the objects, places, and even the conditions (weather, holidays, sales) we occupy and experience in the real world. Contextual marketing…
