Want to win at digital today? Put customers at the center of your business model

Brands that build their customers into the centre of their business model will win in today’s digital era. Through mobile they will be able to adapt and deploy their strategy real time, gathering meaningful insights with authentic personal engagement at every touch point, and giving these brands the competitive advantage.

Systems of engagement
Geoffrey Moore introduced the concept of ‘systems of engagement’, explaining that the fundamentals of next-generation communication and collaboration call for systems that are more decentralised, incorporate technologies which encourage interaction and focus on people. According to Moore, the systems of engagement model harnesses mobile, social and big data innovation to tap into consumer expectations and deliver relevant products into their daily lives at the relevant time when they are needed.

Not only is this important from the perspective of brands developing meaningful relationships with their consumers, it is also a valuable way of gaining insight into the needs, wants and thoughts of these current and more importantly future consumers.

The question is how to transform this way of thinking into a reality. How can brands really create a system of engagement?

Start with mobile
The only place to start is on mobile. It is the one screen we all use to connect, share, stay informed and be entertained. Mobile gives brands a direct one-on-one connection with customers and can also provide key data about them.

However, it’s not good enough for a brand to be active in this space and expect that consumers will be willing to interact. To be serious about connecting with consumers and give them the power, it is counterintuitive to invade their space by being irrelevant or not offering them an incentive for engaging. In many cases it’s about redesigning your business model, and we see this in extreme examples. Businesses like Uber and Airbnb are not app strategies but real digital collaboration and crowdsourcing business models that fill a real consumer need. They offer cheaper, faster and quicker solutions with more convenience and value for all parties involved.

Platforms like these offer an engagement route via mobile directly to the consumer on an opt-in basis. This places consumers in control of the brands with which they interact.

Can brands afford not to embrace real-time engagement?
Here-in lies the edge. Once a brand is in a space like this, it becomes more authentic and has the opportunity to engage with consumers in real-time, with no geographic restrictions, and the opportunity to gain valuable feedback that could change the course of business. It is a particularly useful way to gain unbiased, real-time insights and then target specific feedback and dig deeper to understand the real issue or opportunity. Not only does this approach give brands a pool of data to mine for insights, but it can also form part of a greater marketing campaign, resulting in content creation and brand advocacy.

Brands can no longer operate in isolation or rely on outdated methods of gathering insights, if they are to remain relevant. They need to think about creating a constant system of engagement to forge a relationship with consumers and use crowdsourcing platforms to gain the type of real-time insights necessary to respond dynamically to consumer needs and marketplace demand. This has the potential for cost savings and revenue growth.

Successful brands operating in the digital era that take this approach are well set up to disrupt the status quo. They understand the importance of building their consumers into their business model as a strategic asset that improves understanding, loyalty, trust, transparency and productivity – and mobile engagement through crowdsourcing platforms facilitate this. At the end of the day can brands afford not to embrace this change?