Whether you are responsible for digital marketing or C-Level, you will surely have found yourself considering which tools are to achieve the optimal result for your company.
We often talk about it with customers, and the experience gained shows us that the first options evaluated - when it comes to building solutions - are too close to the usual, without completely achieving the goal.
Looking for other solutions, broadening the view, using the best tools, it will be possible to arrive at more inviting scenarios, where our product will fully respond to the customer's needs, often also guaranteeing greater profitability. To achieve this, you need to be daring, leaving behind established habits.
Today, the concept of unlearning and re-learning has never been so relevant and we find confirmation of it also in the words of Alvin Toffler who, well ahead of his time, declared: "The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write , but those who do not know how to learn, unlearn and relearn".
It is now evident that for a company projected towards the future it is no longer sufficient to create products and services as usual. And phrases like "that's how we've always done it" or "that's how we are" cannot be used to justify the operational stalemate that is inevitably reached sooner or later.
After years of learning and gaining experience this thought can be frightening. However, the challenge must be accepted. At the rate the world is changing, your penchant for custom, keeping things as they are, may let you down. To stay relevant in the future, businesses and people need to learn, unlearn and relearn at high speed.
The success of "native digital" start-ups is proof of this. These organizations are characterized by their speed and adaptability in reacting flexibly as the market changes, technologies evolve and customer expectations change. Therefore, today's companies need a long-range, customer-oriented purpose
Optimizing the customer experience and value creation requires the right tools to support marketing, sales and customer service. The front-end and the back-end must be easily usable and perfectly connected, with each other and with all points of contact with the customer, in Web environments, in the use of the product itself, in business processes, in the supply chain and in interaction with IT.
One example is Airbnb, the online portal for booking and renting accommodation. The global community that has formed is impressive. According to its purpose, the company wants to "create a world where everyone everywhere can belong". This spirit allows Airbnb to put all measures at the service of its customers. Determine what products are developed, what markets are entered, who is hired, and what acquisitions are made. The purpose also goes beyond the purely transactional aspect and sets trends. Airbnb is undoubtedly "cooler" than the competition, and customers feel a real sense of belonging. All happy and satisfied!
Such an ambitious purpose provides the reason to drive change, create customer value, and continued relevance. Airbnb initiatives like Experiences are designed to showcase new products. They provide customers with recommendation lists for specific occasions and local businesses, thus offering added value. The massive impact of Airbnb on the travel industry has caused traditional operators to reconsider their role, which must in fact ask themselves which new digital platforms to use and which partnerships to enter into, to increase customer value and keep pace with times.