The 3 biggest digital developments for 2016

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We are becoming increasingly connected to each other, the speed of communication is unprecedentedly high. And as consumers, we expect more and more from companies when it comes to customer experience. The digital world is in full swing. Time to visualize the three biggest developments for 2016; developments that are necessary for companies to make digital steps and keep up.


We are deliberately not talking about trends, but about developments that are already in full swing and are therefore inevitable. These developments will become increasingly bigger and more important for companies in the coming year to be able to create that unique customer experience.

Connectivity, customer centricity and data-driven ecosystems
Want to know more about the three biggest digital developments for the coming year, but also what else is coming? Then definitely take a look at the presentation below. There you will find more about the developments, with concrete examples.



1. Extreme Connectivity and Social Sharing
We have embarked on a path where consumers share products and services with each other and this will continue to increase significantly in the coming years; the principle of social sharing.

The internet is open for social sharing
Everyone knows Snappcar and BlaBlaCar (sharing a car) or Airbnb (sharing your home). If we just look at the unprecedented growth of Airbnb over the past five years, the impact of this 'social sharing economy' quickly becomes clear.

Airbnb
Results via Techcrunch

Our 'personal' possessions play an important role in earning money and sharing products and services for a relatively small fee. And in the coming years, other forms of 'social sharing initiatives' will also emerge. Think of initiatives such as Meetsies , where 'unknown' people eat together to combat loneliness and iCow, aimed at the agricultural sector to help farmers increase their productivity.

This sharing economy is both something new and something old. Since ancient times, people have made social arrangements to exchange products. Whether it is meat or the use of a car, it contributes to the optimal use of a product. The new aspect of this aspect is the technological innovation that has ensured that we have enough 'trust' to share products with strangers. The main reasons for doing so: convenience, a better price and a good product/service ratio. It is therefore not surprising that these (social) initiatives will become much bigger in the coming year, Goldman Sachs also confirms in the ' Global Investments Research '.

Three important factors: speed, simplicity and connectivity
We are all increasingly connected, more than ever before. We are addicted to information and interaction. The rise of this extreme connectivity ensures that this 'positive addiction' can take on greater forms. An addiction that is not about technology, but about speed, simplicity and connectivity. New technologies also contribute to this. This can also be found in the article about customer first model .

The three factors: speed, simplicity and connectivity, will ensure that companies will have to switch. The more connected the world is, the faster communication will be and the less time we have to communicate with each other. But even more important is how high consumers’ expectations are of companies. Research by SDL shows that 60 percent of millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) expect a consistent customer experience, regardless of whether they interact with a brand in-store, over the phone or online. And that just happens to be a target group with the greatest potential . As crazy as it sounds, emoticons will ensure that the way we communicate will become even faster. W earables will make communication more relevant and efficient.

McDonalds emoticons campaign
Example of communicating with emoticons. Photo by Primesight

The further development of the Internet of Things
Internet of Things (hereinafter IoT) as we know it today will disappear. This is because people expect devices to become increasingly smart and connected. For this reason, IoT will eventually become a norm, but it is still a long way off. IoT is still in its infancy, concludes researcher Steffen Sorrell .

IoT Ericsson
Photo based on Ericsson research

That IoT will grow enormously in the coming years, Ericsson also confirms . If we look at the number of ' connected devices ' per person, this will increase considerably. Think of connected devices as devices such as mobile devices, wearables , electronic consumer products, automotive devices and environmental devices such as sensors. The same Ericsson study estimates that there will be 50 billion connected devices in circulation in 2020. That is a growth of 373 percent compared to 2015. This amounts to approximately six connected devices per person in 2020.

2. Full customer focus
Okay, we are becoming much more luxembourg telegram number list digital and will soon be more connected. That means that companies also have to go along with this. It is important to bring a customer-oriented focus to your business strategy and processes. We still notice too often that the choice is made for 'short-term sales' instead of the good customer experience in the long term.

This digital transformation, where the customer is truly central, does not happen in one day. It requires business changes, new tools and platforms. But the most important thing is the new mindset, where the customer journey , individual preferences and the lifecycle of the customer are central to everything you do as a company. That is of course a very different approach than many companies are used to at the moment, but it is necessary.

Relevant at every point of contact, whenever the consumer asks for it
Due to technological developments such as IoT, the dividing line between offline and online customer experiences will gradually disappear and more customer contact moments will arise. Google calls them micro-moments . These are micro-contact moments in which consumers want to know more, want to go somewhere or want to buy something, for example. Google's research shows that 82 percent of consumers still pick up their smartphone in the store to assess whether they will proceed with a purchase.