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CHAPTER 4 Digital business: Success in a virtual world

So how can the field of design and emotion help leaders with developing digital channel engagements, delivering the online experiences that customers seek? Digital channel engagements can be better designed by starting with the emotional meaning or proposition of the company. Currently most companies rely heavily on either technology or product innovation to gain a competitive advantage; however, both technology and product innovation can be easily copied and quickly surpassed by competitors. Businesses need to think beyond innovation alone and to design strategies and avenues that work together to create a sustainable competitive advantage and deliver value to their customers.

Getting users to engage in digital stimulus requires an understanding of the different levels of engagement. It also requires thinking about how people use technology, the purpose of the content, and the needs of specific user groups. This chapter offers a framework to implement what has already been discussed in chapters 1 to 3: engaging customers meaningfully.

Design focuses on understanding user needs, and the information posted by users on digital channels can be a way to collect and understand these needs. By asking users to interact, rather than simply react to content, you can gain new insights and opportunities to design new products and services that will be successful (and profitable) in the global marketplace.

The current pace of change ...