Chapter 1Doing Business in the Twenty-First Century
People often think it's other businesses that are affected by competition and technology, but not theirs. Or their customers don't want to change. It is always the other guy.
In 2018 this is a very risky position to maintain.
Not only is buyer change taking place everywhere, but the velocity of change is increasing. All businesses are affected.
Digital disruption rarely fits our linear way of thinking about the world. We make plans assuming a set of conditions that exist today and expect those conditions to be stable over time. We rationalize a set of rules about the way things will unfold. Otherwise, planning is of no value. But change driven by technology, data, connectivity, software, AI, and other advancements are surprisingly additive to each other. Change becomes exponential instead of linear. Moore's Law now applies in other places and describes the acceleration of the changes we feel and see.1
Change Happens Gradually, Then Suddenly
In 2018 we are in the “suddenly” phase of exponential change regarding buying and selling.2 Radical change is obvious in our daily lives when we use our phones to research a purchase; ask Google, Siri, Cortana, or Alexa a question; seek out reviews of products using our phones; and compare prices online.
Inbound strategies aren't only relevant to marketers. Engineers seek out other experts discussing technical questions on social media. Designers seek the newest product packaging options ...
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