WTF?: Whats the Future of Business?: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences

Praise for What′s the Future of Business? "Solis explores the incredible transformation happening in business today, driven by new social and mobile technologies. In the future, successful businesses will be ′Customer Companies′—companies that connect with their customers, partners, employees, and products in entirely new ways." — Marc Benioff , Chairman and CEO, salesforce.com "If anyone understands the multi–screen world we′re becoming, it′s Brian Solis. Your customers and employees expect rich engagement on multiple screens, through dedicated experiences for each, with one integrated brand voice. Read this book." — Jesse Redniss ,Senior Vice President, Digital, USA Network/NBCUniversal "Businesses are falling into a mode of management which cultivates silos and is causing them to lose market momentum. Businesses must always compete for the future, and this book shows what to do to stay ahead of your markets and avoid being disrupted by technology to the point that you go out of business." — Georges–Edouard Dias , Chief Digital Officer, L′Oreal "Customers are adopting new technology and new ′screens′ at an increasingly rapid pace. The challenge for businesses is to create delightful and highly engaging experiences that take maximum advantage of those technologies and devices as they are introduced." — Julie Bornstein , Senior Vice President, Sephora Digital "Developing a social strategy based on trends might be fashionable, but it′s not sustainable. The consumer demands more. Brian shows you how to innovate or die. Pretty easy choice, no?" — Aliza Licht , Senior Vice President, Global Communications, Donna Karan International "The music business has been impacted more than any other media industry in the last decade, and we′re still in the midst of our transformation. You have to recognize that change is constant, and an ongoing evolution is the only option. This book encapsulates it perfectly: people are looking for meaningful experiences, and you can only create them by innovating, experimenting, and defying expectations." — Paul Sinclair , Senior Vice President, Digital Media, Atlantic Records

0 TOTAL RECALL 2 The Voice of the Empowered Customer 6 Are You Experienced? 8 1 SORRY, WE’RE CLOSED: HOW TO SURVIVE DIGITAL DARWINISM 10 Disruptive Technology Is a Catalyst for Change, Not the Reason 15 2 THE JOURNEY OF BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION 18 There’s a Hero in Every One of Us 21 The Great Myth of Technology 24 3 MEET THE NEW GENERATION OF CUSTOMERS . . . GENERATION C 26 Widening the View from Generation Y to Generation C 31 Different Times Call for Different Measures 33 4 THE NEW CUSTOMER HIERARCHY 36 A New Era of Social Service: Promoting the Experiences of Customers 40 The Broken Link of Social Media Customer Service 44 Connecting the Dots in Social Media to Improve Experiences 47 5 THE DIM LIGHT AT THE END OF THE FUNNEL 50 Funnel Vision: Without Awareness There Can Be No Consideration 54 The Cluster Funnel 55 6 THE ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH 58 7 THE ULTIMATE MOMENT OF TRUTH 66 The Ultimate Moment of Truth 74 8 OPENING A WINDOW INTO NEW CONSUMERISM 78 Discovery Disrupted 82 Opening the Door to a New Generation of Connected Consumerism 83 Opening the Windows to Digital Influence 86 9 THE DYNAMIC CUSTOMER JOURNEY 90 10 INSIDE THE ELLIPSE: EMBARKING ON THE DYNAMIC CUSTOMER JOURNEY 98 Formulation (Stimulus) 104 Precommerce (Zero Moment of Truth) 106 Commerce (First Moment of Truth) 109 Postcommerce (Ultimate Moment of Truth) 112 11 IMPROVING THE UMOT TO OPTIMIZE THE ZMOT 118 12 THE SIX PILLARS OF SOCIAL COMMERCE: UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ENGAGEMENT 124 Hear No Evil. See No Evil. Speak No Evil. 128 The A.R.T. of Engagement 129 The Psychology of Social Commerce 130 Heuristic Number 1: Social Proof—Follow the Crowd 131 Heuristic Number 2: Authority—The Guiding Light 132 Heuristic Number 3: Scarcity—Less Is More 133 Heuristic Number 4: Liking—Builds Bonds and Trust 134 Heuristic Number 5: Consistency 135 Heuristic Number 6: Reciprocity—Pay It Forward 136 13 THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND IN AN ERA OF DIGITAL DARWINISM 138 Branding Is More Important Than Ever Before 144 Brand Empathy: Always Improve Experiences 146 14 WHY USER EXPERIENCE IS CRITICAL TO CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS 148 The CrUX of Engagement Is Intention and Purpose 153 The Experience RedUX 156 User Experience Becomes the Customer Experience: Principles and Pillars of UX 158 Medium–alism Equals FaUX Engagement 159 The JUXtaposition of Empathy and Experience 161 15 INNOVATE OR DIE 162 CMOs Are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement 167 Through a Telescope, We Bring the World Closer—Through a Microscope, We See What Was Previously Invisible to the Naked Eye 168 Customer Engagement Is Not the Same as Conversations 172 Ten Priorities for Meaningful Business Transformation 176 Disruptive Technology and How to Compete for the Future 180 16 THE DILEMMA’S INNOVATOR 184 Innovation Is Blindness: Why Innovation Is Fundamental to the Survival of Tomorrow’s Business . . . Today 188 In the Battle against Relevance versus Irrelevance: It’s Survival of the Fitting 191 17 THE HERO’S JOURNEY 196 The Task Force, AKA Steering Committee 202 The Stages of Change 205 The Hero’s Journey 209 Stage 1: Inception 210 Stage 2: Tribulation 211 Stage 3: Transformation 212 Stage 4: Realization 213 Thank You 214 NOTES 215

BRIAN SOLIS is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has influenced the effects of emerging media on business and culture. He is Principal of Altimeter Group, a leading research-based advisory firm in Silicon Valley. He is the author of Engage! and The End of Business as Usual, both from Wiley. His blog, BrianSolis.com, is among the world's leading business strategy and marketing resources.