Brian Solis's Blog, page 42
March 9, 2021
Brian Solis to Keynote Deutsche Telekom Media & Communication Conference
BECOME A FAN OF YOUR CUSTOMER!
Great brand management and marketing are not alone about turning our customers into fans of our brand. It is also about us becoming fans of our customers. This is the over-arching theme of our upcoming Telekom Media & Communication Conference (TEMECOCO).
Brian Solis has been named a keynote speaker at the event.
His presentation will focus on, “The Novel Economy and the rise of Generation-N: How the pandemic created a new customer and new standards for customer experience and business innovation.”
Once being hailed as “One of the more creative and brilliant business minds of our time” by Forbes, Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, is a world-renowned keynote speaker and an award-winning author of eight best-selling books. For almost 30 years, he studies the effects of emerging technology on business and society. His research and publications help leading brands, celebrities, and startups develop new digital transformation, culture 2.0, and innovation strategies that enable businesses to adapt to new connected markets from the inside out. With a loyal online audience of over 700,000 people, Brian is a sought-after thought-leader to leading brands, celebrities such as Oprah, Shaq and Ashton Kutcher and over 1,000 startups around the world. Brian also hosts (r)evolution, a popular online video series that examines technology, trends and best practices and introduces viewers to the thought leaders who are blazing the trail. Brian’s latest book ‘Lifescale’ provides a journey of self-discovery and growth by showing how to live a more creative, productive, and happy life. The book is available on Amazon.
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March 8, 2021
Surviving Digital Darwinism
, I share why Digital Darwinism is now a massive opportunity for operational+business model innovation and the role of Generation-N (Novel) in the coming “re-emergence.” Please listen here.The post Surviving Digital Darwinism appeared first on Brian Solis.
March 4, 2021
IAPCO General Assembly Attracts its Highest Audience Figure Thanks to Virtual Meeting; Brian Solis Keynotes
Surviving and Thriving!’, the theme of the IAPCO Day was reflected in the highest audience figure for an IAPCO General Assembly, to date.
The virtual event took place on Monday 15 February 2021 and was joined by IAPCO members and partners from over 42 different countries.
‘At this time, more than ever, we felt the importance of bringing our IAPCO family together, to share the association’s updates, acheivements, our strategic developments and provide educational content in the form of high-quality keynote speakers Brian Solis and Baroness Valerie Amos.’ said Martin Boyle, CEO.
Solis presented on the future of events and conferences in a post-pandemic economy. It earned accolades from the audience of congress organizers all around the world.
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March 3, 2021
Designing for Digital-First Customers: Focus on Experience for Breakthrough Innovation – Sound & Communications
NSCA hosted Brian Solis in its 2021 Business & Leadership Conference Virtual (BLCv) as keynote speaker. NSCA’s Business & Leadership Conference is the industry’s most notable platform for executive-level education and discussion.
Brian’s topic focused on a “Discussion Of Digital-First Customers Informs NSCA Business & Leadership Conference Attendees.” Following his presentation, Sounds & Communications, a publication reaching the commercial AV technology and application industry, shared a thorough summary of his keynote.
Discussion Of Digital-First Customers Informs NSCA Business & Leadership Conference Attendeesby Dan Ferrisi
Yesterday afternoon, NSCA closed out the first day of its 2021 Business & Leadership Conference Virtual (BLCv) with yet another fascinating session, this one titled “Designing for Digital-First Customers: Focus on Experience as a Driver for Breakthrough Innovation.” Presented by Brian Solis, a futurist and Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, the one-hour session explored the incredible changes our society has undergone and how those profound evolutions in customer expectations should affect business owners in their decision-making.
Solis opened the discussion by introducing Digital Darwinism, which describes how technology and society evolve and how organizations can struggle to adapt quickly enough. It’s a particularly timely topic, given that, in Solis’ estimation, the last year has seen transformation accelerate more quickly than at any time in memory. A big part of that, of course, is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a truly disruptive event on both a personal and professional level. Solis called the onset of the pandemic an “uh-oh moment,” with companies and employees being forced to adapt by, for example, working from home. Digital-first companies and brands—Amazon and Zoom, for instance—were well prepared to capitalize.
Has your organization become digitally out of touch? How do your values align with those of digital-first customers?
Before COVID-19 (or “BC,” as Solis calls it), our society was already on its way to becoming digital first. That’s because Generation C (that is, “Generation Connected) was in ascendance. This generation wants things faster, they want more engagement and interaction, and they want maximum convenience. For Generation C, the most powerful brands are those that are part of our lifestyle—brands like Apple, Google and Amazon. Not coincidentally, those brands and companies align with the on-demand economy, one in which impatience is a virtue. According to Solis, “[Social media] has fundamentally changed how people make decisions.” And if companies are to succeed, they need to contend with people’s rewired brains.
The pandemic has accelerated all those trends, driving us forward into General N (that is, “General Novel”). This generation doesn’t care to go to the grocery store anymore; instead, they get doorstep delivery. And why bother going to restaurants, even when they are open? That’s what DoorDash is for. “Deep within, we changed,” Solis observed. Indeed, by his estimation, ecommerce achieved the equivalent of 10 years worth of growth in the space of a single year. And he cited a study indicating that 73 percent of Americans tried a new business type or shopping behavior during the pandemic, illustrating how widespread the transformation is.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, customers came to embrace “the next big thing,” which was everything from doorstep grocery delivery to DoorDash as an alternative to restaurant dining.
This is why, according to Solis, businesses must commit themselves to innovation. He sought to distinguish iteration—finding ways to do the same thing better—with innovation, which is doing new things. And which new things should we be doing? That’s determined by seeing the world through customers’ eyes—recognizing that their expectations have changed. Decision-makers should ask themselves, “What is it like to do business with our company?”, and they should judge the answer against what people today are demanding. Lots of customers say, “Doing business with Amazon is so easy. I wish every business interaction were like working with Amazon.” What would that mean for a business like yours?
Solis urged everyone to create space for innovation, rather than just becoming caught up in the day to day. For example, would your company benefit from having a Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) whose only focus is helping the firm innovate? “If I’m waiting on someone to tell me what to do, then innovation is going to happen without me,” Solis warned. And the first step is to recognize that customers and clients will measure your company by the experience you deliver. The experience, Solis explained, is the sum of all engagements that a customer has with your organization. One survey indicated that 84 percent of customers value the experience as much as they prize the product or service they’re purchasing. The question is, what kind of experience do your customers not yet know that they want, but, once they have it, they’ll realize they can’t live without it? When you find that and innovate a way to deliver that experience, you’ll be the Amazon of your market.
Brian Solis’ six pillars for experience innovation.
Solis closed with a summation of his six pillars for experience innovation:
Define the experience holistically, mindful of the role each touchpoint plays.Chart your customers’ world, through their eyes, against that vision.Identify friction points, detractors and deal-killers.Identify points to raise the bar and connect emotionally.Connect the dots between touchpoints, articulated experiences, products and the brand.Align the entire organization around experiences.Just as Darwinian evolution cannot be resisted, Digital Darwinism is a fact. Organizations must adapt to digital-first customers—all of us in Generation N. If your organization does, then, perhaps, the next time there is a disruption, you will be causing it, rather than reacting to it.
Please read the original article here.
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March 2, 2021
Day 1 of NSCA’s 2021 Business & Leadership Conference Features Brian Solis Keynote
by Leah McCann
“Stepping up when it counts.”
That was the tagline for NSCA’s 2021 Business & Leadership Conference (BLC or, this year, BLCv: the “v” for “virtual”).
The event host, the National Systems Contractors Association, is an important nonprofit association representing the commercial integration industry. NSCA is an advocate for people who work in AV, IT and more — that includes systems contractors/integrators, product manufacturers, consultants, sales representatives, architects, specifying engineers and other allied professionals.
Designing for Digital-First Customers: Focus on Experience as a Driver for Breakthrough InnovationThe closing session of the 2021 BLC, an Executive Power Hour, taught us that experience design and innovation — sort of like how Dr. Meyer talked earlier about agility — are beacons for the way forward. Present to explain these concepts Wednesday were Brian Solis, global innovation evangelist at Salesforce, and Tim Hennen, CTO of collaboration solutions provider IVCi.
“What are we going to look at to keep up, and or to get ahead?” Solis asked.
Now, digital is everything; it’s how we work, shop and learn. From this point on, digital is the standard, not the exception, and the decisions we make now will completely impact our future state and future selves, Solis said.
Therefore, this is exactly the time to break new ground, Solis explained, even if it seems counterintuitive to think about investments when everyone else is cost-cutting. The question is, How much do we innovate? Do we jump on every new innovation possible? “Sort of,” Solid said. It’s a balance, and a matter of perspective, he added. Is it iterative, or is it innovative?
To get the full view of this session and the full day, register to view the event archives — you’ll find the 2021 BLC on-demand content here.
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March 1, 2021
Coveo Announces Ray Wang, Brian Solis, Rachel Powell as Keynote Speakers at Relevance 360
Coveo, a leader in Applied AI platform for Relevance – spanning search, recommendations, and personalization, today announced it is reprising its highly successful fall Relevance 360 virtual event into more frequent events. The next one, The Future of Experience Is AI, is slated for Thursday, March 25, noon-2 p.m. ET.
“Tech giants have thrived by improving interactions at every digital touchpoint. Through the democratization of Applied AI, we believe all companies can now have easy access to relevance,” said Louis Têtu, CEO and Chairman at Coveo. “Gathering industry thought leaders quarterly allows us to hold more frequent and timely discussions on the impact of relevance to business.”
The launch of the new format will feature a very tight and focused pace. The keynote will start with market maker and business disruption expert, R. “Ray” Wang, Principal Analyst, Founder, and Chairman of Constellation Research. Wang will address why the ability to provide relevant customer experiences is key to business survival in the post-pandemic world. He will also share what businesses need to know to become relevant at every interaction, from customer acquisition to service and support.
“Being irrelevant means every action you take is ignored. Relevance is the power to be heard, considered, rewarded, and separating signal from noise,” said Wang.
Louis Têtu, CEO and Chairman at Coveo, will be joined by Rachael Powell, Chief Customer Officer at Xero, to discuss how the cloud accounting service is transforming relationships with its more than two million subscribers. They will be followed by Brian Solis, Author, Digital Anthropologist, and Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. The two will discuss how the pandemic forever changed customer expectations for digital experience and how meeting the ever-changing needs of the digital-first generation is paramount for a business’s bottom line.
“Customers are digital-first by necessity, and they’re much more conscious of their decisions and loyalties because of the somatic marker that is COVID-19,” explained Solis. “Now is the time for a relevance revolution to connect with and foster relationships differently.”
“Driving revenue, retaining customers, and boosting employee engagement have one thing in common: they’re powered by relevance,” said Louis Têtu. “Relevance is a secret weapon for every business in the experience economy, and there will be an enormous upside for businesses that manifest it at every single digital touchpoint.”
Attendees of Coveo Relevance 360 will learn how to harness data and AI to enhance the relevance of every step in their customer’s digital experience — from Ecommerce to customer service to employee experience — by hearing first-hand how other companies have accomplished it. Coveo will also announce a slate of new product capabilities that democratizes AI to enable every business to become more relevant. AI-driven relevance is no longer the exclusive domain of tech giants. Relevance is accessible for every business and with relevance, every business can win.
The event is free and open to all attendees, though registration is required. For more information on event speakers and to register, visit: http://ow.ly/qmhF50DGVic.
About Relevance 360
The inaugural event took place October 2020 and featured Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John, Digital Marketing Expert Seth Goddard, as well as more than 20 executives from Humana, Adobe, Snowflake, Informatica, and Acuity Brands. The event was a massive success and attracted nearly 4,500 registrants. Beginning March 2021, Coveo Relevance 360 is transforming into quarterly 2-hour sessions that will attract experts to discuss trends and pressing topics in customer experience.
About Coveo
Coveo enables enterprises to thrive in the experience economy, by delivering unique experiences that are relevant, highly personal, and valuable. The Coveo Relevance platform uses AI, intelligent search and recommendation technologies to personalize millions of digital experiences for customers, partners, and employees, for many of the world’s most admired digital experience leaders. Coveo delivers solutions for Ecommerce, Service and the Workplace built on the Coveo Relevance Platform, with Coveo-accredited SI partners globally, and through Alliances with Salesforce, ServiceNow, Sitecore and more.
Coveo and the Coveo Relevance Cloud are trademarks of Coveo Solutions, Inc.
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Global Innovation Institute: How innovation is changing course, and why it’s more important than ever- Live Webinar
World-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist and Salesforce Global Innovation Evangelist Brian Solis shares pandemic-focused research and discusses it with Anthony Mills, Executive Director at GInI.
The pandemic has reset the world and there’s no playbook for how to move forward. What’s certain, in an uncertain world, is that striving for a new normal only hastens the next status quo. World-renowned innovation evangelist Brian Solis will share his pandemic-focused research on how to thrive in what he calls the “Novel Economy.” The difference, as he’ll demonstrate, separates tomorrow’s innovators from those solely focused on digitization and modernization.
Join us on Thu, Mar 4, 2021 11:00 AM
Follow this link to register:: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/141812574227
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Designing for Digital-First Customers: Focus on Experience as a Driver for Breakthrough Innovation
Photo by Aleks Marinkovic on Unsplash
Experience design and innovation are key differentiators and beacons for the way forward – especially in these times of disruption. While it’s counterintuitive to think about investments when everyone else is exploring cost-cutting, this is exactly the time to break new ground.
Those who study customer dynamics, needs, emotions, and aspirations to reveal meaningful and empathetic ways to innovate will succeed in business and in customer relationships. That’s power, and urgency, of designing human-centered experiences.
The challenge lies in breaking the status quo and in seeing new possibilities beyond building upon legacy experiences.
Designing for the transactional nature of engagement is just that, transactional. It’s forgettable. Design with intentionality. Design with aspiration. Design for #IgniteMoments.
The goal of experience design in this new, emerging world, is to spark within our customers a sense that they’re appreciated and valued and also awareness of the intentional magic we deliver in each and every touch point. 
Here are five things to think about as we aim to thrive during the pandemic and grow in the post-pandemic “re-emergence.”
1) Study how the pandemic has changed customer expectations and advanced digital-first expectations
2) Answer why digital has changed customer behaviors, values, and expectations and discover what excellence can look like (this is the heart of experience design)
3) Explore the role experience plays in the new customer journey and why digital-first experiences change the game
4) Learn how do design and deliver new experiences that become competitive advantages
5) Master experience innovation as a matter of business to help your company earn relevance now and in the future
#IntentionalMagic
Please read more about #IgniteMoments and the digital CX imperative for the post-pandemic economy here.
Please watch my presentation at DeepCrawl here.
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February 27, 2021
The Top 10 Mobile App Influencers and Thought Leaders You Should Follow
OpenBack named Brian Solis to its “Top 10 Mobile App Influencers and Thought Leaders” you should follow…
Brian Solis is an OG in the digital and social marketing realm, and was a key figure in shaping it during early stages. Now, he’s Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, a world-renowned digital anthropologist, and digital futurist . He has won awards for his books, research and global keynote speeches. In particular, he has tremendous insights in terms of innovation and anticipating future trends, and has had particularly eye-opening takes on technology in light of the the global COVID-19 pandemic as well as environmental sustainability.
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February 24, 2021
The Novel Economy, Generation N, and Thriving in a Digital-First Environment: Futurist Brian Solis on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]
What an absolute treat to spend time with my friend Kerry O’Shea Gorgone on the Marketing Smarts [Podcast] for MarketingProfs!
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Brian Solis is a digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist. He’s written several bestselling books, including What’s the Future of Business (WTF), Engage!, and The End of Business as Usual. Brian recently brought his technology expertise to Salesforce as the company’s Global Innovation Evangelist.
I invited Brian to Marketing Smarts to talk about the “Novel Economy,” what he calls “Generation N” (an update to his “Generation C” concept).
We also talked about Brian’s book Lifescale: How to Live a More Creative, Productive, and Happy Life, and how those concepts apply now that everybody has to be digital first.
We recorded this show live in our MarketingProfs PRO Facebook group. If you’re a PRO member, join us there for livestream videos and other exclusive content!
Listen to the entire show now, which you can do above, or download the mp3 and listen at your convenience. Of course, you can also subscribe to the Marketing Smarts podcast in iTunes or via RSS and never miss an episode!
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