Driving Exponential Online Growth by Creating and Reaching New Digital Customers | Innovation Management
How can we succeed in the online world when it seems to be changing by the day? This article explores critical questions business leaders need to be asking themselves as they explore case examples and strategies that have been applied by others, examine how the technologies and capabilities of the ‘mobile first’ internet could evolve in the next few years and identify a set of practical actions they can adopt to drive exponential online sales growth.
In particular, we shine a spotlight on a massive opportunity that is ‘hiding in plain sight’ to reach hundreds of millions of customers by working with non-competing physical world partners who are desperately looking for ways to engage with and monetise a captive audience.
For businesses across the planet, the penny is dropping at an ever-faster rate – they can see that the internet is here to stay and should be a very clear part of the mix for raising brand awareness, building engagement with potential customers and driving sales growth. Even those who have been selling online for some time are beginning to understand the true scale of the opportunity and acknowledge the potential to drive exponential sales growth.
The evidence is overwhelming – the internet has enabled the birth, emergence and rapid growth of disruptive and highly profitable businesses in every sector. The winners have embraced the opportunity and developed a digital mindset which they continue to evolve in line with new thinking about to use the internet as a sales channel. As a result, they are delivering exponential growth in online performance. At the same time, a number of players are pursuing truly global reach. For example, organisations like Singularity University are helping entrepreneurs develop businesses aimed at reaching a billion or more customers using the power of the mobile internet. Established players from the physical world are constantly evolving their ‘bricks and clicks’ models and many are achieving great success – some are even adopting exponential principles and a ‘markets of a billion’ mindset to disrupt their own thinking to drive dramatic growth in their online sales.
In our experience, while leaders are spending more time thinking about their online offering, going to relevant events and talking to technology vendors, they don’t always know what questions to ask to help frame their own internet growth plan. With that in mind, here are ten key topics to focus on:
The retail climate is an ecosystem in evolution. Disruptive mutations in shopping habits and business models are reshaping the present and forming new trajectories to the future. The digital consumer is for the taking for organizations willing to question the assumptions of the past. As highlighted above, whilst there are inherent technological challenges in pursuing exponential growth, the real obstacles lie in developing the mindsets and associated behaviours that will allow us to think unreasonable thoughts and pursue seemingly unattainable goals.
About the authors
The authors are futurists with Fast Future – a professional foresight firm specializing in delivering keynote speeches, executive education, research, and consulting on the emerging future and the impacts of change for global clients. Fast Future publishes books from leading future thinkers around the world, exploring how developments such as AI, robotics, exponential technologies, and disruptive thinking could impact individuals, societies, businesses, and governments and create the trillion-dollar sectors of the future. Fast Future has a particular focus on ensuring these advances are harnessed to unleash individual potential and enable a very human future. See: www.fastfuture.com
Rohit Talwar is a global futurist, award-winning keynote speaker, author, and the CEO of Fast Future. His prime focus is on helping clients understand the emerging future and shape strategic responses that put people at the center of the agenda. Rohit is the co-author of Designing Your Future, lead editor and a contributing author for The Future of Business, and editor of Technology vs. Humanity. He is a co-editor and contributor for the recently published Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity and The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business, and two forthcoming books – Unleashing Human Potential – The Future of AI in Business, and 50:50 – Scenarios for the Next 50 Years.
Steve Wells is an experienced strategist, keynote speaker, futures analyst, partnership working practitioner, and the COO of Fast Future. He has a particular interest in helping clients anticipate and respond to the disruptive bursts of technological possibility that are shaping the emerging future. Steve is a contributor to the recently published Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity and The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business, co-editor of The Future of Business, and Technology vs. Humanity. He is a co-editor and contributor to two forthcoming books on Unleashing Human Potential – The Future of AI in Business, and 50:50 – Scenarios for the Next 50 Years.