The business software space is one of the most exciting and lucrative markets out there. It ranks as one of the top most invested sectors, and billions of dollars are invested into the business software space year over year. Besides one of the most valued industries, the business software space is constantly innovating.
However, innovation is more than just a buzzword for
businesses — it’s now seen as a key driver of short, medium and long term
success. Yet, we forget about a critical, common thread holding these successes
between people and business together — relationships.
The key to maintaining
successful relationships across the globe is distribution. According to
Metcalfe's law, the value of network or a relationship increases as the square
number of eyes on the network goes up. This is why companies like Facebook,
with 1.2B people connected to its platform, has a market cap valued near $200B.
If we take a look at the rising achievements of these
business software companies, we can see that these CEOs thank mentors,
investors, their team and the individual users of the service or product. But,
without these powerful relationships, the innovation and success would be
obsolete.
As the business software space expands, here are the trends
I see in relationships which are deep-entrenched in this space:
1. Quality of Social
Media Engagements
Over 74% of internet users are now using social media,
whether it’s just Facebook, Google+, Twitter and/or Instagram, people are using
one or a combination of them all. We’re in a post-social media era, where we
care less about how many followers we have, and more about how many quality
relationships our business has. People join these networks to connect with
other people and to cultivate relationships in order to better fuel their own
networks. Many users are craving more interactions and have expectations for
businesses to carry out these relationships through valuable content.
Businesses now need to step up to provide that outlet on social media.
2. Relationships Are
All About Digital Economy Vs. Analog Economy
Just as the quality of social media engagements are rising,
it brings relationships up to the digital level. Think of the last time you
mailed a letter to your customer? Or you needed to wait to communicate with a
user based on the delivery of correspondences? Now, email powers instant
delivery of letters in real-time or in-app messaging sends instant
communications to hundreds of thousands of users. Relationships are all digital
— all of our communications and contacts leave a digital footprint that can be
easily harvested via APIs and increasingly open enterprises. Customers are
reaching out to businesses on social media about any issues they are facing
with your company or product, and they expect an instant, digital response. On
the other end, you are then able to track all of those interactions online and
relay it back to your roadmap, contributing back to the endless cycle of these
progressive relationships.
3. Consumerization of
Business Software
The consumerization of the enterprise is no joke — the old
business software, including CRMs, of yesteryear will be replaced by tools
that, at the heart, help the end user. Users have immense power now with the
capability to learn business software without a hard book or without extensive
training sessions. People can simply sign-up for software through a form and be
immediately brought to the platform itself.
Although it is immensely easy for an individual to obtain
software, the onus is now on the company to implement and make it simple for
the user to understand how to use the service. Companies must still cultivate
this fast relationship in order to maintain higher lifetime value and reduce
churn.
Ultimately, all of this brings an even bigger opportunity to
continue to nurture those relationships in the business software space. There
are few platforms out there currently that have a specific focus on the
individual relationships of the user. It’s time for more relationship-based
tools and platforms to be born, which is one of the main reasons why I am a
firm believer in these technologies. Companies such as Contactually, which is
dominating this space, are helping us move at light speed from an analog
economy to a digital one. As one of the leading innovators in their space, this
area of innovation will pave the way for the true value of relationship
management and powering valuable connections for businesses and individuals.
Dr. Hossein EslambolchiInfluencer
Chairman and CEO at CyberFlow Analytics & 2020 Venture Partners
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