In just two weeks, Dassault Systèmes is hosting the 2015 3DEXPERIENCE FORUM, where key thought leaders from around the world will join together to discuss how Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform is helping companies innovate and realize the future of the experience economy. As a preview to the event, we spoke with keynote speaker Jeremiah Owyang, founder of Crowd Companies, to discover his insights into how connecting data to customers and the Collaborative Economy will drive a more effective way of engaging customers and doing business.
1. A new business model is emerging in today’s connected society in which consumers expect instantaneous answers, delightful experiences and simplicity. How can businesses incorporate the idea of the Collaborative Economy into their experience focused business model?
It’s imperative that businesses adopt the Collaborative Economy as a way to disrupt traditional models and use new technologies that will allow them to produce on demand and in a personalized way. The Collaborative Economy embraces the sharing economy, the maker movement and the co-innovation movement. Companies can incorporate these concepts by using tools like Big Data, additive manufacturing and the Internet of Things (IoT) to create unique, personalized experiences for their customers. This is why I’m looking forward to speaking at the 3DEXPERIENCE FORUM, a place that brings business leaders together to share their ideas to design for a new future and enhance the customer experience.
2. What do major brands need to know when it comes to consumers choosing a Collaborative Economy player over an established company?
Although some startups in the Collaborative Economy have built great brand recognition, many consumers would rather go with an established, reputable brand that they’re familiar with, regardless of the convenience and cost. No matter how rock-solid their reputation may be, big businesses still need to embrace the notion that mobile-enabled, on-demand, customized products and services are becoming an expectation, and companies that fail to offer customers these experiences won’t last. In fact, convenience has become just as an important factor of the overall consumer preference as the price of the product. Those that recognize the need to adapt to their customers are the ones who will thrive in the Collaborative Economy.
3. What role are new technologies playing in today’s world? How are they changing the way we work and design things?
Organizations are using data to drive innovation and create a more effective way of engaging customers and doing business. For example, IoT and Big Data are providing companies with insight into how customers are using products to create better experiences in the future. As a result, businesses are taking what they learn from their customers and turning them into the backbone of future products. On the same note, additive manufacturing gives companies the ability to make customizable products with materials that haven’t been considered before, but are more appealing to customers. Companies like Nike, Tesla and GE are partnering with their customers to allow them to design their products alongside them.
4. What is the future of the Collaborative Economy?
Today the world’s largest hospitality brand, Airbnb, is worth over $25 billion without owning a single room or hotel. Likewise, Uber, the world’s largest taxi service, is valued at over $50 billion without owning a single car. One of the things that I look at in The New Rules of the Collaborative Economy, a report I co-authored with tech researcher Alexandra Samuel, is whether sharing is here to stay. Based on people’s intent to try different sharing services, something we evaluated in the report, we’re forecasting that eight in 10 Americans will be part of the Collaborative Economy by 2017. The continued, rapid growth of the Collaborative Economy makes it clear that sharing is not a fad. It will be interesting to see how companies will evolve to embrace this concept in how they offer their customers products and services.
