What are the next killer apps? No they aren't the mega-hits of yesteryear, the complex enterprise CRM and ERP systems, or the office suite with a million features that you never use, but which you are forced to wade through to find out how to do some simple task. The new killer apps are innovative in an entirely different way. They are small and fairly simple to use, straightforward - meaning that they have a narrow set of feature/functions which they perform admirably. Most importantly, their greatest innovation is the fact that they enable innovation by enabling the customer to do things that they were not able to do before, or which they struggled to do before. The new iteration of CRM falls under this heading. It does not have the capacity to mine the data of 100 million retail transactions in 250 locations to understand minute regional differences. But it does enable companies and users in old line markets to use the Internet to meet customers in new ways. In other words, the new CRM enables the customer's customers. Yeah, that's right. In our new Experience Economy, hat tip to Paul Greenberg, the key is not simply relating to the customer, as in some rote exercise, but enabling the customer to relate to us. The Internet is again one of the conduits that allows this by, for example, giving the customer the ability to work with us on their time to log an issue, look at a resolution, an invoice, a new communication, etc.. Companies that understand this new relationship and are ready to open up to it are putting themselves in a great competitive position. Likewise, software vendors who enable their customers to master innovative new ways of interacting with their customers stand to reap real competitive advantage. |
