Introducing the Next Step

NAVIGATING NEW MEDIA

ocial media and other new digital media have been on the tip of many a tongue for the last several years. Some companies are embracing it while others … well, not so much. The fact is that very few are getting it right. Why is this? For most organizations the major problem is that they don't understand the relevancy of what digital, social, and new media mean to their organizational goals and objectives.

The truth of the matter is, it couldn't be simpler. It's not about your company or the significance of your products and technologies. It's about the customer. It starts and ends with the customer. Digital media—Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and all the others—they're simply another tool to connect with the person who gives your company purpose: your customer.

You may be asking yourself why an innovation strategist is writing a book about social, digital, and new media. The best way for me to answer that question is to briefly define innovation. As you know, there are literally thousands of definitions of innovation. In my humble opinion, there is but one correct definition.

Innovation is the process of delivering exceptional customer value through active listening.

It's interesting to me to read the protracted and frankly convoluted definitions of innovation by many so-called innovation experts. In fact, it's their sheer complexity that makes these definitions so flawed. The lack of a customer-centric definition is why so many ...

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