Innovation

Customer centricity begins with the question of when and how customers come into contact with your company and whether they will also become fans of your company based on their experience. A thorough mapping of the customer journey considering the phases of interaction, channels, contacts, and satisfaction will reveal opportunities for possible quick wins. The smart use of channels and responsibilities can improve value chains and increase digital performance.

Typical challenges

• Companies are increasingly competing for attention. Companies have to “speak to customers where they're at.”
• The problem: they don't know the customer preferences, behavior patterns, and motives they need to understand to set content and product strategies.
• There is a lack of valid data on decision-making criteria and purchasing behavior which are necessary for customer-centered product and service development.

Digital services and business models are a key factor in surviving the competition. Successful products and services are based on a deep understanding of customer needs. Customer insights are recorded using different methods, such as interviews, observation, and support as well as the evaluation of relevant data points.

Typical challenges

• Development processes are cumbersome and expensive
• The transition between development and operation does not work
• The product or service sells too slowly
• Business model and willingness to pay are considered too late

Lean processes and procedures increase flexibility, save costs, and thus create competitive advantages. Process innovation is accordingly one of the most important types of innovation. Innovations at the process level can necessitate changing the sequence of action steps, introducing new activities, or using new technologies. As with product and service innovation, the focus is on the needs of those affected, i.e. the internal stakeholders.

Typical challenges

• Operational processes are slow and costly
• The process landscape is complex and non-transparent
• Process steps are largely conducted manually and are therefore prone to errors

Business model innovation goes beyond service and process innovations. It affects all components of the value-creation architecture and includes, among other things, the positioning of a company towards customers and partners, its range of services, and its earnings model.

Typical challenges

• The current business model is experiencing less demand or has become obsolete due to technical innovations
• New market players are pushing into the existing value chain and slicing off lucrative parts for themselves
• The current business model can no longer continue due to external factors such as new legislation