Brand owners must pay attention to their “digital balance sheet” as the rise of ecommerce, the popularity of mobile devices, and the growth of social media reshape the trading climate internationally, according to The Digital Manifesto: How Companies and Countries Can Win in the Digital Economy by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (@BCG_Consultant).
The management consultancy says the Internet economy of the G20 countries — a group including Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, the UK, and the USA — should hit $4.2tr in 2016, up from $2.3tr in 2010 due in large part to the rapid expansion of the Web user base, which is set to surge from 1.9bn to 3bn during the same period (45% of the global population).
“No company or country can afford to ignore this development. Every business needs to go digital,” says David Dean, a coauthor of the report and a senior partner at BCG. “The ‘new’ Internet is no longer largely Western, accessed from your PC. It is now global, ubiquitous, and participatory.”
The BCG report charts several major shifts in the use and nature of the Internet:
· From a Luxury to an Ordinary Good.
· From Developed to Emerging Markets.
· From PC to Mobile.
· From Passive to Participatory.
BCG says companies that make extensive use of the Internet — including social media — to sell, market, and interact with their customers and suppliers grow faster than those that do not.
The study recommends that brands focus on their “digital balance sheet:”
digital assets comprised of
· Information and analytics about customers, suppliers, employees, and competitors
· Connectivity and feedback loops that lubricate the digital enterprise
· Intellectual property that bestows a competitive digital advantage
· The people, culture, and capabilities needed to execute and deliver
and digital liabilities (ways of working that handicap the ability to exploit their digital assets) of
· Organizational structures, incentives, and cultures that collectively discourage adaptability and risk taking
· IT systems, processes, and tools that limit flexibility and focus
· Rigid strategies unsuited to a volatile business environment
Read The Digital Manifesto (registration required).
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you determine your own brand’s digital balance sheet.
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