The pace of digital disruption gathered in 2015, with big corporates waking up to the transformative power of the start-up, harnessing digital to deliver improved experiences for users. It was the year that many employers recognised the need to grant employees greater freedom and flexibility in the working environment.

The following are three big themes that emerged in 2015 in the digital product and innovation space and are sure to continue, as we continue to move into 2016.

1 In-house start-ups on the rise

  • Organisations increasingly want to transfer and embed the creativity and passion associated with a start-up, to their own corporate culture. ‘In-house’ or corporate funded start-ups give employees the freedom and financial backing via small, incremental funding, to help organisations innovate quickly and economically.
  • Even the small incremental changes delivered by these programmes – be it a more ‘progressive’ perception of their brand in the market place or better communication between internal departments – can herald big benefits when achieved continuously. 
  • 2016 will see these in-house start-ups having more tangible benefits for companies with staff increasingly being given freedom to contribute. This move is all part and parcel of businesses having to respond more quickly to change, if they are to survive in increasingly competitive and disrupted markets.

2 Sometimes, there’s more to customer experience than digital

  • From listening to customer feedback, businesses are learning that while digital remains crucial, it can’t provide customer experience all by itself. The personal touches and tweaks in customer journeys remain, it’s the little things that ‘make’a customer experience. These can be delivered quickly and easily without unnecessary complexity and ‘technology-first’ thinking. 
  • For example, handwritten notes on a customers’ home-delivered parcels, and the soft skills of staff in retail stores are those which can make a customer’s experience more meaningful.
  • We helped one retailer who was fixated on making it easier for customers to find the clothes displayed on mannequins. The solution wasn’t digital, it was simply a case of displaying information on the mannequin in a clear and characterful way. Don’t do things just because you can, do things because you they will tangibly improve your customers’ experience.

3 Content must be agile

  • 2016 will see advancements in the lightning quick delivery of digital content tailored to the individuals, as both news outlets and other media companies compete across an ever-expanding number of channels and platforms.
  • In the media and publishing industries, digital pure-plays such as Buzzfeed and HuffPost have led the way in delivering hyper-personalised content. Their organisational structure and technologies allow these purveyors of ‘agile content’ to turn round articles and stories in rapid time.
  • As the number of channels through which consumers can access content increases, questions remain over the place of content aggregators. Apple’s attempt to standardise how people consume news with Apple News demonstrates there is a problem to be solved, but the winners and losers from this revolution are far from clear.

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