David Burney leads panel discussion on interactivity, changing business models of the Web

According to David Burney, the Web has made a mess of business.  In a panel discussion Wednesday, Burney and four other speakers from various backgrounds explored the likely directions business is headed.

David Burney moderates a panel discussion on the future of interactivity and the Web. (Photo: Dan Anderson, Elon University)

The Web has changed business models.  In the 20^th century, business was implemented top-down.  Everything was very linear, about control.  Now, the world is networked.  Businesses are non-linear, concerned with freedom and transparency in their operations.  While the 20^th century model was about structure, this model is about culture.

The new take on business because of the Web begins with culture.  “This culture is build around satisfying customers’ needs, wants and values,” Burney said.  Groups of people who are customers interconnect and engage the company and tell them how to innovate, which then drives the creation of the brand.

“When groups of people interconnect and see how its going, they see that the business value increases and begins the circle that begins again as culture becomes richer and deeper,” Burney said.

Customer services is the new marketing

In the past, customer services killed conversation between companies and clients, said Keith Messick of Get Satisfaction.  People crave conversation and the opportunity to get involved.

In the past couple of years there has been a shift where service is moved to the front end of the business model.  Customers have massive influence businesses should engage as advocates because their stories are more credible than anything the business can say.

Becky Minervino of McKinney said that business is about finding insight, but the tools have changed and social media is the new way for companies to communicate with their customers.

“We should pay attention to this and start behaving differently.  It sounded intimidating nine times out of ten. Often there was a hesitancy to give up some control and participate,” Minervino said.  Giving up control, however, is part of the new business model and allows more open conversations.

Strategists deal in an interactive space

According to Steven Keith, an independent designer, there are three things that have, and will continue to have, the greatest impact on interactivity: technology, budget and speed.

“(Technology) has an impact on design and what you build with your strategies,” Keith said.  Budget sets the tempo for the type of project, and speed “has everything to do with how we’re designing things,” he said.

Additionally, this interactive space means more communication between the company and the customer.

In the past, the company communicated its message to its customers who simply listened.  Today, because of the Web, the customers listen to the company message coming from multiple employees within the company.

“And then all of the sudden customer got a mouth and the web enabled that,” Chris Grams of New Kind said.

The Web is closely linked with the ability to customers to communicate with companies, and vice versa.  The future of the Web will determine just how much stronger this communication grows as more and more companies allow their customers to have a bigger say in innovating and the brand.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FROM THIS EVENT…
Video and more written FutureWeb coverage: http://bit.ly/imaginingtheinternet
FutureWeb YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Futureweb2010#p/u
Flickr photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38539612@N02/sets/72157623891937652/

The Future of Interactive Design and the Web

FutureWeb2010 Conference, Raleigh, N.C., April 29, 3:30-5 p.m.

Chair: David Burney, partner and chief executive officer at New Kind. Burney brings 30 years of experience building and leading creative services organizations. He was previously the vice president of brand communications and design at Red Hat, where he lead the company’s overall branding strategy. Burney was also the chief creative officer at Capstrat and chief designer at the North Carolina Museum of Art. He is a longtime member of AIGA, the professional association for design, of which he was the founding member and president of the Raleigh chapter.

Session Description: What does the future hold for marketing and communications now that the Web has made such a mess of things? Advertising? Branding? Strategy? Design? Communities and innovation? This panel will explore the likely directions we could be headed in the wide-open world of digital interactivity. The panel will aim to specifically isolate the key challenges and opportunities in the looming future for public health and the Web and it will work to identify some specific action steps that can be taken today to work for a better tomorrow.

Panelists:

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  Chris Grams

  Chris Grams, partner and president at New Kind. Grams is a builder of sustainable brands, cultures and communities in and around companies and organizations. He has over 15 years of experience, including 10 years at Red Hat, where he was senior director for brand communications and design and helped to expand the company. He also formerly worked for IBM for two years. View his blogs on brand, community and culture and open source and the future of business.

• 

  Steven Keith

  Steven Keith, an independent collaborator working with companies of all sizes on digital strategy. He was formerly an analyst with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, and worked with a creative Internet engineering company, Gorilla Polymedia. Keith was the senior vice president for strategy on the digital team at Capstrat. His specialties include design thinking, online strategy and positioning, digital strategy for technology and entertainment. Follow Keith on Twitter at http://twitter.com/stevenkeith.

• Becky Minervino, VP and senior interactive strategist for McKinney advertising in Durham, N.C. She spearheaded Virgin Atlantic’s first mobile program, which won a Gold MIXX Award. Minervino is well known for her work for the MINI, deemed a “champion” of e-mail marketing best practices by Jupiter. She is also formerly of OgilvyOne, Circle and Beam. Follow Minervino on Twitter at http://twitter.com/merv545.

• 

  Keith Messick

  Keith Messick, vice president of marketing at Get Satisfaction, a community-based platform that helps companies engage their customers through open and transparent conversations that increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Messick previously worked as the senior manager of product marketing and social media at SuccessFactors, as well as the director of sales and marketing at Corporate Executive Board. Messick specializes in sales and marketing, business and strategy development, human capital management and social media marketing. View his blog at http://www.getsatisfaction.com/blog.

For more information about FutureWeb 2010 panel discussions, featured panelists and more, click here to navigate to the FutureWeb site. To register for the conference, visit theFutureWeb registration page.