How to Thrive in A World of Connected Customers
Peter Coffee
VP for Strategic Research
salesforce.com inc.
10 April 2014
Stolen From BMW’s Winter Olympics Ad
Trying to predict the future is a discouraging and
hazardous occupation, because the prophet invariably
falls between two stools.
• If his prediction sounds at all reasonable, you can be quite
sure that in 20 or at most 50 years the progress of science and
technology has made him seem ridiculously conservative.
• If a prophet could describe the future exactly as it was going to
take place, his predictions would sound so absurd, so
farfetched, that everybody would laugh him to scorn.
If what I say now seems to be very reasonable, then I’ll fail
completely. Only if what I tell you appears absolutely unbelievable,
have you any chance of visualizing the future as it really will happen.
- Sir Arthur C. Clarke, 1964
Let Me Start With What’s Not “The Future”*
Let Me Start With What’s Not “The Future”*
* Because It’s Already Here
“The Cloud”? No Longer the Future; Never Even a Goal
The verb, “to cloud,” does not
have a single positive meaning
The cloud is always a symbol
of things that people don’t
want to do themselves, or
even necessarily have at all: of
annoying enablers that add no
real value of their own
Suppose we’d called it…
“connected computing”?
Believe it: your customers are connected
What Used to be “Personal Computing”…
is now Multi-Device Community Engagement
Old Customers:
– Prospects get content from Marketing
– Buyers negotiate terms with Sales
– Customers raise issues with Support
Connected Customers:
– Prospects seek insights from customers
– Buyers collaborate on competitor research
– Customers tell the world when they’re not happy
Companies need new organizations & processes
– Every employee/contractor/partner is a spokesperson/avatar
– Power to address issues must be pushed to edge of organization
– Collaborative response must be available on demand
Connected Customers Rewrite the Rules
TECH 5/06/2013 @ 8:39PM | 5,338 views
10 Ways Cloud Computing Is Revolutionizing Manufacturing
Designing in services is now becoming commonplace, making cloud
integration expertise critical for manufacturers.
From simplistic services integration on iPhones to the full implementation
of voice-activated controls including emergency assistance in the latest
luxury cars, adding in services integrated to the cloud is redefining
the competitive landscape of industries today.
Revising a product or launching a new product generation with
embedded services can mitigate price wars, which is
why many manufacturers are pursing this strategy today.
Products are Also Connected
“Product” → Entry Point to a Service
What if you could
connect your
customer’s camera
to a service that
evaluated image
metadata, and
recommended
lenses best suited
to attempted photo
situations?
Think you might
sell more glass?
‘Cloud’ is Where the Puck Used to Be
“Big Data” gives the cloud something to do
– Elastic capacity for high peak/average ratios
– Connectivity to real-world, real-time…reality
Value from Feeds of “Big Data”
Demands Disciplines of Discovery, not Query
hubaisms.com/2013/08/08/data-scientist-big-data/
Mobile Data Sources: Where the Puck is Going
The customers are connected all the time
They don’t want the PC experience in handheld size
What is an “application” anyway?
Old “applications”:
– Data captured as by-product of business activity
– Function driven by familiar business tasks
– User experience an afterthought
– Built by programmers; judged on cost & efficiency
New “apps”:
– Data captured through algorithms of discovery
– Function driven by customer delight
– User experience a top priority
– Apps built by front-line business units; judged on ROI
Mash-ups from
Web and
AppExchange
Native
Desktop
Connectors
Integration Tools
AppExchange Apps
ERP
Any System
Finance
Systems of Record
Systems of
Engagement
A Connection Plan is not a Rip/Replace
Connecting Machines
– ‘OnStar’ network daily handles 150k human requests…
…and 130k machine-originated requests
– Some are critical, e.g. air-bag deployments
– Others may be infotainment, e.g. mileage ‘leader board’
Connecting Processes
– General Electric wind-farm management: 123 turbines
– Field-wide speed optimization, anti-icing behaviors
– 3% output increase US$1.2M/year added revenue
Connecting People
– Asics delivers RFID-triggered messages to marathoners
‘Cloud’ Connects Machines/Processes/People
The Community We Used to Call “Cloud”…
…is Embarked on a Drive Toward Connection
Visionary speakers
1,200+ breakout sessions
350+ partner sponsors
Gala featuring Green Day at AT&T Park
Global Coverage Snapshot
• “A year from now Salesforce1’s greatest contribution to Salesforce
customers could be making their applications easier to use,
especially on mobile devices.” – Forbes
• “Viewed simplistically, Salesforce1 is delivering a more powerful
mobile app and a bunch of new APIs, but that would undersell the
platform's importance in a connected world.” – InformationWeek
• “The concept [Salesforce1] is valid and in tune with a business
world quickly abandoning its desktop PCs for tablets and ever
more powerful smartphones.” – eWEEK
• “Salesforce.com says it now has 1.4 million registered developers,
almost double the number it had a year ago, a growth spurt one
analyst called “stunning.” – PCWorld
We Need to Create New Value
• In 2010 • 58% of surveyed U.S. consumers said
they’d pay a higher price if they had a
strong expectation of superior service.
• On average, 9% premium would be OK.
• In 2012, 66% willing to pay +13%...
…and 75% said they’d already
spent more with a company in response to superior service,
up from 57% in 2010.
•Connected products can elevate service, from
damage control to proactive customer care
“The Cloud”? You’ll Get What You Ask For
If you treat the cloud as merely a way to
modernize your IT, that’s all you’ll get.
No matter how creatively and competently that
modernization is done, it will not be enough.
Broadening perspective requires enlarging
community of stakeholders and lengthening the
list of criteria for success.
Salesforce1 is The Customer Platform
Salesforce1 Platform APIs
Salesforce1 App
Salesforce1 Platform Services
Force.com Heroku1 ExactTarget
Fuel
Sales Cloud Service Cloud ExactTarget
Marketing Cloud AppExchange
WELCOME TO THE
INTERNET OF CUSTOMERS
Peter Coffee
VP for Strategic Research
salesforce.com inc. [email protected]
@petercoffee
in/petercoffee
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
