Digital economy has changed the world
The new Intelligence
Digital promises significant financial upsides. Digital leaders can expect to grow revenues by 5-15%, reduce costs by 10-20% and realize potential bottom-line improvements of over 30%. Digital revolution is "democratic" because even small companies and small countries can lead and disrupt the big ones. Digital revolution enables a new kind of globalization and new global start-ups or global players are disrupting local companies. Examples are What's app, Viber, Skype, Amazon, Apple pay, Alibaba Express to mention some of them. There are differences in region by region and country by country in the way that clients adapt new channels, new payment methods, new brands and how fast digital companies manage to build trust. Germany is still a country with high usage of cash, while India is promoting very fast online and mobile payments. Tanzania is the first country that introduced the same mobile payment process through all mobile operators enabling total coverage.
Branislav Vujović, New Frontier Group, Austria
Main factors a company should consider before executing it's digital strategy
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The big risk for any company executing its digital strategy is to focus too much on the technology and its deployment. Yes, the technology will undoubtedly be important, it may even be the inspiration for a new business model or process design that would not be possible without technology, but it is only one element of what will be a complex change process. It is as important to recognise that the opportunity for technology for businesses lies in the changes, both operational and strategic, that it enables and shapes. For any investment made to implement a digital strategy, the changes must be understood and managed. For example, a change in a business model is likely to require a change to the company's operating model. As history has taught us, projects to execute a digital strategy usually don't fail because the technology doesn't work; they fail because the people and organisational changes were not effectively managed.
Professor Joe Peppard, ESMT Germany
The Essence and Impact of Digital Marketing
The term "digital marketing" marks a growing trend in B2B and B2C contexts alike to acquire, retain, and engage customers across multiple technologically mediated means - search engines, e-mail campaigns, social media, websites, and mobile apps. In essence, firms' digital marketing initiatives reflect their efforts to "be there" for the right customer at the right time and place with the right offering. The preceding characteristics - profitability and "trackability" - represent the crown jewels of digital marketing, and lie at the very foundation of its promise. The effective practitioner of digital marketing is in a position to evaluate with a previously unavailable level of granularity the bottom line impact of his or her efforts.
As more and more firms embrace the promise of digital marketing, it is critical to get to know the "nuts and bolts" of how digital marketing is done, and to what effect. True to its principles of embarking on bold initiatives, IEDC-Bled has chosen to design and deliver a "trifecta" of digital marketing offerings. It is indeed my privilege to be associated with this creative world-class business school, and to assist with delivery of one of these courses.
