Every organization, no matter what they do or whom they serve, is constantly watching for ways to increase the value of what they offer.

What’s the secret of the next big thing? Anticipation

Being anticipatory is a very powerful strategy with which you can boost your overall value. That comes from understanding your customers’ needs to leveraging the impact of new technology and market disruption.

Know your customers better

Ever since the dawn of commerce, organizations have searched for more effective ways to know what their customers want.

And, from there, to better gauge the products that would best resonate with their shifting interests and tastes.

Fortunately, there are now more powerful tools besides customer feedback surveys and mere word of mouth that can be leveraged to meet this challenge.

With technology such as connected devices, embedded software, predictive analytics and social media, organizations can see in a timely manner how customers are actually using their products, what they like and don’t like and other essential information and insight.

That boosts customer knowledge and insights in a number of ways. For one thing, product research and development can gain a better focus on what will truly connect with users at the moment of need.

Accordingly, new products and services become less of an educated guess. Agility can also improve, as businesses can quickly update features or adjust future models to better match customer desires and behavior.

Likewise, marketing and advertising also benefit. More comprehensive and real-time information allows organizations to hone outreach efforts to target individual segments of their customer base. Instead of flooding their market with the same offer, marketing teams can create personalized offers geared to attract particular customers. That provides even more value.

Increase disruption

One of the bedrock principles of my Anticipatory Organization Model is the predictable impact of disruption. Game-changing ideas, technology, and devices that can stand entire industries on their ear.

You can become the game-changer in your own industry. After all, if you don’t do it, someone else will.

Consider some of the truly innovative services or products that have completely changed our everyday life.

Need to do some fast research on an executive or his or her company you are about to meet with? Your smartphone is the go-to option.

If you want to get somewhere fast once you’re off the subway and back on the street, Uber can get you there. And the list goes on and on.

Those examples and many others are telling in several ways. First off, none of them were simple variants on an existing theme. They were new, utterly revolutionary and predictable in terms of identifying the Hard Trends that are shaping the future as a way to see game-changing opportunities.

Moreover, the marketplace value they afford, the people and organizations behind their development and introduction are almost impossible to calculate.

The more disruption you can introduce into your market, the greater the value of what you offer

Another anticipatory principle is the idea that, if the disruption is inevitable, far better to be the disruptor rather than the disrupted.

And, with that choice in mind, what greater value can you bring to the marketplace than something so utterly new and innovative that it inevitably betters the life of anyone who buys or uses it?

Preorder the book

Why deploy customer surveys when technology allows you to collect real-time user experiences?

Learn how an Anticipatory Organization saves money in R&D, market.ing and other steps along the way. Pre-Order Daniel Burrus’ new book.

Being the creator of the next big thing is possible. You just need to be anticipatory.

What do you think? Would you agree with me? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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