nGame, Inc

Virtual Business Video Game: The Enterprise 3.0 Challenge & Opportunity

Written by Jon Feld & Rick Porter, co-founders of nGame, Inc. nGame equips Fortune 500 clients with real-time strategies and business applications that enable them to create superior customer experiences and “win in the moment” across a diverse set of industries (e.g. Retail, Transportation, Banking, etc.)

Synopsis: As the pace and severity of change continues to accelerate, it has become more evident that the trusted toolkit of the recent past (i.e. ERP, Data Warehouse, BI) are merely table stakes for the “game of business” today and into the future.  The customer centric, socially-connected, mobile world we live in demands that “players” engage in an immersive rapid-fire world of a business “video game” to compete and win in an Enterprise 3.0 world.

Meet Joe…Joe is the type of customer retailers dream about.  Today Joe is on a mission to find and acquire that 55-inch Samsung LED TV complete with all the bells and whistles.  He has done his homework on the retailer’s website and is thrilled that he will pay 20% less thanks to a great sale.   As if this wasn’t good enough he should be able to get home in time for the Cowboys game!  That is where the trouble starts.  First, it becomes clear that the salespeople have no appreciation for the fact that a “platinum” customer is ready to spend two thousand dollars with no selling required.  When Joe finally does get assistance he is upset to learn that the model is out of stock and the closest store is a 30 minute drive.

How many Joe’s walk into their favorite retail establishment every day only to end up walking out empty handed only to receive an e-mail advertising the TV later that week?  In an exceedingly difficult market environment it is critical for retailers to make the most of every opportunity.  Joe does not really care about the retailer’s org structure…he just wants his TV today.  Why didn’t the website prominently display that his local store had no inventory on the TV he placed in his shopping cart?  Could an in-store kiosk or tablet have been used to avoid the long wait?  How could the smart phone app suggest alternatives that provide similar features and pricing along with great customer reviews?  In addition to equipping consumers with real-time information retailers need to build virtual analytic consoles with advanced visualizations to understand who is shopping their stores to create personalized experiences.

The technologies to avoid these issues and create opportunities to “win in the moment” are readily available.  It is largely a matter of organizations making the customer experience central to their business processes.  The business opportunity of Enterprise 3.0 is real and the ability to execute is well within reach.  In fact, most of the heavy lifting can be done taking advantage of existing technologies without the need to “rip and replace” existing applications that would take years to deliver.  There are certainly organizational challenges to be overcome along with architecture and technology integration issues but they pale in comparison to the opportunity to convert the Joe’s of the world into pleased customers who are all too happy to tell their friends about the Enterprise 3.0 experience that personalizes the interaction and leaves customers feeling like their wants and needs are well understood.