Brick by brick – What’s always important for the construction of a home is also true for the development and expansion of digital projects: Go step by step – because it’s no longer just about recognising that the future is digital. The foundation has been laid. In fact, it is the decisive steps after laying the foundation for further development and expansion. It is exactly at this point in the digital experience that we want to meet with the attendees at the Handelskraft Conference 2019 in Frankfurt am Main.

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Digital transformation or the radical change we’ve been able to witness since the late eighties does seem quite insane. This year the iPhone only turns 11 years. Google has just turned 20. The minds behind the brands seem inseparably linked with their success. Microsoft: Bill Gates. Google: Larry Page & Sergey Brin. Amazon: Jeff Bezos. Apple: Steve Jobs. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg. And for those who still remember: studiVZ was founded by Ehssan Dariani und Dennis Bemmann.

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
Steve Jobs

But to what extent does the brands’ success depend on these iconized characters? What can CDOs and drivers of digital innovation learn from this?

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Contactless payment with a smartphone, without use monetary notes, coins, or cards are the way of the future. But this isn’t anything new for many countries already. Forms of mobile payment have long been established and analogue forms of payment money a distant past. Compared to China or the USA, Germany is so old-fashioned in this aspect. On one side there Google and Apple and on the other the traditional German banks. Both want to change the way people in Germany pay for things every day.

But German customers and businesses don’t just change their ways because of “innovative” ways of doing things – even if analysts say a potential for change is very high.

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“Not without my smartphone” – This is how daily life in the age of mobile Internet is. We want to be online any time, anywhere. Over half of Germans now surf the web on the go – 30 per cent even daily. Mobile Internet consumption should continue to increase over the next few years. Users aren’t the only ones putting pressure on companies to optimise for mobile – Google is too.

Other mobile devices, like smartwatches and voice assistants, have changed user behaviour. Voice search, in particular, has been one of the biggest changes. By 2020, 50% of all Google searches should be based on voice input. It’s faster to say something than type with a keyboard, and users will still be able to find the information, the inspiration, or the products they want.

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Google, we’re not getting any younger! Two decades have passed since the founding of the Internet giant. In our series »20 Years of Google«, we have looked at the history of the company in recent weeks. The »G« of »GAFA«, like others, started in the garage and in two decades changed the face of the Internet.

And end to their longstanding success probably won’t happen anytime soon, as Google, despite setbacks, manages to succeed overall.

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Six or seven years ago, it was above all the older generations who were astonished by people staring at small electronic devices in subways, streets, and cafés. What are they doing? And why aren’t they reading newspapers or books? Just moving their thumbs over a screen almost to a rhythm.

The smartphone is probably one of the most important inventions of the 21st century for consumers… and unsurprisingly, Google is one of the drivers of this pocket-sized revolution. So, in the fifth article in the 20 years of Google series, we’ll explore the question of how a search engine company could develop software called Android, which millions of people use every day.

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Cross-border e-commerce is booming. Consumers are increasingly buying online and are increasingly attracted to foreign brands and retailers. Cross-border retail is, therefore, a great opportunity for brands and retailers looking for growth. But entering this market is not easy and requires a lot of preparatory work.

One of the questions that you should ask in advance is: Which channel offers the greatest opportunities in the target market? Do you start with your own localised version of the online shop or do you test marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Tmall (Alibaba) oder JD?

Getting started with international e-commerce via the marketplace is not only worthwhile because of the lower initial costs. There are also countries where marketplaces are worthwhile because of user preference. In China, where Tmall and JD are the market leaders, online retail takes place in marketplaces primarily. In fact, brands like Burberry, Estée Lauder, Swarovski or RayBan, and others have opened stores on Tmall. In addition, retailers multiply their customer base via international marketplaces.

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Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are probably the best-known social networks in the Western Hemisphere. Despite a data scandal, Facebook still has 2.34 billion active users. Social media is, therefore, a phenomenon that affects the current state of affairs on the Internet.

That’s what also Google thought way back in the year 2010: With Google+ and Google Wave, the company tried to gain momentum in the social media area. In hindsight… These were failures. The fourth article in the Handelskraft series »20 years of Google« is taking a look at a dark time in their history. The attempt to build their own social network.

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The goals of content marketing are, on one hand, customer acquisition and retention, on the other hand, the better positioning of the brand. Unlike traditional marketing methods, such as display ads, content marketing doesn’t necessarily focus on a company’s products. Rather, it is about providing relevant target groups with informative and useful content in order to convince them to pay attention to and buy from your own company and brand. It should, therefore, become established as an integral part of every marketing strategy for every company.

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1492: A troop of sailors under Christopher Columbus reaches an island in the Bahamas and unknowingly discover a new continent. Unintentionally, because they really wanted to find a sea route to India – they had simply lost their way. An error that eventually leads to the colonisation of America and introduces an epochal change.

But also a mistake that is difficult to repeat today. Because »digital maps« have become powerful tools. The third article in the series »20 Years of Google« therefore raises the question of how we move through the world at the beginning of the 21st century thanks to Google Maps.

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