Part 9 - From online store to customer journey
Digital commerce began with a relatively simple idea: The customer could find a product online, add it to a digital shopping cart, pay, and have the item delivered.
Since then, the customer relationship has become far more complex.
The customer can discover a product through a search, research it on the business's website, read reviews elsewhere, compare prices on their mobile, visit a physical store, ask customer service questions, and complete the purchase later on another device.
After the purchase, the journey continues through payment, delivery, usage, customer service, returns, reviews and perhaps a new purchase.
The business can organize these activities into different departments and systems. For the customer, they can be experienced as one continuous relationship with the business .
This is what makes the customer journey an important perspective.
Harvard Business Review has pointed out that businesses have long worked with individual touchpoints, but that this can give a misleading picture if you do not simultaneously see the customer's entire journey from beginning to end.
From transaction to customer journey
A transaction often has a clear time.
The customer buys.
The business is selling.
But the customer relationship rarely begins at the moment of purchase and does not necessarily end when payment is made.
Before making a purchase, the customer may have spent a significant amount of time researching the problem they are trying to solve. They may have searched for information, compared products, read reviews, asked friends, or visited several stores.
After purchase, the product must be delivered and used. The customer may need help, experience problems, return the item, or purchase additional products.
Therefore, modern customer experience research and practice has shifted attention from individual touchpoints to the overall customer journey . McKinsey describes customer journeys as a series of interactions a customer has with a business to complete a specific task.
A customer journey can therefore be about much more than a purchase.
It can be:
to find the right product, book a trip, change a subscription, have a product repaired, return an item or get help when something has gone wrong.
The key is the task the customer is trying to accomplish.
The customer sees one business
Organizations often work in departments.
The marketing department creates the campaign.
The online store handles digital sales.
IT operates the systems.
The logistics team sends the goods.
The store meets the customer physically.
Customer service handles questions and problems.
The finance department handles the payment.
Each unit may have its own goals, systems and work processes.
The customer does not necessarily know these limits.
If the marketing promises something the online store cannot deliver, the customer experiences a problem with the business.
If the online store shows that the item is in stock, but the store does not have it, the customer is experiencing a problem with the business.
If customer service cannot see the information the customer has already entered digitally, the customer is experiencing a problem with the business.
The organizational chart explains why problems arise internally.
That doesn't make them any less real to the customer.
This is at the core of the customer journey perspective: The business must understand the experience across its own organizational boundaries.
The touchpoint is important – the journey is more important
A touchpoint is a place where the customer meets the business.
It could be an ad, a search result, a website, a store, an email, a delivery, or a conversation with customer service.
Businesses can do each individual touchpoint very well and still create a poor overall customer experience.
For example, the customer may encounter a good website and a pleasant customer service representative, but still be frustrated because the information is not provided by the digital solution to the employee.
Harvard Business Review's work on customer journeys expresses this very clearly:
"While individual touchpoints matter, what matters even more is a customer's complete, cumulative, end-to-end journey." - Alex Rawson, Ewan Duncan and Conor Jones
The point is important.
The customer does not necessarily evaluate each meeting in isolation.
The experiences influence each other.
A good ordering experience can be undermined by a poor delivery. A
A wrong delivery can be repaired by very good customer service. A good shopping experience can end badly if the return later becomes difficult.
The customer journey is the sum of these experiences.
The online store is just one point of contact
E-commerce has made the online store a central part of the customer relationship.
But the online store does not exist in isolation.
Before the customer gets there, she may have used a search engine, an AI assistant, social media, a price comparison service, or other websites.
When she enters the online store, she might expect to find product information, prices, availability, delivery time, and reviews.
Then she can visit a store.
After the purchase, contact can continue through email, app, tracking services and customer service.
This makes the online store part of a larger system.
That doesn't mean the online store is becoming less important.
This means that quality must be assessed based on how it works with the rest of the customer journey .
Search is often the beginning of the customer relationship
Many customers begin their journey before they know the business they will later shop with.
They start with a need.
What is the best solution?
Which product is suitable?
Where can I get it?
How does this work?
In such situations, search becomes an important entry point into the market.
The customer is not necessarily searching for the business's brand.
She searches for the problem.
This makes content and product information important even before the customer has decided which supplier she wants to use.
The business must therefore understand what questions customers actually ask and what language they use.
Here the customer journey again meets the customer insights from Part 4.
Search can tell your business what people are trying to find.
Missing hits can show where information is missing.
Repeated questions can reveal which parts of the offer customers don't understand.
Search is thus both a point of contact and a source of customer insight.
The customer compares more than products
Digitization has made comparison easier.
Price can be compared.
Specifications can be compared.
Delivery can be compared.
Reviews can be read.
But the customer also compares indirect experiences .
If one business makes it very easy to pay, this experience influences what the customer later expects from other businesses.
If one online store provides accurate inventory status, the customer begins to expect others to do the same.
If an app makes returns easy, complicated return processes elsewhere become more visible.
Competition therefore does not only take place between products in the same category.
The business also competes against the standard of simplicity and service that the customer encounters elsewhere in their digital life.
That's a major reason why customer expectations are evolving rapidly.
From multichannel to omnichannel
Many businesses have developed multiple channels over time.
Shop.
Online store.
Telephone.
App.
Email.
Chat.
Social media.
This is often described as multichannel: The customer can meet the business through several different channels.
But it is not necessarily the same as omnichannel.
McKinsey describes omnichannel as a customer-centric approach where channels are integrated so that the customer receives a more unified and consistent experience whether the contact occurs in a physical store, app or on the website.
The difference is significant.
Multichannel means that the business has multiple channels .
Omnichannel means that the channels work together to a greater extent around the customer .
The customer should be able to move between them without having to start over each time.
The customer expects the business to remember
Consider a customer who has started an order digitally and later calls customer service.
The customer has already identified themselves.
She has chosen the product.
She may have explained the problem in a chat.
If the customer service representative cannot see any of this, the customer will have to start over.
From the business's perspective, the customer has moved from one channel to another.
From the customer's perspective, she is still having the same conversation.
This is precisely what omnichannel tries to solve.
The information must follow the customer in a responsible and relevant manner.
This does not mean that all employees should have access to all information.
Privacy, security, and necessity principles still apply.
However, when the customer has a legitimate expectation of coherence,
The business should avoid using internal system limits as an explanation for why the customer must redo the work.
Omnichannel doesn't mean all channels should be the same
A major misconception is that all channels must offer exactly the same thing.
They don't need that.
Different channels have different strengths.
The mobile phone is available almost everywhere.
The website can provide space for extensive information.
The store allows the customer to see and try physical products.
The telephone allows for direct dialogue.
Chat can be effective for simple questions.
An advisor can handle complex needs.
Good omnichannel is therefore not about making all touchpoints identical.
It's about them complementing each other and being connected .
The customer should be able to use the channel that best suits the situation without the organization of the business creating unnecessary obstacles.
Mobile made the customer journey continuous
The smartphone has made the distinction between digital and physical commerce less clear.
The customer can stand inside the store and be digital at the same time.
She can search for product information.
Compare prices.
Read reviews.
Check stock status at another store.
Ask a friend.
Find an alternative online.
Thus, the physical store no longer necessarily exists outside the digital customer journey.
The two can be ongoing at the same time.
This also means that the business must be consistent.
Information the customer finds on their mobile phone should, as far as possible, match the reality they encounter in the store.
When the two worlds do not match, trust weakens.
Physical stores and digital commerce don't have to be opposites
The discussion about e-commerce has often been portrayed as a competition between the online store and the physical store.
The customer journey perspective paints a different picture.
The customer can use both.
She can research the product digitally and purchase in store.
She can see the product in store and order online later.
She can order digitally and collect physically.
She can return an online purchase in store.
McKinsey specifically points to the need for seamless experiences between the physical and digital worlds and emphasizes that different channels have different roles throughout the customer journey.
The interesting question therefore does not necessarily become:
Online store or store?
But:
How does the customer want to use them together?
The customer journey continues after the purchase
Traditional marketing models have often given the purchase itself a central place.
But the purchase is only one point in the customer relationship.
After the purchase comes the experience.
Was the product as the information promised?
Did the delivery arrive on time?
Was the packaging appropriate?
Was the product easy to use?
Were there any good instructions?
Was it easy to get help?
How did the return work if the customer changed their mind?
It is these experiences that influence satisfaction, trust and the likelihood that the customer will return.
Thus, Part 9 ties directly back to Part 7.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty are not only created before the purchase.
They are built throughout the relationship.
Returns are also part of the customer experience.
The business may consider returns as a cost.
For the customer, the return process is part of the purchasing experience.
A cumbersome return can therefore affect the assessment of the entire business.
This is particularly important in e-commerce because the customer often has to make a decision without being able to see or try the product physically beforehand.
Good product information can reduce unnecessary returns.
But when return is necessary, the process can also be an opportunity to build trust.
The business then shows how it behaves when the transaction did not go as planned.
A single purchase says something about the business's sales process.
A good return process says something about the relationship .
Customer service is not the end of the customer journey
Customer service is sometimes referred to as the place the customer ends up when the rest of the process has failed.
It's too narrow.
Customer service can be an integral part of the customer journey.
The employee can help the customer before the purchase, during the purchase and after the purchase.
And as we have seen earlier in the series, contact is also a source of customer insight.
McKinsey describes good customer journeys as sequences of touchpoints where the customer can move between human and digital channels to solve a task or problem.
This means that customer service should not just repair the individual case.
The business should also investigate why the customer had to contact them.
If a thousand customers are calling because the same information is missing from the website, the best customer service improvement might be to
fix the website .
Then customer contact is used for learning.
CRM should support the relationship – not just store information
Customer Relationship Management, CRM, has given businesses the ability to collect information about customers, activities, purchases and communications.
The technology can be very valuable.
But a CRM system does not create customer relationships by itself.
It can record that the customer called.
It can show which products the customer has purchased.
It may remind the employee of a previous case.
But the quality of the relationship depends on how the information is
used.
A good CRM system can make the business more cohesive for the customer.
A poorly used system can become a large archive of information that no one is able to translate into better service or better decisions.
The technology should therefore be assessed according to the same principle as the rest of the customer universe:
Does it make the business better able to understand and help the customer?
Personalization makes the customer journey more individual
When businesses combine information from different touchpoints, it becomes possible to personalize the customer experience.
The customer can receive relevant product recommendations.
The information can be customized to previous purchases.
A service can remember preferences.
Customer service may know past history.
This can reduce friction and save the customer work.
But personalization also has a limit.
The customer must be able to understand why the business is using the information and have confidence that it is being treated responsibly.
A recommendation may be found useful.
Too much detailed knowledge can be uncomfortable.
Thus, personalization must be balanced against privacy and trust.
The most advanced personalization is not necessarily the best.
The best one is the one the customer experiences as relevant, legitimate and useful .
The customer journey map can make the organization visible to itself
One of the methods for understanding the overall journey is to draw it.
A customer journey map often describes the steps the customer goes through,
which touchpoints are used, what problems arise and how the experience develops.
Harvard Business Review has described customer journey mapping as a fundamental step when a business wants to improve the customer experience.
The value does not necessarily lie in the chart itself.
The value lies in the perspective.
When people from different departments see the whole journey together,
They can discover connections they previously didn't see.
The marketing department sees what happens after the campaign.
IT sees the consequences of a technical choice.
Logistics sees what the delivery information means for customer service.
The management sees how an internal decision affects several contact points.
Customer journey mapping can therefore act as a way to break through organizational silos .
The best journey is not necessarily the one with the most touchpoints
It's easy to believe that a good customer relationship requires increasingly more communication.
More emails.
More notifications.
More recommendations.
More contact options.
But the customer does not necessarily want as much contact with the business as possible.
Often the customer simply wants the task to be solved.
If the customer can buy the right product in two minutes without any help, it can be a better customer experience than a long and personal dialogue.
However, if the customer is faced with a complicated decision, the human advisor can be crucial.
Customer focus is therefore also about understanding when the business should be visible and when it should get out of the way .
Simplicity throughout the journey
Part 8 showed why ease of use and reduced friction are important in digital interfaces.
The same principle applies to the entire customer journey.
A very simple website is of little help if the delivery process is complicated.
A quick payment is of little help if the return is incomprehensible.
A good app is of little use if customer service cannot see the information from the app.
The business must therefore work with simplicity across the journey.
That's precisely why HBR's research on customer experience places so much emphasis on the end-to-end perspective rather than optimizing each
contact point separately.
The greatest friction can be between the contact points.
The customer journey cannot always be planned linearly
It is also important to be careful with overly simple models.
The customer does not necessarily move neatly from awareness to consideration, purchase and loyalty.
She can go back and forth.
She may start with one product and end with another.
She can cancel the process and come back several weeks later.
She can talk to other people along the way.
She can use multiple devices.
McKinsey has pointed out that modern customer journeys are not simple and linear, but can consist of a series of transitions between traditional and digital channels that vary between customers.
Therefore, the customer journey map should be understood as a model.
It helps the business see patterns.
It is not a surefire way to predict how each person will actually behave.
Many customers use many channels
The fact that the customer journey goes across channels is not just a theoretical idea.
McKinsey has found in previous studies that more than half of customers in the journeys studied used between three and five channels on their way to a purchase or when resolving an inquiry.
The numbers vary of course between markets, products and situations.
But the point is:
The business cannot necessarily choose one channel and assume that the customer will stay there.
The customer chooses the point of contact according to the situation.
This places new demands on coordination.
Steve Jobs and working backwards from the customer experience
Digitalization tends to make technology highly visible in the strategy discussion.
Which platform should the business use?
Which solution should be implemented?
Which technology is the newest?
But technology does not automatically equal customer value.
Steve Jobs formulated a principle in 1997 that is still relevant:
"You've got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology." - Steve Jobs, Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 1997
That doesn't mean technology is unimportant.
Jobs, on the contrary, built companies around technology.
The point is the order.
First, the business must understand what value and experience it is trying to create.
It can then determine which technology makes this possible.
This principle becomes increasingly important as AI enters the customer journey.
AI can make the customer journey less visible
Artificial intelligence can change the customer journey in a more fundamental way than previous digital technologies.
In a traditional online store, the customer navigates themselves.
She is searching.
Opens categories.
Compares products.
Reading information.
Adds the item to the shopping cart.
An AI-based advisor can instead let the customer describe their need:
"I need a light jacket for a week-long autumn trip in Northern Norway, and it needs to withstand a lot of rain."
The AI system can potentially find relevant products, explain the differences and help the customer with the choice.
Then the customer does not necessarily move through the website's traditional categories.
She moves through a conversation .
This can reduce friction.
But it also means that product information, data quality and trust become even more important.
AI can only make good recommendations if it has good information to work with.
From search to conversation
The traditional digital customer journey has largely been built around search and navigation.
The customer must understand how the business has organized the information.
AI can partially reverse this.
The customer can describe the need in their own words.
The system can try to understand the intent.
This may mean that in the future, businesses will have to organize product information not only for people reading the website, but also for machines that will understand and communicate the content further.
Then the good product information from Part 8 takes on a new role.
It will be both:
information for the customer and knowledge base for the digital advisor .
AI does not replace the need for human contact
It will be tempting for businesses to automate more and more parts of the customer journey.
Many customers will probably want this when the task is simple.
But not all customer journeys are easy.
Some purchases are complicated.
Some problems are emotional.
Some situations require discretion.
Some customers want to talk to a human being.
McKinsey's research on omnichannel in B2B has pointed out the need to identify the situations where human interaction has the greatest value – for example, live dialogue, quick help or someone actually answering when the customer calls.
This gives us an important principle for AI as well:
Automate where technology makes the customer journey better. Retain people where people create greater value.
Tomorrow's customer journey will likely be more complex – and easier for the customer
This may seem like a contradiction.
Behind the scenes, systems are becoming increasingly complex.
Online store.
CRM.
Inventory management.
Payment.
Logistics.
Analysis.
Personalization.
AI.
Customer service.
Physical stores.
Everything must be connected.
But the customer does not want to experience this complexity.
On the contrary.
The organizational and technological complexity should be used to make the customer experience simpler .
The customer should not have to know which system contains the information.
She should not have to know which department owns the process.
She should not have to understand why the business is organized the way it is.
She will get to do what she came to do.
That is the very core of a good customer journey.
From channel to relationship
The development from online store to customer journey therefore represents an important shift.
The business starts by asking:
How does the website work?
How does the store work?
How does customer service work?
to ask:
How does this work for the customer when everything is seen in context?
That is a far more demanding question.
But it is also a more customer-oriented question.
The customer does not live in the business's channels.
The customer lives their own life and uses the business's contact points when they help them with a need.
McKinsey summarizes this shift well when they describe omnichannel as a customer-centric approach where channels are integrated around a unified experience.
The customer journey ties the entire Kunde series together
We can now see how many of the themes from the previous articles meet in the customer journey.
The customer journey brings together these perspectives.
It shows that the customer relationship does not belong to one department or one channel.
It is created through a chain of meetings between the customer and the business.
Some of the meetings happen between people.
Others happen through technology.
Some happen before the purchase.
Others long afterwards.
Value arises when these parts work together.
From the customer journey to the bigger picture
We started the series with a simple question:
What is a customer?
After nine articles, we can ask a bigger question:
What does the customer teach us about how businesses actually create value?
The customer shows us the importance of demand.
Customer insights show the importance of knowledge.
The customer service representative shows the importance of the employee.
The innovation shows the importance of learning and development.
UX shows the importance of simplicity and human understanding.
The customer journey shows the importance of context.
And trust shows that relationships can be a form of capital that is not reflected in the accounts.
Thus, we are ready to collect the threads:
Recommended literature
Customer focus, customer insight and customer relationships cannot be understood in isolation from developments in digitalisation, innovation and user experience. The way a business interacts with its customers is shaped today by people, technology, digital services, organisation and the ability to develop new solutions.
Therefore, this bibliography currently contains books that highlight several of these perspectives.
Here you will find literature on digitalization, innovation, user experience, usability and the development of digital services, among other things. Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think is a natural example: The book is about usability on the web, but at the same time touches on a fundamental question in the entire Customer series – how easy or difficult the business makes it for people to succeed in what they are trying to do.
Similarly, literature on innovation can help us understand how observations, needs and problems of customers and users can be developed into better products, services and work processes.
The literature list will eventually be expanded with more books that specifically address customer focus, customer insight, customer relations, customer loyalty, e-commerce, service and customer experience.
The goal is not to collect as many books as possible, but to build a literature base that makes it possible to understand the customer from multiple professional perspectives.
From San Francisco and Oxford to the customer
Experiences from professional seminars and study trips in San Francisco and Oxford are also part of the background for this professional universe. Topics such as innovation, digitalization, e-commerce, user experience and new business models have over time contributed to a broader understanding of how technology and organizations must take as their starting point the people the solutions will actually work for.
The Customer Series continues this perspective: Technology is a tool. Innovation is a tool. Value arises when solutions actually work for the people they are designed for.
The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
Author(s): Chris Anderson
Short review
The Long Tail is one of the most influential books on how the internet has transformed commerce, marketing, and consumer behavior. Chris Anderson introduces the theory of the “Long Tail,” which explains how digital markets enable significant value creation through a large number of niche products, rather than relying on a few bestsellers.
The book shows how digital distribution, low inventory costs, search engines, and intelligent recommendation systems have made it profitable to offer an almost unlimited product range. Where traditional stores were limited by physical shelf space, online stores can offer millions of products and let customers find exactly what they are looking for.
Chris Anderson illustrates the theory with examples from Amazon, Netflix, Google, and the digital music industry, showing how the internet has changed the rules of competition for businesses around the world. Many of the insights have since become even more relevant through artificial intelligence, personalization, and modern search technology.
The authors take the reader through the entire process – from planning and organizing to publishing, managing and continuously improving content on websites and digital services. Although technology has evolved since the book was published, the principles of quality, relevance, management and long-term content work are at least as relevant in an era where search engines and artificial intelligence assess the credibility and usefulness of content.
Why we recommend the book
At The Invisible Capital, we consider The Long Tail to be one of the most important books in e-commerce, digitalization, and modern value creation.
The book explains why customers no longer just buy the most popular products, but increasingly find value in specialized products and services that meet individual needs. This insight has had enormous impact on the development of online stores, digital marketplaces, search engine optimization (SEO), information architecture, and content strategy.
Today we see that the theory also fits very well into the development of artificial intelligence. AI helps people discover relevant content, products and knowledge that were previously difficult to find. This has given the Long Tail principle a new dimension, where well-structured content and high professional quality are increasingly important for visibility, trust and value creation.
This is a book we believe everyone who works with e-commerce, digital marketing, customer experience, innovation, digital strategy or artificial intelligence should read.
Content Strategy for the Web (2nd Edition)
Author/authors: Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach
Short review
How do you create content that actually helps people – and at the same time supports your business goals? Content Strategy for the Web is considered one of the most influential books in the field of content strategy and digital communications. The book shows how good content does not arise by chance, but through a deliberate strategy where user needs, the organization's goals, structure, work processes and management are closely linked.
The authors take the reader through the entire process – from planning and organizing to publishing, managing and continuously improving content on websites and digital services. Although technology has evolved since the book was published, the principles of quality, relevance, management and long-term content work are at least as relevant in an era where search engines and artificial intelligence assess the credibility and usefulness of content.
Why we recommend the book
At The Invisible Capital, we believe that good content is one of the most important forms of invisible value creation. A website is far more than design and technology – it is the content that builds trust, creates great customer experiences and helps people find the answers they are looking for.
This book is perfect for leaders, communications consultants, content producers, web editors, UX designers, and anyone working with digital services. It shows why a clear content strategy leads to better user experiences, more effective interactions, and stronger digital results over time.
In an era where artificial intelligence is increasingly important in how information is discovered, understood, and communicated, this book is more relevant than ever. It reminds us that technology alone never creates value – it is good, structured, and relevant content that makes the difference.
Don't Make Me Think
Author: Steve Krug
Short review
Don't Make Me Think is one of the world's most influential books on usability and web design. Since its first edition in 2000, the book has helped designers, developers, content producers, and managers understand a simple but powerful principle: Good digital services should be intuitive. The user should be able to complete their task without having to stop and think about how the website works.
Why we recommend the book
This is one of the books that has had the greatest impact on my own work with digital services. Over the years – from SAS and the Norwegian Opera & Ballet to working on Bærum Municipality’s website – the principles in this book have been an important reminder that technology is never an end in itself. The goal is to make everyday life easier for the people who use the services. Despite the fact that the book was published many years ago, the message is just as relevant today.
Internet Marketing & eCommerce
Authors: Ward Hanson and Kirthi Kalyanam
Short review
Internet Marketing & eCommerce provides a thorough introduction to how the internet has changed marketing, commerce, and business development. The book combines theory and practical examples in digital marketing, e-commerce, customer behavior, value creation, and digital business models. Although written at a time when the internet was still in its infancy, many of the fundamental principles are still highly relevant.
Why we recommend the book
This book was an important part of my own learning journey in digital marketing and e-commerce. It helped build my understanding of how technology, customer experiences and business strategy are interconnected – an insight that later became very important in my work with SAS, the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, Bærum Municipality and eventually the project The Invisible Capital. Many of the ideas about customer value, digitalization and innovation presented on the website have their roots in the knowledge this book conveys.
The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth
Authors: Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor
Short review
In this sequel to The Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton Christensen shows how businesses can translate innovation theory into practical strategy. The book explains how companies can identify new growth opportunities, develop disruptive innovations, and build organizations that thrive in rapidly changing markets.
Why we recommend the book
While The Innovator's Dilemma explains why established businesses are often challenged, The Innovator's Solution provides concrete advice on how to meet the challenges. The book is therefore a natural next step for anyone who wants to understand innovation, strategy and long-term value creation.
The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators
Authors: Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton M. Christensen
Short review
What characterizes people who create groundbreaking innovations? The authors identify five key skills – observation, questioning, experimentation, networking and association – that are common to the world's most innovative leaders and entrepreneurs.
Why we recommend the book
This book shifts the focus from organizations to the people behind innovation. It shows that creativity and innovation can be developed through deliberate training and experience. The perspectives align well with the philosophy behind Invisible Capital, where human competence and curiosity are the most important drivers of development.
Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice
Authors: Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David S. Duncan
Short review
In this book, Clayton Christensen further develops the theory of Jobs to Be Done – the idea that customers do not primarily buy products, but "hire" them to solve specific needs. Through practical examples, the authors show how businesses can develop products and services that address customers' real-world challenges.
Why we recommend the book
For anyone working in customer experience, service design, and innovation, this is one of the most insightful books ever written. It reminds us that value creation always starts with understanding the people we are developing solutions for – a fundamental principle of Invisible Capital.
The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
Author: Clayton M. Christensen
Short review
The Innovator's Dilemma is considered one of the most influential books on innovation and technological change. Clayton M. Christensen introduces the theory of disruptive innovation and explains why even the most successful businesses can fail when new technologies and business models challenge established markets. Through a series of examples, he shows how companies often focus on today's customers and incremental improvements, while overlooking innovations that later change entire industries.
Why we recommend the book
This is one of the books that has had the greatest impact on modern innovation thinking. When I first read it, it gave me a whole new perspective on why some businesses succeed in transformation, while others lag behind – even when they are well led. The insight has been an important part of my own understanding of digitalization, innovation and change management, and many of the reflections in The Invisible Capital build on the ideas Clayton Christensen presents in this classic. The book is as relevant today, in the face of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, as it was when it was published.
Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology
Author: Henry Chesbrough
Short review
Henry Chesbrough introduced the concept of Open Innovation and changed the way many businesses think about research and development. He shows how companies can create more innovation through collaboration with customers, universities, start-ups, suppliers and other external partners.
Why we recommend the book
Open Innovation has had a major influence on modern innovation thinking and was also an important topic during the seminars in Oxford and San Francisco. The book shows why future value creation occurs in the interaction between people, businesses and knowledge environments – not within closed organizations alone.
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
Authors: W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne
Short review
Blue Ocean Strategy challenges businesses to shift their focus away from fierce competition and instead create new markets with little or no competition. The authors present strategies and models that help organizations develop innovative products, services, and business models.
Why we recommend the book
This book has inspired leaders around the world to rethink strategy and innovation. Instead of competing for the same customers, it shows how businesses can create new value through creativity and differentiation. The perspectives align very well with the themes of innovation, digitalization, and long-term value creation in Invisible Capital.
Outside Innovation: How Your Customers Will Co-Design Your Company's Future
Authors: Patricia B. Seybold
Short review
Patricia Seybold shows how businesses can create better products and services by actively involving customers in the innovation process. The book describes how dialogue, co-creation and close collaboration with users can provide better solutions and stronger competitiveness.
Why we recommend the book
Customers often hold the most important insights into how products and services can be improved. This book emphasizes the importance of listening, involving, and learning from users – a perspective that is echoed in many of the articles on The Invisible Capital. Innovation rarely happens alone; it is created in the interaction between people.
Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy
Authors: Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster
Short review
This book analyzes how digital information is changing competitive conditions, markets, and business strategies. The authors explain how the internet is disrupting established structures and creating new opportunities for businesses that are able to think differently.
Why we recommend the book
Although written early in the internet revolution, the book describes many of the developments that still characterize business today. It provides valuable perspective on how digitalization affects value chains, competition, and innovation – themes that are central to Invisible Capital.
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Authors: Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
Short review
Wikinomics shows how openness, sharing and collaboration across organizations create new forms of innovation and value creation. Through a number of international examples, the authors describe how digital networks make it possible to develop products, services and knowledge together.
Why we recommend the book
This book was groundbreaking when it was first published, and many of the ideas have since become a natural part of everyday digital life. The perspectives on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and open innovation processes align very well with the philosophy behind Invisible Capital, where people and networks are at the center of value creation.
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