Had a hands-on session with SharePoint 2010 yesterday and experienced the vast amount of cross-linking that dominates the new version. Documents, people, knowledge, expertise, actions, disciplines, locations, are all weaved together into a (what appears to be) seamless network that can easily transform a quick intranet visit into a never-ending journey.
For years now we have been removing dead ends from user journeys in intranets and B2B websites. Each confirmation page invites further involvement, each content page features strong calls to action and cross referenced information and even the whole website is not a dead end, but it links to Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Skype or mobile downloads (I looked into this process in an earlier post about the “engagement cycle“). The objective is of course to make each journey even more valuable to the individual and to strengthen their relationship with the brand.
Numerous community websites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Wikipedia have achieved stellar success on the back of this simple principle of inter-connectivity that leads to the perpetual user journey. SharePoint 2010 puts this amazing functionality “on tap” for any organisation ready to make a transition into this brave new world.
I used to like the sales funnel. It made sense, was easy to understand, and had universal appeal. Unfortunately, the sales funnel has had its day. The world of marketing and business development has moved on and the funnel is not an accurate representation of the sales process anymore. Here are 3 reasons why: