Used to be you had to please your customers, your investors, and the press. What happens when your customers are your investors and your press?
This article is part of Inc.‘s special report on How (and Where) to Make Money in 2013 (and Beyond). Follow the links at the end of the story for more game-changing trends, bold predictions, and hot markets to watch next year.
In today’s networked, hyperinformed economy, customers are no longer mere buyers. They’re helping design and innovate products and services, preordering and funding products that haven’t been created, and even investing directly in early-stage businesses. If you continue to treat your customers as mere sources of revenue, you’re missing the boat–and, quite likely, pushing them into the arms of a competitor who understands the truly important role they can play.