Jonas Salk, the polio vaccine designer, once stated, “eventually we’ll realize that if we destroy the ecosystem, we destroy ourselves.” Stalk, a prolific scientist of the twentieth century, understood the importance of the relationships between organisms and their environment.  While his statement is ominous, it offers insight into why any ecosystem’s health is vital for plants, animals, humans, friendships, and even businesses to survive.

English Botanist, Sir Arthur Tansley, defined an ecosystem as a biological community of organisms that interact with each other and their environment. My daughter and I recently watched a documentary highlighting the dependency the hardwood trees of the Madagascar jungle have on lemurs.  Since a tree cannot spread its seeds to guarantee re-growth, it relies on a lemur’s bowel movement.  I know.  My daughter thought it was gross too.  After one of these furry primates feasts on the produce, it hops from tree to tree, further into the jungle, while its digestive system processes the fruit.  Eventually, after a long tiresome journey, the lemur does its business.  As a result, the seed, one that only the lemur is largest enough to ingest, drops back to the forest floor with a 300% higher chance of germinating than if they had not passed through the animal.  Without this friendship, the trees would not survive.

Homo sapiens also depend on ecosystem relationships.  Our connections with other humans provide support, opportunities, and information to find a mate, land a job, and overcome adversity.  We build friendship ecosystems on a shared “life story”; we attend the same school or church, engage in the same activities, work at the same company, or live in the same neighborhoods.   The more our life story connects with another person or family, the stronger our relationship becomes.  A similar type of story-based relationship also strengthens the relationship between a human and a business.

A company and a customer each have a story.  There is a reason the business came into existence, and there is a motive driving a person to buy.  When a company understands a client’s narrative, it can develop creative ways to connect with the individual, so they feel like the brand aligns with their values and needs.  Subsequently, the client pays more attention to the enterprise and the products or services it provides.  The more the patron feels understood by the company, the more likely the consumer will engage with the business by providing valuable feedback, purchasing more products, and voluntarily promoting the brand. An excellent example of this idea is the loyalty that Apple followers pledge to Apple products.  Apple makes its patrons feel special, and the people make it known that the company is exceptional. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that enables the company to thrive and the clientele to remain eager for the next new Apple product to arrive.   

The most effective way to create and support this critical relationship between your business and your customers is developing a sustainable Digital Ecosystem.  You might believe that your company already has a Digital Ecosystem; it has a website, a Facebook and LinkedIn page, a Twitter Account, a Newsletter, and a substantial database of a few thousand emails. They are essential components of a Digital Ecosystem. However, do they keep your customers engaged with your business?  You can have a beautiful website, but if your customers are not contacting you or buying from you after visiting your site, it’s not working.  You can have an extensive list of customer emails and a fabulous newsletter, yet it’s not working if no one opens the content.  You can have two thousand “followers” on Facebook, but it is meaningless if users don’t interact with your brand. 

A practical Digital Ecosystem uses technology to simplify and synchronize digital components to engage your customers in meaningful ways continually.  It collects information about your customer’s narrative so you can design a strategy around your company’s story that communicates the core values of your business.  When a business utilizes a sustainable digital environment to share its story, its customers remain in its ecosystem longer.  When customers flourish in your ecosystem, they exhibit greater loyalty, brand value increases, and growth is inevitable.  

Groundbreaking companies that have disrupted their industries and transformed how we do business have done so by designing and maintaining healthy Digital Ecosystems.  A developed digital environment drives a company’s market dominance—a company without one risks the competition surpassing it.  The digital domain will never cease to evolve. Companies must decide whether they will heed Mr. Salk’s stark warning and ensure their Digital Ecosystem allows customers to thrive or risk their inevitable demise.