Author Archives: Scott Weisbrod
Lots of talk this week about customer experience and it’s impact on stock price. Bruce Temkin and Jon Picoult both tackled this topic by comparing stock price performance with Forrester’s Customer Experience Index. I’ve got religion on this one. I’m a believer.
Steve Reubel firmly believes that Facebook will be the next Google. He makes a good case for it: they provide a social experience that is more elegant and organized than any other social offering out there. On the other hand, Google Buzz leaves a lot to be desired. Jeremiah Owyang helps us cut through the buzz – errr… hype with his hand social network matrix. On a related note, Facebook wants to be your one true login.
Admap brought together a few respected planners and former-planners to discuss the future of planning. I like what Will Collin, founding partner of Naked Communications, had to say about it: “I think the planner’s job is to hold the strategic line and be true to what is at the heart.”
And well, well, well… what sort of interestingness is Google up to? Google is gearing up to offer ‘ultra high-speed’ broadband in several small test markets throughout the US. I’d love to be a fly-on-the-wall in the executive boardrooms of Verizon, Comcast and AT&T (my client) to listen in on their initial reactions to this move.
Sites of the Week
Skittles re-designed its website when they realized that social media isn’t all rainbows. Adweek and Fast Company weigh in on Skittles’ experiment with social media.
Business Week published a special report on the Value of Design this past week. A couple of choice articles to check out include The Role of Design in Business and Why Design Matters.
Frontline recently aired a new documentary called Digital Nation that “explores what it means to be human in an entirely new world — a digital world”. They’ve created a companion web site containing tons of raw footage and rough cuts.
The lack of Flash support in the new iPad has spun up a bunch of conversation about HTML5 and how great it will be for mobile. While we’re on the topic, Vanessa Miemis has created an impressive round-up of various iPad perspectives.
Finally – in honor of Super Bowl XLIV – Fast Company dissects the new Super Bowl logo. They say that it’s “mean and bold, befitting of the nation’s manliest past time.
Sites of the Week
Originally posted at Experience Planner blog.
At first glance, the new Apple iPad doesn’t appear to be a game changer. Honestly? What it is, is an upgraded, tricked-out iPod Touch and in typical Apple fashion, they’ve focused on basic functionality the first time out. There is no camera, no HDMI, no USB – not without an adapter, at least – and it lacks multi-tasking.
Apple has created a low-risk product based on their existing technology. So unlike the Apple iPhone, there’s no new real technological or user experience innovation here (i.e., touchscreen tech and an application delivery channel in the form of the Apple App store). I can only assume that Apple created this device at a fraction of what it cost to research, develop and market the technology behind iPhone and iPod Touch.
That being said – I, for one, will be getting in line two months from now to pick up a 16gb Wifi iPad.
Personally, I really enjoy the touchscreen experience. I’ve been an iPhone user for over two years and I’ve craved a larger touchscreen experience for watching films, reading books and playing games while on the go (as I travel for work frequently). I get that now with the iPad and I’ll buy it because of that. Yes – I could have that with a small laptop or netbook, but neither of those device types are built for delivering a portable, high-end media experience.
Nearly two years ago, I wrote about Starbucks as a brand in decline. They were suffering because they had lost sight of what differentiated them from other companies competing for the “third place”: their product and the customer experience.
After years of focusing on cutting costs and driving efficiencies across their global footprint, the benefits of these activities plateaued in 2006 – as reflected in their all-time high stock price, just shy of $40.
They installed automatic espresso machines, introduced flavor lock packaging, ‘templatized’ store layouts and expanded their available selection of merchandise. While this all sounds good, it was implemented at the cost of the customer experience. The automatic espresso machines took all the romance and artistry out of pulling the perfect shot and the machines were so high that they blocked the line of sight between barista and customer. The flavor lock packages of coffee stripped the air of the rich scent of coffee beans. Stores became carbon copies of one another – sharing, for the most part, similar footprints and interior design. And their merchandise selection reflected a weakening focus on coffee.
By the time I wrote my post in 2007, Starbucks had lost 25% of its market capitalization. By the end of 2009, as bad as it was for just about every company, Starbucks shares had dropped to just under $10 – a whopping 75% loss of market cap.
Fast forward to today – something has changed. Starbucks is now a brand on the rise with a renewed focus and commitment to customer experience. Bruce Temkin put it well Monday when he said “Starbucks brews a comeback with purpose”. (Bruce wrote a post about Starbucks’ misfortunes in 2007 too.) Starbucks stock is now trading in the $22 range and is rising.
Quick Links
- The State of Customer Experience
- How Science Can Help Form a Theory of Design
- Video Gaming Trends
- Ideo’s David Kelley on “Design Thinking”
- Innovate Like Chris Rock
- Asleep at the Wheel of Creative Destruction
- Innovating in the Great Disruption
- Overcoming our Empathy Deficit
- Barry Schwartz: Our Real Loss? We Stopped Being Wise [TED Talks]
Quick Links
