Sep 4th, 2019. Posted in: News
Airbnb is favored by its brilliant yet friendly platform which offers customized, valuable and expansive travel experiences. Its success comes from taking a step far beyond providing a competitive feature list to focusing on additional value for the customers based on their needs.
Nike launched an exercise app under Nike Plus software for digital fitness tips and workout challenges. Since that the brand has experienced a revenue boost and engagement level increase. The secret is, Nike uses the app as a push driven to encourage sales through customer connection: The more customers are motivated, the more time they’ll devote to running; the longer they put effort on their shoes, the sooner they need to replace them.
These two examples show how important it is to combine both “products” and “services” in business strategy. Success in the modern world is evaluated mainly by how customers perceive the brand rather than how the brand presents itself. Customers today shouldn’t have to decide the “what” and “how” of the brand; instead, an active, engaging relationship is what makes they commit to and develop their loyalty.
Despite a company’s product being its main source, it shouldn’t limit itself to solely making goods and delivering them to end-users. In fact, customer loyalty depends considerably on their experience with the products as actions disregarding their needs and preferences may result in breaking trust and loyalty, no matter how good the product is.
Therefore, instead of keeping the product chain flow and stocking in the right category, firms had better consider how their offers fit into the target customer’s daily life.
For instance, the industry-leading chain of cosmetic stores – Sephora surrounds its products with value-added services to benefit the customers. The services comprise of appointment, product selection assistance, tips and tutorials which are all assisted by technology – Sephora app. They even incorporate augmented reality (AR) into the app where people can try on products virtually and watch tutorials on how to accomplish a specific make-up look. Since launching Visual Artist feature, the company has got over 8.5 mil visits to the app. All of this makes the shopping experience more fun and convenient, help customers save time, educate and entertain them.
56% of customers actively seek to buy from the most innovative companies, according to research conducted by Salesforce. That is to say, people are more likely to draw to brands that consistently introduce new products and services based on their needs and technology. They do feel the effort brands make to facilitate their shopping experience and appreciate customer service.
Examples from Nike app above demonstrates the key role innovation plays in achieving lifetime loyalty. After deciding on goods offered to the target customers, companies should take products’ data and insights into consideration to see how it can leverage product development and experience creation.
Obviously, adapting to customers’ preference is vital to start off innovation. However, you may find yourself stuck in on whether it fits the main objectives as well as differentiate your brand from others. The answer to this problem is, trying to think out of the box. The only way to know customers sometimes lies on creating things they don’t expect.
Take a look at PepsiCo. A beverage giant last year launched a new product called Drinkfinity in America market. This new kind of product allows customizing a drink based on users’ preference and lifestyle needs by mixing dry and liquid ingredients in each pod designed for 4 terms (coffee-based, vitamin supplements, energy drinks, and botanicals). Because PepsiCo created things for either customers’ interest or something they’ve never considered before, it succeeds in capturing their attention.
Balancing “product” and “service” elements in the business strategy is of importance to achieve true loyalty. We hope these examples get you inspired to create memorable experiences to your customers and gain competitive advantage.