Before I add some commentary on big companies in general, I would like to provide a little discussion on Gerber. I do not think it is the size of Gerber that prevented it from successfully innovating. There are plenty of massive companies who are the on the forefront of innovation (see Google and Apple). I think it is more of the public perception of a company that can stifle its ability to innovate. Gerber has become a proprietary eponym for baby food (similar to Kleenex for tissue). The brand name "Gerber" is so entrenched in consumers' minds with being baby food that penetrating the adult food industry seemed unfeasible. Gerber tried to be innovative, but their own reputation prevented their attempts. Perhaps they should go back to the drawing board.
That being said, I think large companies in general do struggle to innovate. The problem, in my opinion, is that they have a "maintaining the status quo" mindset. A company has been doing things one way for years and it has been very successful and gotten a lot of people rich. They are used to working in a world of certainty. Being innovative would put them in a world of uncertainty. For executives who are feeling the pressure of meeting the demands of board members (and in many cases stockholders), entering a world of uncertainty is certainly not easy or comfortable. These companies that struggle to leave the "maintaining the status quo" mindset will never become ambidextrous in that they will only be able to build on the past and not create the future.
I am not making an excuse for big companies, but rather pointing to a common flaw. The size of a company does not prevent a company from being able to innovate. However, it does potentially make it more difficult. In order for a company to reach proprietary eponym status or get into the status quo mindset, the company must be a certain degree of large. However, this is a classic case of correlation not implying causation!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Smart Parking Grid Persona Pain/Gain
Following up on my earlier post related to the pains and gains the end user may face using the Smart Parking Grid Application, here is an actual persona pain/gain map.
What does a bad day look like?
A bad day could consist of a few different scenarios. For a businessperson, a bad day could start with being late to a meeting due to being unable to find a parking spot nearby. For a vacationer, it could be a woman looking to go shopping on a rainy day and unable to find a spot near the shops. In both cases, neither may even have any spare change in their rental cars to pay the meter!
What are they afraid of?
I think both the businessperson and the vacationer are afraid of not knowing their way around a new city. Parking is only one part of the picture. It may be difficult enough to find a destination, imagine not being able to find parking as well. Now imagine you find that parking spot but it is a few blocks over and it is snowing or raining and you need to find your way back to your destination?
What keeps them awake at night?
I am going to skip over the vacationer for this since there shouldn't be much causing that kind of stress while on vacation. For the businessperson, they could be stressed out trying to meet deadlines, preparing for a big presentation, or stressed over a heavy workload.
What are they responsible for?
The businessperson could be responsible for a number things while on the road. They could be there to convert a sale, or to maintain a customer relationship, or just to attend an important meeting. The vacationer is likely only responsible for ensuring their family is enjoying themselves.
What obstacles stand in their way?
Both face the same obstacles: traffic, lack of familiarity with the area, parking issues, and the weather.
What do these people want and aspire to?
The businessperson likely wants this to be as efficient and smooth as possible. Contrary to popular belief, business travel is not all fun and games. It can be a very stressful experience. The vacationer just wants to enjoy themselves without having to deal with the stress they face at home. If they live in a city, they already spend enough of their lives dealing with the typical city problem.
How does these people measure success?
The businessperson measures success by how trip went. Do they make the sale? Did they lock up an account? Did they get a good deal? The vacationer measures success by the level of enjoyment they experience during the vacation.
What can we offer these people?
Peace of mind. More enjoyable experiences navigating the city. One less thing to worry about. The Smart Parking Grid Application allows each to find and reserve a metered parking spot and pay using a direct debit from a bank account using their mobile devices.
What does a bad day look like?
A bad day could consist of a few different scenarios. For a businessperson, a bad day could start with being late to a meeting due to being unable to find a parking spot nearby. For a vacationer, it could be a woman looking to go shopping on a rainy day and unable to find a spot near the shops. In both cases, neither may even have any spare change in their rental cars to pay the meter!
What are they afraid of?
I think both the businessperson and the vacationer are afraid of not knowing their way around a new city. Parking is only one part of the picture. It may be difficult enough to find a destination, imagine not being able to find parking as well. Now imagine you find that parking spot but it is a few blocks over and it is snowing or raining and you need to find your way back to your destination?
What keeps them awake at night?
I am going to skip over the vacationer for this since there shouldn't be much causing that kind of stress while on vacation. For the businessperson, they could be stressed out trying to meet deadlines, preparing for a big presentation, or stressed over a heavy workload.
What are they responsible for?
The businessperson could be responsible for a number things while on the road. They could be there to convert a sale, or to maintain a customer relationship, or just to attend an important meeting. The vacationer is likely only responsible for ensuring their family is enjoying themselves.
What obstacles stand in their way?
Both face the same obstacles: traffic, lack of familiarity with the area, parking issues, and the weather.
What do these people want and aspire to?
The businessperson likely wants this to be as efficient and smooth as possible. Contrary to popular belief, business travel is not all fun and games. It can be a very stressful experience. The vacationer just wants to enjoy themselves without having to deal with the stress they face at home. If they live in a city, they already spend enough of their lives dealing with the typical city problem.
How does these people measure success?
The businessperson measures success by how trip went. Do they make the sale? Did they lock up an account? Did they get a good deal? The vacationer measures success by the level of enjoyment they experience during the vacation.
What can we offer these people?
Peace of mind. More enjoyable experiences navigating the city. One less thing to worry about. The Smart Parking Grid Application allows each to find and reserve a metered parking spot and pay using a direct debit from a bank account using their mobile devices.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Smart Parking Grid Pain/Gain Map
My elevator pitch was based off on idea I conceived over a year ago that I had never followed through with (mostly due to time restraints). Luckily a few classmates found it interesting enough to latch on and I am able to actually pursue the idea as a school project for now. My elevator pitch is as follows:
"For residents of Boston, who park downtown, have trouble finding metered parking spots, and frequently find themselves without change, the Smart Parking Grid is an infrastructure change to the city of Boston along with a mobile application that alerts residents where open parking spots are and allows them to pay meters with credit cards or bank accounts through their mobile phones instead of change. Unlike residents who live in cities with traditional, change-only parking meters, residents of Boston will experience an improved quality of life in that they will be able to easier find parking spots in the city and enjoy the convenience of paying with their mobile phones."
Before beginning my Pain/Gain Map, I discussed the potential customer segments with my group. We agreed on the following: college students who live in and around the city, employees who work in the city, the errand-running parent, parking enforcers, and out of towners (vacationers and traveling business people). Since I frequently find myself an "out of towner" in many other cities due to my work travel, I volunteered to tackle the out of towner customer segment.
To keep this post to a reasonable length for my audience, I decided to skip over the pre- and post-service periods and focus strictly on the service period. I will preface this by stating that these are travelers who are renting a car, whether for business or pleasure. For simplicity, I broke out the few pains and gains in bullet form below:
"For residents of Boston, who park downtown, have trouble finding metered parking spots, and frequently find themselves without change, the Smart Parking Grid is an infrastructure change to the city of Boston along with a mobile application that alerts residents where open parking spots are and allows them to pay meters with credit cards or bank accounts through their mobile phones instead of change. Unlike residents who live in cities with traditional, change-only parking meters, residents of Boston will experience an improved quality of life in that they will be able to easier find parking spots in the city and enjoy the convenience of paying with their mobile phones."
Before beginning my Pain/Gain Map, I discussed the potential customer segments with my group. We agreed on the following: college students who live in and around the city, employees who work in the city, the errand-running parent, parking enforcers, and out of towners (vacationers and traveling business people). Since I frequently find myself an "out of towner" in many other cities due to my work travel, I volunteered to tackle the out of towner customer segment.
To keep this post to a reasonable length for my audience, I decided to skip over the pre- and post-service periods and focus strictly on the service period. I will preface this by stating that these are travelers who are renting a car, whether for business or pleasure. For simplicity, I broke out the few pains and gains in bullet form below:
Pain
- User's phone dies. In this case, the application would be useless and the person's meter may expire.
- User does not have mobile reception. Again, many features of the application would be useless as it is web-based. One feature that would still work is the timing feature that alerts the user when the meter will expire.
- User is in a meeting or busy while alerts are being sent. This could annoy the user or cause stress knowing their spot will expire.
- Users shows up to spot only to find their spot illegally being used by someone else. Perhaps a "Report Illegal Parking" function could be built in.
Gain
- User can reserve a spot near their destination and pay with the click of a button on their phone. This saves considerable time for travelers who are usually short on time.
- Users do not have to worry about not having change for meters in their rental cars. When out of town and renting a car, most never have change handy.
- Users will have a more positive experience during their trips to Boston. Dealing with the parking situation in a major city such as Boston diminishes the enjoyment of the visit for many.
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