The Seamless brand

This weeks blog seems to have me in a bit of trouble in trying to relate the reading and seminar work to that of the lecture, yet the most prominent connection i can make is the relevance of "meaning". Verganti (2009) provides reasoning to suggest that "people do not buy products but meanings" (pp4), and this relates toward emotional and psychological meanings consumers place amongst both products and services. Verganti also believes that firms need to look beyond the aesthetics of a product and instead aim to understand the true meanings users give to products.


Looking back over the lecture slides it is made immediately obvious, perhaps by over use of 404 examples, that companies are aware of the most minute details of their brand experience. This is in order to provide not only the service promised in a as efficient a way as possible, but to try and ensure positive, almost fond, recollections of the brand are created. Positive word of mouse from something as simple as a helpful, branded 404 page can be the difference between a repeat purchase or a dissatisfied customer.


A favourite example of how brands have little additions that enable the brand to stand out yet still link back to the underlying reasoning of the brand is, once again, Compare The Meerkat.com. I am aware i mention them almost weekly, and no i am not on any sort of payroll from them, they are simply a consistently appropriate, original example. In relevance to this particular blog, they are an example of how a company utilise these little extras in order to reiterate the underlying brand, as the snap shot below from the home page shows

The reading also provides an example of how the Nintendo Wii launched a motion-sensitive based games console that instead of adapting the current game play with more powerful graphics and performance like it's competitors, transformed consoles into an active workout for everyone. This example of a meaning that was not asked for or even expected, has proven to be so successful that the competition in the form of Sony's PlayStation move and Microsoft's X-box 360 have had to follow suit with their own versions of the Wii.


With virtual reality becoming an ever-increasing part of day to day life, as interactivity via the likes of social media sites and online shopping is more readily available, firms need to be aware of the potential consequences that can arise. In an everyday shopping environment, a customers experience can be tailored by anything from the staff on hand and product availability to the facilities on hand, such as fitting rooms. With regards to online shopping, the customer service element is more difficult and harder to maintain as customers experiences can significantly differ from one to another. The way to reduce the difference in experiences would be to make the interactivity of the online experience as easy to use and similar to that of the real thing, this should provide optimal customer satisfaction levels whilst also enhancing the brand experience.


Taking all this into consideration, companies need to ensure that experiences are enhanced, possibly via correct attention to detail, and that design driven innovations could be the way forward in increasingly saturated markets. this allows companies to understand consumer needs and wants, as well as manipulating them with design driven innovations. Service delivery can be improved by understanding the emotional meanings associated with experiences and furthermore, this allows products and services to be produced on a more meaningful basis.


References:

Verganti, R., 2009. Design driven innovation - an introduction, Design-driven
innovation: changing the rules of competition by radically innovating what things mean. Harvard Business Review pp.1-16