Hi Practicum Class! I am very sorry for the late Social
Media Moment, I just got carried away by Thanksgiving break. Anyhow if you are
still interested here is my post!
As I read the article The
End of the Coffee Line in this week’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek Magazine, it
came to my attention how slick and thoughtful these app developers are getting
to really come up with useful tools for businesses to enhance their customer’s
experience. The OrderAhead app which lets customers choose their order’s pickup
time, lets businesses “address latent demand”, gets a 5-10% cut out of every
transaction and is now making millions. Starbucks is now in the process of
developing their new Starbucks App, which is now being tested in 150 locations
around Portland, Oregon. With this app clients have the ability to select their
item and pick-up location where they later receive an approximate pick-up time
for the order. Customers can pay through a registered account and the app
displays recent orders so customers who tend to buy the same thing can do so
quickly. Chick-Fil-A is in the process of testing out their new app too. By
assigning two or three preferred parking spots, they are now serving mobile
ordered food in seconds. Customers are able to choose payment methods and any
condiments/utensils needed. In the end, mobile order-ahead apps cost stores
about $25,000 to implement but can increase traffic by as much as 30%.
How it works? Well as soon as the person downloading the app
checks the box off acknowledging they are waiving whatever privacy right, they
are exposing their geographic location to the app. This way, new orders coming
into the restaurant through the app do not appear in the restaurant prep queue
until that client is within a certain radius from the restaurant. This way,
fewer people will be returning their orders and customers will be satisfied.
This being said, as most of us have had to reconnect with our venture ideas after having them in the back of our minds for a week or so, I
want you guys to reflect on the following:
1)
As commerce seems to be interrupted by new ways
to interact with customers, should an app of this sort be considered part of
your initial venture expenses?
2)
After the feedback we received in the past week
or so, what “latent demand” have you uncovered for your venture?
3)
How would a user-friendly app help enhance your
venture as a whole? (increase customer base, advertising, shorter wait time,
etc)
