“The Story of the Product” is a simple tool I use to get a feel for how well my clients know what their product or service is supposed to be. It’s a simple fill-in-the-blank that describes key aspects. I bring something like this to project kick-off meetings, or even sales meetings, and try to fill it in as we discuss the project.
Recently, a friend overheard tourists talking about Dunkin’ Donuts being “known for” donuts. It got me thinking about what DD really is known for.
Let’s say you are the manufacturer of a product that’s been around for years, does its job well, and is pretty popular – except for the fact that it’s responsible for a few thousand deaths among children every year. You might want to come up with a way to counter bad press and bad feeling by extending your brand in a direction that softens and broadens your image.
I’ve been on a quest for the simplest model that describes design and what it’s for. I mean, the model that I can scribble up on the board, and everyone gets it. Over the years, my models have gotten smaller, with fewer parts and less to explain. Here’s my current model of the world.
The other day, a colleague asked me if a product or service could change from one archetype to another. Of course!
Starbucks is a good example. When Starbucks started out, it was a Genius: a whole new approach to the coffee shop in America (OK, not a whole new approach, but new to most of the people who first experienced it through Starbucks). It had all the Genius hallmarks, including an idiosynchratic look and language, a mental hump to get over (pay how much for a cup of coffee?), and, once over that hump, a great experience that people couldn’t believe they’d been missing.
Over the years, though, Starbucks stopped being so much of a unique experience.
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