From Promise to Delivery
The promises made by digital brands are not unique to the Internet, but the medium’s interactive capabilities make it easier for digital brands to deliver on their promises quickly, reliably, and rewardingly. They often do so with a scope that their landed counterparts would be hard-pressed to match.
In practice, this means that promises must be translated into specific interactive functions and Web design features collectively giving consumers a seamless experience. Such design features as one-click ordering and automated shopping help deliver the promise of convenience; collaboration tools such as chat rooms or ratings functions make it possible to realize the promise of belonging.
Managers shouldn’t underestimate the challenges of this translation process. What, for instance, does it mean to build a digital brand around a promise of convenience in the grocery industry? What kind of content, if any, do you need? And how about chat rooms, personalization, one-click ordering, and collaborative filtering? Digital brand builders can’t afford to fall short of what they have promised, since competitors are always a click away, but they waste capital if they offer more than is necessary to make sales and keep customers.
Technology dramatically differentiates digital brands—for both customers and shareholders—in ways that will become increasingly clear as they enter their second and third generations. To be certain of identifying all of the designs that make it possible to deliver on a promise and to build a viable economic model, today’s digital brand builders must explore at least six groups of design tools.
These tools are sufficiently robust technologically to help create a distinctive and relevant user experience, and they are beginning to demonstrate their ability to make money for the digital brand builders using them.
The promises made by digital brands are not unique to the Internet, but the medium’s interactive capabilities make it easier for digital brands to deliver on their promises quickly, reliably, and rewardingly. They often do so with a scope that their landed counterparts would be hard-pressed to match.
In practice, this means that promises must be translated into specific interactive functions and Web design features collectively giving consumers a seamless experience. Such design features as one-click ordering and automated shopping help deliver the promise of convenience; collaboration tools such as chat rooms or ratings functions make it possible to realize the promise of belonging.
Managers shouldn’t underestimate the challenges of this translation process. What, for instance, does it mean to build a digital brand around a promise of convenience in the grocery industry? What kind of content, if any, do you need? And how about chat rooms, personalization, one-click ordering, and collaborative filtering? Digital brand builders can’t afford to fall short of what they have promised, since competitors are always a click away, but they waste capital if they offer more than is necessary to make sales and keep customers.
Technology dramatically differentiates digital brands—for both customers and shareholders—in ways that will become increasingly clear as they enter their second and third generations. To be certain of identifying all of the designs that make it possible to deliver on a promise and to build a viable economic model, today’s digital brand builders must explore at least six groups of design tools.
These tools are sufficiently robust technologically to help create a distinctive and relevant user experience, and they are beginning to demonstrate their ability to make money for the digital brand builders using them.