There are many things to consider when starting a business and even more if you actually want it to be successful. Not only does a business have to create a useful product or service that has value to the consumer in order to be profitable but the business has to have a good design. Good design is the essence of a sustainable and profitable business model and many thriving businesses would be lost without it. The design of your business, products, experiences, etc. should be strategically planned at the birth of your business. It can be nearly impossible to integrate this later into your business’s life cycle, especially without a cost.
I believe the key to a great design is active consistency. As humans, we seek consistency in our experiences and are very much adverse to change. Consumers may not even realize it but they are constantly looking for and sticking to brands and businesses that are consistent in the experience, products, branding, and marketing. Consumers my find a product or business that they really like but will only end up sticking with it because they consistently have the same experience with that product every time they use it and every time they think about or see the brand. I mean consider it… think about a few of you favorite products, brands, or companies that you are loyal to and think about that experience. Is it consistent?
Let me give you an example of one of my personal favorites. Starbucks is currently the largest coffee chain in the world and even one of the top largest fast food chains. Yes, that many people actually pay five dollars for a cup of coffee (including myself) on a regular bases and sometimes even a day-to-day basis. I believe the reason for this is that every consumer consistently has the same experience with Starbucks in all aspects of the business model. From hanging out in the stores, leaving the drive through with a white cup with a green logo in your hand, to using the Starbucks product you bought at the grocery store in your home. Even the ads that come up on Facebook and the mobile ordering experience on the app all give the customer the same feeling and gratitude for the Starbucks brand. All of these experiences provide the customer with a specific feeling and they get that same feeling every time. Starbucks has really achieved success through a consistent and good design among all their products, marketing, and experiences. I really don’t think you can fully attribute their success to “great tasting coffee” but to the fact that you get the same cup of coffee every time, it looks the same, tastes the same, is priced the same, gives you the same caffeinated feeling, and overall feels the same.
To give you another example in a different kind of light, another business model I want to discuss is Walmart. I know what you’re thinking… “Walmart? Why would anyone ever shop at Walmart when you can go to HEB, Trader Joe’s, or literally any other grocery store?” Well, many people do and I am going to attribute this success to consistency in their business design over a course of many, many years. Just like Starbucks, at Walmart, you will always have the same experiences. I am not saying that grocery shopping at Walmart is always going to give you a wonderful feeling but it will give you a certain feeling and provide you with that same feeling every time. The customer takes a trip to Walmart knowing exactly what products they will have, what aisle the products will be on, how much they are going to pay for the products, and what the overall shopping experience is going to be like. Walmart’s advertising and branding is also another important component to the business design that is always consistent with the other experiences.
Between these two companies, it is easy to see the consistency factor that I am emphasizing as vital to a sustainable and great business design. The biggest difference, that is pretty obvious, is the actual experience itself. At Starbucks, you are paying a high price for a high quality product and the “feel good” experience that comes along with it. At Walmart, you are paying a low price for not the highest quality products and for not the most enjoyable experience. Either way, you can always depend on it being the same every time. If some of the consistent aspects were taken from these brand experiences, the demand for the business’s products would definitely go down. Let’s say we have a customer who goes to Starbucks every morning. One day, she notices that her coffee tastes different than normal. Immediately, the value of the product decreases in the customer’s mind. If this continued, everyday the coffee tastes different than the day before, the customer would eventually give up and stop going. Same goes for Walmart. If a customer does their grocery shopping at Walmart every week and suddenly the prices become expensive, the customer will eventually want to stop shopping there. These are just two examples of the many ways that these good business designs could be tarnished in this context.
So think about your favorite brands and maybe even think about some of your least favorite businesses to shop with. Can you see how consistency plays into the entire brand experience? How would your feelings towards your favorite brand change if the experience were different? Although there are probably many other aspects to consider, consistency is vital to a good business design and is what ultimately keeps the customer making a transaction with your business over and over again.
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