Stay for the wifi: stories in product dev
No matter how good the coffee is, I will pick the coffee shop that has better wifi over the shop with better coffee every time. Enjoy your coffee, allow me to share why.
Two of my favorite coffee shops are in my hometown. #1 coffee shop has the best coffee, hands down. In terms of designing the best coffee product, they win. The other coffee shop has great coffee. Its not the best but its certainly better or equal to any coffee you can make at home. If I was in a small town with one shop, I would happily drink #2 coffee everyday. #1 Coffee Shop though has uncomfortable chairs and the environment is slightly pretentious, but worst of all, the wifi is horrible.
#2 Coffee has comfortable chairs and amazingly consistent wifi. I don’t think their wifi has ever gone down, despite being at capacity all weekend, every weekend for years. #1 Coffee shop at quarter capacity will often crash the wifi; the space is also half the size.
Coffee is their product; wifi is the experience. I go for the coffee, but I stay for the wifi. I might only drink one cup of coffee a day, but I will drink 3-4 cups of tea. So when I have to get some weekend computer work done, I go for the coffee, but I’m buying a couple more cups of tea.
What does this mean for product development? for design thinking? It means don’t think about your product, think about the experience. Experience wins every time.
When I say experience I do not mean user experience (UX). Yes, UX vastly improves the user experience for all users, but its not the experience. If we only consider UX in web design, we can build a better website, but we aren’t necessarily creating a better experience.
If I’m going into a coffee shop, I’m sure the baristas took great care to source the best beans; to keep the equipment clean; to buy the best milk. That will be the best coffee, but its not the best experience.
Think about your users: yes they may come for the coffee, but they stay for the wifi. And when they are staying they end up buying more tea, or at least having a much better experience.
What is your wifi?