When I travel to a new place, I hate wasting time at the beginning of each day asking: “What should we do today?”. So now before I go on a trip I always try to search travel sites and blogs to find ideas before hand (shocking, I know). Then I make two lists, the “musts” and “maybes”. This ensures I always have a short list of ideas to rely on.
However this process is a lot of work. That’s why I’m always on the look out for travel apps. I used one called Triposo a few years ago in Europe. Triposo has a lot of pre-made lists of activities and ideas, which saves me a ton of time. The downside is that I only use Triposo when I travel. Because of this, I easily forget about the app.
Recently I was traveling in the Caribbean and I made a big Google Doc of things to do. Then literally on the last day, I looked at my phone and saw the Triposo icon and realized I totally forgot about the app. I was so frustrated! I really loved using Triposo in the past. However, I simply forgot about it. I still had a good trip but I wonder what cool stuff I missed out on!
I really loved using Triposo in the past. However, I simply forgot about it. I still had a good trip but I wonder what cool activities, sights, and restaurants I missed out on!
This got me thinking about how Triposo could do a better job at staying top of mind for me all the time, not just when I’m traveling.
This is important for any product. If you want to become a constant presence in a customer’s life, then you have to be present. And sometimes that means you have to figure out what you can offer them as an extension of your core experience.
So, here are 5 things that Triposo could do to help establish a relationship with me and make sure I don’t forget about them.
- Send an email newsletter with travel related content – a travel magazine of sorts. Maybe I could tell Triposo what cities I’m interested in and then tailor the content to me.
- Partner with TripIt or my airline to recognize when I book a flight and ask if I would like to receive recommendations about that city.
- Allow me to connect my Instagram to Triposo. Then, if Triposo notices I’m posting pictures in a new location, or using travel-related hashtags, they could reach out and ask if I want recommendations.
- Incentivize me to get my friends to use Triposo. When someone asks for recommendations in a city I’ve been to, I could make a list about that city and then if a friend signed up through a special link, I’d get a reward.
- Offer me discounts on travel related products. There are so many travel related products, I would love it if someone would curate the best ones for me – similar to what you see in airline magazines with the “what’s in your carry on” features that are popular.
The real takeaway here is that Triposo should anticipate my needs. Instead of me needing to remember that Triposo is an app I should use, they should anticipate my needs and reach out to me at appropriate times. I don’t see this as creepy at all. I’d love Triposo if they did this because it’s helpful.
Creating a great product isn’t just about helping your user complete a task or get a job done.
Today the experience is the product and the product is the brand. A great user experience is about establishing a relationship with your user in the gaps between when they actively use your product. It’s not likely that your product is going to be a daily presence in someone’s life. This is why you need to think about what you can do to nurture that relationship.
What are the gaps in your experience? What could you be doing to nurture the relationship your customers have with your brand?