The reason I hunted this product is to ask you guys a simple question:
Is "on-demand" necessary for products or is "overnight" good enough?
Take the case of flowers.
As companies like BloomThat play the "local on demand" game, a company like Roseshire might find more success by focusing on "overnight" delivery nationwide.
Roseshire will never have to launch cities (which is a huge pain in the ass and a costly operational challenge) and can focus on providing incredible service to everyone in the country.
For BloomThat, they will likely have to launch neighborhoods and hire city managers, just like Uber. I love their product and the team, but still unsure if this approach is needed for flowers and other products.
What do you guys think? When is "overnight" good enough for products. Which products will win by being "on demand"?
@jmj great question, Jeff. In almost all cases, on-demand is better from the user perspective but in some cases it's only a marginal improvement.
@jack has a good video on their process of thinking in user narratives. To answer your question, you might want to explore different use cases and scenarios where users interact with the product. In the cases of Uber, every minute waiting is costly.
@rrhoover Awesome video - thanks for sharing.
I agree that most "on demand" services benefit the user. One thing to keep in mind is that "on demand" requires you to be at a specific location, at a specific time for delivery.
For many people, committing to a time & location is actually a huge hassle and overnight delivery is good enough.
I wrote an article about "Uber for X" startups last year. The topic fascinates me and is always fun to explore. Here is the article:
https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/give-...
Appreciate the post and feedback! @jmj@jack
I think the question is when is on-demand relevant, and can overnight accommodate the same needs?
This is something I can't necessarily answer, but will say in our case, we find that unique products at convenient prices tend to do better when the service is offered by overnight delivery. The overhead on the company drops dramatically when you're not having expenses of extra staff rapidly working to meet the consumers needs, which in turn lowers product cost.
Bloomthat offers a product and service that is different from ours, although same industry. The margins in their products are fairly low, which allows them to price conveniently for consumers. But the randomness of ordering same day is nothing new. Most florists can dispatch orders out the same day.
Again, it's whatever is relevant for the consumer. My 2 cents at least.
Your question about "on demand" vs "overnight" is a good one. It is, in part, a generational question. As an older member here, "on-demand" seems/feels, well, demanding, which is not how I see myself nor how I want to be perceived. Side notes: There's a difference in perception between your tagline and this: "The only brand of retail roses, delivered overnight." (delivered not shipped) Is Roseshire a brand? I can't think of any other brand of roses. Why include "retail"?
@sandracarden Very interesting feedback. If a company is offering "on demand" products and services, I do not feel like I'm being demanding, but I completely hear what you're saying.
Thanks for the comment!
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I think on-demand is only powerful when you can't predict your own demand.
For Uber, you don't know you'll need a car at 11:17am, until your meeting wraps up at 11:17am. For SpoonRocket, you don't know your tummy will need filling at 9:22pm, until it starts rumbling at 9:22pm. When you use those, it's magic, and the app shouts at you, "OF COURSE this is how it's supposed to work!"
For roses, I don't hear that shout, because the demand doesn't generally take you by surprise -- it's Valentine's Day, or someone's birthday, or you screwed something up.
Actually, maybe on-demand is *super* powerful for the last case...
Thanks for the feedback @sandracarden
We associate delivery with someone hand-delivering, and shipped being through some form of parcel service. It is a brand, and there isn't another retail brand of roses. Wholesale on the other hand, there are several.
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