Fast Simplicity: Driving 2018's innovative brands

2017 has certainly been one of the more interesting years I’ve spent working in this industry.

If 2016 was the start of the big ‘digital reset’, then 2017 was when the dominant players of the future became clear. Google. Amazon. Facebook. Tencent. Alibaba. ‘Television’ companies in their linear and newer non-linear guises. (You can read my thoughts on last year here).

These companies have certain things in common that facilitate this dominance – multi-screen/platform presence, connected consumer data and, of course, scale.

But importantly these companies don’t rest on their laurels. They must constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition.

When I speak to my peers, they often say they wish place of work could be more 'innovative' like a startup. But when I ask about who they believe to be the most ‘innovative’ companies, it’s often these larger corporations rather than a small team working in the Valley.

The phrase ‘Acting like a start-up’ is often used to describe a way of working where a culture of experimentation and moving at pace exists within the organisation.

Whilst an important trait for an innovative company, I believe acting like a startup only goes so far. Indeed, many companies that act like a startup, fail like a startup.

The more successful innovative companies have one thing in common – Fast Simplicity.

Fast Simplicity is not a luddite’s call to arms. Fast Simplicity is about moving at pace and encouraging experimentation, but to do so with a clear vision and focus. Delivering consistent consumer experiences, finding new ways to scale their offering, reducing friction in end goals (e.g. transactions). 

Many trends document you will read over the coming weeks will talk about topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Voice, Blockchain etc. But they are not the story in themselves.

In my mind, the real story for 2018 will be about the brands who use Fast Simplicity as a mantra - using cutting edge technology to deliver on a vision faster and more effectively than the rest.

Here are three bands using Fast Simplicity to grow - whether that be as a new entrant to the category, or stay ahead of the competition.

Domino’s

Chatbots. Emojis. Voice. Domino's Anyware.

On the surface, Domino’s might appear like they are jumping impulsively on every digital ‘trend’ that emerges, but Domino’s is one of the best examples of Fast Simplicity in action.

Founded in 1960, Domino’s were a pioneer in food delivery services. Call a phone number and you’re automatically redirected to a local store. Customise your order and your piping hot pizza arrives at your door in thirty minutes or less.

In the 70s and 80s, this service became more streamlined and predictive as customer databases grew and improved. But in the 90s, new ordering touchpoints emerged – Online and Mobile.

Rather than continue to push the landline as the primary ordering point, Domino’s built ‘storefronts’ in these new touchpoints (with appropriate UX). And whilst the phone experience was superior for many years, as technology caught up (speed, graphics, databasing/payments) Domino’s began to establish itself as a leader in omnichannel food ordering – maximised presence with increased prediction in what consumer want to purchase.

More recently, Domino’s has been finding new ways to reduce purchase friction – less steps in the purchase process, and almost near predictive ordering. New tech like Voice and Chatbots allow Domino’s customers to order their favourite pizzas with minimal effort from any location.

This constant drive to open shopfronts in all spaces, and remove purchase friction is Fast Simplicity in action. The volume of these new channels may initially be very low, but by moving fast with focus Domino’s win each and every time by mastering new spaces whilst their competition are still setting up.

Domino’s are now looking to AI and driverless cars to reduce delivery times and cost overheads. These experiments seem clunky now, but Fast Simplicity will once again put them in the driver’s seat (pardon the pun) to stay ahead of the competition.

Warby Parker

If you think of a digital brand disrupting bricks and mortar retail, and the first name that probably comes to mind is Amazon. And although Amazon’s growth will no doubt be one of the big stories of 2018, it will be Warby Parker who I will be keeping a close eye on.

For those not familiar with Warby Parker, they are a textbook case of disruption: An industry dominated by slow moving companies (eye wear), who are making huge margins, are disrupted by a start-up who makes desirable products at low costs by rethinking the supply/distribution chain, and focusing on delivering better ‘try before you buy’ experiences for consumers.

Warby Parker’s ‘Home Try-On’ service allows you to have five pairs of glasses shipped to your home, send the ones you don’t like back and pay for those you keep. As webcam technology developed, Warby Parker has created realistic ‘mirrors’ to try on glasses before you purchase.

Now, Warby Parker are looking to Apple's facial detection tech found in the iPhone X to replicate that experience to near realistic levels, and purchase direct from device with one touch.

All the while, traditional eyewear brands mostly ignored digital commerce and focused on owned physical spaces to distribute and sell their product (pushing up their base costs). Warby Parker now has about 70 physical outlets in the US, but it is the evolution of their ‘in store’ concept that has facilitated their storefront growth in non-physical spaces, and keeps overall costs down.

Through Fast Simplicity, Warby Parker have embraced cutting-edge tech to push a ‘try before you buy’ experience across as many consumer touchpoints as they can – with their competition finding it almost impossible to keep up on both virtual, and now physical fronts.

Xiaomi

If you want to see what will happen to the technology landscape in the West, look to China. Yes, an overused phrase of late, but it still remains true.

Xiaomi may not be an electronic company many are familiar with, but ‘China’s Apple’ are no longer a copycat/cheap smart phone provider, but rather a company who is focused on flooding the market with a cheap Internet of Things devices – from AV tech like TVs and WiFi Routers, to common household items like Rice Cookers and Air Purifiers.

Behind all these products sits “MiHome” – an app that sits on your smartphone that controls the “Mi Ecosystem” in your home, but also collects data on the user/household which can be used to on-sell other Xiaomi products. In time, Xiaomi will be able to use this data as a targeting parameter for marketing communications through their partnership with Baidu (the B in the Chinese BATS ecosystem).

For Xiaomi, Fast Simplicity means finding the common household items in China, producing those products embedded with IoT tech, and minimising price point in order to get those products into Chinese (and soon Indian) homes en masse and at speed. For example, in the first six months of launch, 20% of all Air Purifiers purchased in China were made by Xiaomi.

This not only accelerates data collection, but also strengthens their product ecosystem making it more difficult for their competition to make a meaningful addition to the home.

China. A future window to the Amazon vs Google vs Apple home ecosystem wars.

2018: The Year of Fast Simplicity

The winners of 2018 will be those companies who focus on tackling business challengers and look to new growth opportunities by taking managed risks, and looking to collaborate/build with disruptive companies who can help them move forward.

Those winners could be big or small, but they will have one thing in common – the application of Fast Simplicity. Moving at pace and encouraging experimentation, but doing so with a clear vision and focus.

2018 will be very interesting indeed.

Liam Brennan

Follow me on LinkedIn for more updates, or on Twitter @LCBrennan

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