Cake, icing and the Visa Business Network
I have this theory. Let's call it the Service Layer Hypothesis.
I can't claim to have come up with on my own. It's something the smart folks I work with have been batting around (and sometimes even putting into practice) for a few years now.
Here it is:
In order to thrive in a networked world, big brands need to move from product sellers to service providers.
It's a simple idea, really. Based on the belief that on today's web brands need to go well beyond campaigns and brochure-ware if they want to remain relevant.
Instead, the theory goes, they should launch online services that compliment their product offerings, embody the ideals and aspirations at the heart of their brand and, most importantly, provide real utility for customers.
Think of them as "service layers", if you like. Sitting like a tasty icing on top of the cake they've already baked.
If the service has real value, it becomes a sort of gift from the brand to their customers. And it earns the ongoing engagement, attention and interest of the customers who use it.
The example that comes to mind is NikePlus, the online service built around the Nike/Apple partnership. The site goes way beyond the products to create something distinct yet complimentary. A new layer that's really fun and useful too.
So . . . Since Facebook launched their platform 16 months ago, I've been imagining how interesting it might be for a non-web native company to launch a service like this as a Facebook app.
It's seems like a natural fit. For the brand it would be a chance to take advantage of the good ol' Facebook "social graph" and all of those existing connections and relationships and lines of influence in order to do something really useful, powerful and share-able. Essentially an doorway into the world of online community with a significantly lowered barrier to entry.
And for Facebook, it would be an opportunity to add some real legitimacy to their platform effort. To show there's more to it than Zombies and SuperPokes. And maybe even tackle that whole monetization thing in the process by offering help to brands looking to get started in exchange for, say ad sales commitments. Or even straight-up consulting fees.
Interestingly enough, this idea finally became real a couple of months back with the launch of the Visa Business Network.
With Facebook's help, Visa have launched a free service that offers small business owners tools, content and, of course, networking opportunities with other small business owners. All within Facebook.
As an added incentive, they threw in a $100 credit towards Facebook ads for every business owner who signed up.
So is it working? It's probably too early to say. There are currently over 45,000 monthly active users, which is a bit low but definitely not terrible.
Unfortunately it looks like most of the discussion and attention has focused on the incentive (challenges redeeming the free ad vouchers etc.) and not on the service itself.
The big question, of course, is: is it actually useful?
Since I'm not a small business owner, I haven't been able to check it out directly so it's hard to say.
Based on user comments, it seems to be falling short on a few counts. There are complaints, for example, about a lack of fresh content and truly useful tools.
On the bright side, though, some users seem to recognize the good intention behind the initiative and appear willing to give them time to get it sorted.
I hope for Visa's sake that they have the resources lined up to put some real effort in post-launch evolution and optimization -- an absolute must for this kind of thing. Time will tell.
Whatever happens, though, I think the Visa Business Network will be the first of many attempts to bring the Service Layer Hypothesis to life on Facebook.
Who'll be next?
posted by John Ounpuu at 9/17/2008 02:57:00 PM
0 comments
