The Wrap #20 | A compendium of wisdom, if you will
The Wrap #20 | A compendium of wisdom, if you will
A shot of thinking fuel, brought to you each month by Futurestate Design Co.
Businesses are getting it from all sides at the moment: stricter regulation, increasing costs, increased user needs and expectations, tighter wallets, haulage issues, climate effects and environmental requirements… The list goes on.
Rather than despair, it’s important to be strategic, active and to lead abundantly. To give your teams the reassurance they need to get out of survival mode and into problem solving mode.
More than that, though, we don’t only want to solve today’s problems, we also want to innovate for tomorrow’s opportunities.
This month’s articles are doubling down on how crucial it is to invest in the future, also asking ‘what if…?’ as we try to define next steps. Easy.
Or it can be made easier — be reassured — by reading Futurestate Design: How to Step Out of the Past to Create a Business Fit For the Future, written by our CEO, Mark Wilson, and out now! Published only last week, in fact.
Just a few things our network is saying about the book…
‘Absolutely love this book’
‘This is big’
’I read a lot and occasionally pick up a few real nuggets of insight. This book is full-to-the-brim with them. What a great read.’
Now to business as (not-so-)usual…
Renewing subscriptions
What’s going on?
Following consultation, the government is changing its Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy legislation, which includes significant tweaks to subscription rules.
Legislation aims to: improve the overall consumer experience of pre-contract information (so they’ll better understand what they’re signing up for); ensure reminders are sent before any auto-renewals and notifications of introductory offers and free trials coming to an end; and provide consumers an easy exit from any contracts to which they’ve signed up.
Why it matters
Subscriptions have proliferated over the last decade, and aren’t going anywhere. Whether that’s publications, new heads for your razor, or veg boxes, the convenience is obvious.
It’s been equally convenient for businesses to improve their conversion rates with low-cost or free trials that auto-renew, landing the consumer with sometimes unwanted monthly or — even more frustratingly — annual subscription payments.
‘Try before you buy’ is inviting, both rhetorically and practically. In terms of spinning up new subscription models to improve business outcomes, however, the new legislation will really test the mettle of languishing subs brands. Those that rely on returns from the on-the-fence consumer, too busy to unsubscribe, will definitely — and perhaps should — suffer. Time to make your proposition watertight, and to invest in future business planning.
Read the article in full on PPA
A front of precipitation… and innovation
What’s going on?
The Lemonade Foundation (the non-profit from Lemonade Insurance) are soon to launch a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation, or DAO, that’ll provide weather insurance to over 300 million farmers across Africa next year. Or, specifically, parametric insurance, which pays out based on the magnitude of the event, not the magnitude of losses incurred.
The farmers will be able to make claims through their smartphones and receive them in crypto- or local currencies.
Real-time weather data will provide immediate climate insurance to one of the industries most at risk from climate change.
Why it matters
Blockchain is revolutionising not only the insurance model here, but also the lives of its end users, simplifying the claims and claims approval process in a way that allows farmers to receive the support they need, as soon as they need it, following climate events.
When you consider mapping business- and user journeys, really think about when and where the need is and how you map value and transactions. Can you turn it on its head, as The Lemonade Foundation has with their parametric model? (‘What if…?’ continues to be the most powerful question in any business leader’s arsenal).
Equally, ask yourself how the blockchain could enable you to do things differently. Even if a DAO isn’t your next move, you’ll have come up with some smart ideas in the process, we’ll bet.
Read the original on The Globe and Mail
‘Outta my way...friend’
What’s going on?
This spring, yellow cabs will appear as an option when booking on the Uber app in New York. The partnership will allow taxi drivers to calculate fares before arrival and refuse trips.
Previous tensions between the two are no laughing matter, leading to the bankruptcy of 1,000 of the city’s cab drivers, 6 suicides, regulatory furore and Uber’s prices soaring due to lack of availability.
Why it matters
The tech platform has already partnered with taxi companies in other countries and it’s planning on world domination, looking to partner with every taxi company in the world.
Who are your biggest competitors? Which are your most frustrating external stakeholders? You may be shrewd, as Uber is, to consider these guys your biggest opportunity because by coming together as an alliance could increase the market for everyone. It’s not a bad media play either.
Read the original on The Verge