Continuing on my thoughts on web 2.0, I wish to focus on what enterprises are doing in the web today and whether they are reaching out to those that they wish to target i.e. their consumers
Web 2.0 has changed the way an enterprise reaches out to a consumer. Earlier the focus was more on what the enterprise offered i.e. Consumer used a specific service because it was there. He could not demand for a feature or an offering. Enterprises only thought of what they could offer and not of whether the consumer would actually benefit from such an offering. Their offerings were the latest and state of the art in technology. Alas! Usually the usability of the offering left a lot to be desired.
For example: Bill Payment is offered by ICICI bank. They have extensive options like ‘Presentment Mode Biller’, ‘Payment Mode Biller’ and ‘Shopping Mode’ on their site. ‘Payment Mode Biller’ means that a consumer can only pay bills but a ‘Presentment Mode Biller’ means that a consumer has the added facility of viewing and paying a bill. Sounds great! Doesn't it.
The sum and substance of this is that, if for example you have a BSNL (Bangalore Telephone Bill) Bill that you urgently want to pay since due date is approaching (I had this problem 2 days back) and hence you log in to ICICI bank web site you will be told that this is a ‘Presentment Mode Biller’ and you can register for and pay this bill only from the next billing cycle! Same is the case with a few other banks as well. So as a consumer I have no choice but to rush to the nearest billing counter for making a payment. – Consumer Focus or Enterprise Offering?
Coming back to web 2.0: the new mantra seems to be consumer focus. Get the consumer (actual end user not middle men) to participate, contribute and give feedback to help applications evolve. The term ‘Prosumer’ has been coined. We have huge companies like Amex , Fidelity now running beta labs (earlier beta programs were the bastion of Microsoft and of course with Google everything is a perpetual Beta ) which give the consumer an opportunity to try out new ideas and revert. Amex even lists ideas which have graduated to mainstream and those that are discontinued. We even have airlines websites on the verge of starting beta programs.
Maybe if someone from ICICI Bank had done a beta program and sought feedback on whether offerings like ‘Presentment Mode Biller’, ‘Payment Mode Biller’ are acceptable to a simple user like me they might a got a different response.
Web 2.0 has changed the way an enterprise reaches out to a consumer. Earlier the focus was more on what the enterprise offered i.e. Consumer used a specific service because it was there. He could not demand for a feature or an offering. Enterprises only thought of what they could offer and not of whether the consumer would actually benefit from such an offering. Their offerings were the latest and state of the art in technology. Alas! Usually the usability of the offering left a lot to be desired.
For example: Bill Payment is offered by ICICI bank. They have extensive options like ‘Presentment Mode Biller’, ‘Payment Mode Biller’ and ‘Shopping Mode’ on their site. ‘Payment Mode Biller’ means that a consumer can only pay bills but a ‘Presentment Mode Biller’ means that a consumer has the added facility of viewing and paying a bill. Sounds great! Doesn't it.
The sum and substance of this is that, if for example you have a BSNL (Bangalore Telephone Bill) Bill that you urgently want to pay since due date is approaching (I had this problem 2 days back) and hence you log in to ICICI bank web site you will be told that this is a ‘Presentment Mode Biller’ and you can register for and pay this bill only from the next billing cycle! Same is the case with a few other banks as well. So as a consumer I have no choice but to rush to the nearest billing counter for making a payment. – Consumer Focus or Enterprise Offering?
Coming back to web 2.0: the new mantra seems to be consumer focus. Get the consumer (actual end user not middle men) to participate, contribute and give feedback to help applications evolve. The term ‘Prosumer’ has been coined. We have huge companies like Amex , Fidelity now running beta labs (earlier beta programs were the bastion of Microsoft and of course with Google everything is a perpetual Beta ) which give the consumer an opportunity to try out new ideas and revert. Amex even lists ideas which have graduated to mainstream and those that are discontinued. We even have airlines websites on the verge of starting beta programs.
Maybe if someone from ICICI Bank had done a beta program and sought feedback on whether offerings like ‘Presentment Mode Biller’, ‘Payment Mode Biller’ are acceptable to a simple user like me they might a got a different response.
More on this in my next post. Meanwhile, here is an interesting post from Dion Hinchcliffe about beta programs, which is still relevant.
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