Monday, November 17, 2014

Apps joining forces


As a company, how do you keep your competitive advantage? By leveraging the power of other brands! The new partnership between Uber and Spotify is a great example.

Uber has been positioning themselves as “everyone’s private driver.” Now they are one step closer to this goal, offering Uber customers the option of playing their own personal playlists during a ride in an Uber vehicle. Spotify will deliver a new distribution channel for consumers to listen to the music service, while Uber will better personalize their service and remain relevant by associating itself with another popular brand. Brownie points for both companies.

But could something go wrong with this partnership? What are some downsides to this seemingly perfect service? First of all, it is crucial that the technical logistics of the integration work seamlessly. It is still unclear how the two software applications will work together, but any hiccups in the application of this feature could be very negative for the consumer’s experience.  Another possible negative with this partnership is that the drivers now have no choice with the music in their car while a customer is using this service. What if the Uber passenger demands the driver to play an obnoxiously loud playlist of songs, which could negatively distract the driver or drive him/her crazy? You may laugh, but this is a legitimate concern! It’ll be interesting to see how this partnership plays out.

Source: The New York Times

No comments: