Wonolo
As a part of the sharing economy on all three sides (supply, demand, and building a sharing economy company) I live and breath the new way ‘marketplaces’ are taking over the world. One thing that more marketplaces should be mindful of is what they are actually providing – what is the touchpoint with the end user, how is the brand experience, and how is it communicated to others?
Take Uber and Lyft. The apps are generally the same. The services not all that different (at least Uber X). The prices are comparable. So why the love-hate relationship with one vs the other for some users? Because of the supply side – because of the people. For those that use both services, you’ll often hear “I choose Uber when I want to sit in the back and keep to myself, and I choose Lyft when I want to be social.” I don’t think Uber has the tagline “For the antisocial” although Lyft is totally living its brand with “Your friend with a car.” Lyft hires people who embody their brand and knows that beyond the mustache and the whimsical app, the driver is who makes the service.
Others could take a lesson from Lyft. At Wonolo, we insure that Wonoloers live the 5Ps, most importantly – professionalism – when Wonoloing. Our customers don’t see us in the office, we want them to spend as little time as possible on the app, but they spend hours with our Wonoloers. If they don’t embody the brand and provide a great experience, nothing else matters. That is why we value our community more than anything else.
