Design Innovation Development / Marketing Strategies: Syndeo

SyndĂŠo

Process Book

John Lacey, Joshua Foley, Karen Ng, Poorvi Das DMGT 720 Winter 2017 Professor Christine Fish

Executive Summary Background Problem

Problem Statement

Purpose of Report

Modern married couples with children are incredibly busy. Between their full-time jobs and raising their children, they feel overwhelmed with to-dos and keeping up with schedules. Alone time with each other is all too often a casualty of their overloaded lives. And when they do find the time, they face additional challenges of making date plans and finding safe, trusted and convenient childcare. The prospects of spending quality time together diminish in the face of these obstacles.

How might we use design management techniques to create a product that will decrease the overwhelmed feeling married couples with children experience and enable them to spend quality time together?

This report describes the research, ideation, design process and final solution the design team has generated to solve the problem.

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Executive Summary Approach / Method

Important Results

Conclusion

A lack of commercially available solutions to the problem was identified. The design team subsequently utilized design management practices to create alternative offerings.

Practices included: primary and secondary research, competitor analysis, product ideation, prototyping, testing, refinement, evaluation and business strategy.

Evaluation of the alternative solutions identified SyndĂŠo as the optimal solution to the problem. The SyndĂŠo platform consists of features that allow users to sync their calendars and intuitively find open dates for quality time, suggest date activities and connect with childcare providers.

An evaluation of the market and an evaluation by potential users suggests that SyndĂŠo will not only be a solution to the problem, but will also be a commercially viable product.

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Meet the Design Team

John Lacey John is passionate about creative problem solving. With experience as a marketing and communications advisor, John sets out to learn as much as he can about a client’s challenges with the goal of creating innovative, simple solutions.

Joshua Foley Josh is an agile and adaptable problem solver. He is passionate about his work as an Army leader and approaches problems and adversity with steadfast resiliency and creative solutions. Josh understands the importance of placing the needs of the client first and developing solutions with the user’s needs in mind

DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Karen Ng

Poorvi Das

Karen is a seasoned user experience designer

Poorvi is a designer with strong skills in research and innovation. She enjoys breaking boundaries and challenging herself, while applying design thinking to different contexts, products and services.

With an inclination towards social design and innovation, she hopes to make the world a little bit better.

and leader with a passion for technology.

She strives for exceptional user experiences to push technological boundaries without sacrificing usability. Her design methodology is driven by context. Who will be looking at it?

How will they use it? What do we want them to come away with? Most creative solutions are often the result of answering these questions.

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Contents 1. Network Analysis

2. Network Design Development

3. Defining Network Users

Introduction

Identifying Opportunities and Concepts

Introduction

Couples, the Internet, and Social Media

Concepts Overview

User Groups

Exploring Current Offerings

Concept 1: Relationship Fitbit

SWOT Analysis

Concept 2: Career Oriented Couples with Young Children

Segment Matrix 2 x 2 Matrix Good / Different Research Findings, Influencing Factors & Trends Opportunities

8

Survey Interviews

Concept 3: Healthy Lifestyle

Empathy Map

Selected Concept: Creative Brief, Value Proposition, Statements, 5W’s & 1H, Users, SWOT Analysis, Competitors

Personas

30

Affinitizing Insights Research Conclusion Marketing Strategies

49

Contents 4. Competitor Research & Analysis 5. Business Model Generation Introduction: The Gottman Institute & Cozi Business Model Canvas: The Gottman Institute SWOT Analysis Business Model Canvas: Cozi SWOT Analysis Similarities & Differences Weakest Business Model Improving the Gottman Model Key Takeaways

89

6. Defining the Users’ Needs

Introduction

Value Proposition

17-Step Process

The Process

ABC...Q Approach

Empathy Maps

Why, How, What Approach

Ideation: Dream Scenario

Business Model Canvas

Ideation: Good/Different Matrix

Value Web

Ideation: Creative Matrix & 5E’s

SWOT Analysis

Ideation: Value Proposition Canvas

Similarities & Differences

Summary of Findings

Performance & Delight

Key Features

Strategies

120

102

Contents 7. Prototyping & Brand Development The Brand The Role of Aesthetics How the Business Model Strengthens the Brand Site Map Mock Ups

139

8. Network Sales Pitch Validation

Project Management

Gantt Chart

Final Pitch

References

Storyboard

Appendix

157

168

Part 1

Network Analysis

Introduction An Overview of Social Networking A social networking service is an online platform that is used by people to build social networks or social relations with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections (Obar, Jonathan A.; Wildman, Steve, 2015). It represents relationships and flows between people or groups.

Efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated communication were made early on in the1970s, through services such as Usenet, and LISTSERVE. The concept has only evolved since then, growing with the advances in technology and the way users use the platform.

With the launch of Friendster in 2002, social networking hit its stride, followed by the introduction of LinkedIn and MySpace a year later. Facebook superseded MySpace to become the leading global social networking platform and currently boasts of more than 1.3 billion active users.

*Image source: Digitaltrends.com, The History of Social Networking (only used for academic purpose)

Introduction An Overview of Social Networking Recent years have seen the introduction and success of a variety of social network platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, which are based on the concept of people connecting, but have diversified into the way they connect, for example, shared interests, or photography. Infact, the niche social network, which offers a specialized space, designed to appeal to a very specific market with a clearly defined set of needs, has steadily grown in popularity due to better levels of user interaction and engagement and growing levels of boredom from existing networks that serve the masses.

The use of smartphones and tablets have also changed the way we interact and communicate, replacing what once sat on a desk with something that fits in our palm, allowing us to connect instantly.

Given this rise in mobile computing, most social media platforms hinge on the capabilities of smartphones. People now exist on multiple platforms, and use various services in conjunction with other platforms to build a comprehensive, digital identity.

*Image source and copyright: Mark Smiciklas (only used for academic purpose)

Introduction Our Focus We decided to focus our project on a niche network, that serves a specific group of people. After brainstorming topics based on current trends and possibilities, we decided to consider married couples who are looking to rekindle the romance in their lives as our area of focus.

It is no secret that marriage has been in decline in America, and is crumbling fast. In 1960, 72% of all adults over 18 were married. By 2010, the number fell to 51%, with the marriage rate hitting its lowest mark at 6.8 per thousand people and the divorce trend on the rise.

A study by the National Marriage Project, (University of Virginia) revealed that married couples who devote time together at least once a week, not only have lower divorce rates, but also increase the perceived quality of the marriage.

We decided to explore the subject of ‘couples enhancing the romance in their relationship’, and based our contextual research and analysis on existing offerings (traditional, non-traditional and digital).

Couples, the Internet, and Social Media Summary of Findings Statistics pulled from: Pew Research Center (2014). Couples, the Internet, and Social Media. Retrieved January 9, 2017, from http://www. pewinternet.org/2014/02/11/couples-the-internet-and-social-media/ • 71% of couples (married or in another committed relationship) use • 74% of adult internet users surveyed reported that the internet social networking sites. had a positive impact on their marriage or partnership. 20% said it was mostly negative.

• 93% of couples (described above) have a cell phone.

• 88% of couples use the internet.

• 25% of married or partnered adults who texted their partner when they both home together.

• 27% of Internet users in couples share an email account with their • 21% of cell phone owners or internet users in a committed partner. Older couples are more likely to share an email account. relationship have felt closer to their spouse or partner because of • Couples who share one type of digital tool or account tend to exchanges they had online or via text message. share others as well.

• 9% have resolved an argument with their partner online or by text • 11% of couples who use social networking sites such as message that they were having difficulty resolving in person.

Facebook or Twitter say that they share a social networking profile.

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Exploring Current Offerings

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SWOT Analysis

Direct Competitors

Competitor

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Meet Up (married couples)

Open to anyone

Open to anyone

To link up with new couples and meet new people

Awkwardness of meeting new couples

Church

Strong values Strong community

Closed-minded religious Select group of people

Develop meeting spaces for chuch-goers who want to rekindle their romance/dating life

Couples may feel threatened by the church environment

Babysitting services

Come to couples home Convenient

Can be expensive Availability of specific sitters not always consistent

Offer in grocery stores, restaurants, movie theatres, etc.

Parents feeling concerned about their kids during their date

Shopping malls / Department stores

Open to anyone Not structured

Open to anyone

Offer babysitting services for families who want to shop for longer periods of time To connect with your spouse in an unstructured environment

Could lead to over-spending on unnecessary products

Dating apps (Couple)

Intimate way to share life Stay in touch with each other Free Fun Private

No archive No throwbacks Difficult to search conversations

Provide archiving options Provide search feature Link to partner services to book restaurants and plan activities Book childcare services in app

Excessive use of app Other competitor apps

Marriage support website (foryourmarriage.org)

Open to anyone

Not structured Not related to everyone

Provide supports for different type of couples Content becomes repetitive and boring Provide resources to seek meetups locally

Customized designed dates Develop new ideas for your dating life

Can be expensive

To expand your dating life and do things you Could seem like an artificial romance wouldn't normally plan on your own

Family support website (babble.com)

Open to anyone

Not structured Not related to everyone

Provide supports for different type of families Content becomes repetitive and boring Provide resources to seek support groups locally

Dating idea website/ apps

Open to anyone New ideas for dates

Not offered in everywhere Content not as attractive

Expand services to more locations Increase content for each location

Customized date service (The Heart Bandits)

Content becomes repetitive and boring

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Competitor

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Theatrical entertainments

Escape from daily life See artists you like

Expensive Inconvenient Public / Not private Difficult for couples with young kids Unhealthy food options

Make setting more intimate Offer childcare services Offer better / healthier food options

Home entertainment, Netflix, Amazon

Restaurants

Convenient

Expensive Can be unhealthy Difficult for couples with young kids

Have set hours for couples only Offer specials for couples only

Growing movement for people to cook at home Take-out service

Bowling alley

Generally pretty cheap

Difficult for couples with young kids Unhealthy food options

Offer better / healthier food options

Other entertainment venues

Outdoor activities

Supports healthy lifestyle Close to home

Only doable when weather permitted Need suitable gears

Offer childcare services Guide to discover local outdoor activiities

Indoor activities and home entertainment

Community events

Close to home

Expensive Loud Public / Not Private

Offer childcare services

Libraries

Full service See new places Get out of your normal routine

Expensive Not all offer children services Have to take time off work Involves a lot of planning

Provide in-hotel events for couples to connect Offer childcare services Guide to discover local activities

Airbnb, VRBO, Couch-surfing Staying at home

In-town getaways

Able to use babysitting services back home Less costly

Run out of ideas or options Not as exciting

Guide to discover local activities Discount offier to locals

Out-of-town getaways

Home entertainment

Convenient Don’t have to go out Can stay in your sweatpants Inexpensive

Use of Netflix, Amazon, or other services requires paid account Limited to choices from paid account Quality limited by system at home

Offer in-screen food ordering service Offer in-screen childcare ordering service

Going out for entertainment Books

Classes

Catered for couples Learn something new together

No offerings locally Not interesting enough

A serie of classes or related classes Offer childcare services

Ignore interests/ hobbies

Therapy

Relax together

Can be expensive

A serie of classes or related classes Offer childcare services

Other entertainment options

May require planning ahead May not have same interests in sport

Offer childcare services Offer lessons to sharpen skills

Injuries Skill level differences

Entertainment Out-of-town getaways Outlets

Group sports or leagues Supports healthy lifestyle

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: The Heart Bandits Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• Offer customized designed dates • Develop new ideas for couple’s dating life • Offer advice on date ideas or proposal ideas

• Long term relationships • Serious committed relationships • People ready to propose

• Can offer customized dating ideas for married couples • Can offer tips for spicing up a marriage relationship romance

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• They help people who aren’t able to come up with new dating ideas on their own • They plan romantic dates for people and take care of all the logistics • They help people come up with proposal ideas

• Website: http://www.theheartbandits.com/romance. html • Phone: (800) 520-5972 • Email: info@theheartbandits.com

• Both networks seeking to help people generate romance in their relationship

Segment Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: For Your Marriage Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• Provides couples with marital guidance and help, particularly from a Catholic perspective • Imparts Christian values on marriage and dating

• Catholic church

• They provide the religious values and dating techniques for married people or those about to be married • They also have more than just dating techniques, they provide advice for strong marriages

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• They teach the most common marriage issues and how to avoid them • They appeal to those seeking a marriage steeped in Catholic values

• Website: http://www.foryourmarriage.org/ • Rotating banners on website for different articles

• Both networks seek to improve upon established marriages

Segment Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: Meetup Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• Getting people people together in a community who share common interests and hobbies • Meet with new people in your area

• Variety of “meetup” groups in the area • Social exposure • Various movements and activities for members to get involved with

• Different ideas for dating options for married couples • A chance for married couples to meet others in their community

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• They bring people in a community together through a variety of activities, hobbies, or interests

• Website: https://www.meetup.com/ • Mobile app

• Both networks seek to get people out doing things in their communities

Segment Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: Date Night Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• To provide couples with dating ideas • Provides weekday date ideas to keep things interesting throughout the work week

• People in relationships looking for dating ideas in the • To go after week day ideas versus just weekends area (seems to be limited to the Calgary, Alberta area) • To establish a list of restaurants, venues, and events in the area for date ideas

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• By making date planning easy • Compiling a list of restaurants and events to do in the area all in one place

• Website: http://www.itsdatenight.com/

• Date Night and our network both are designed to help couples think of date ideas in the area

Segment Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: Babble Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• Babble provides users with parenting, pregnancy, entertainment, and lifestyle hacks • Provides advice on living life with young kids and staying active

• Young adults with young children • Moms and Dads • Pregnant mothers • Expecting parents

• They can teach us how to get young parents to reinvigorate their dating life • They provide advice on entertainment particularly for people with kids

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• They provide articles, stories, and advice for young parents

• Website: https://www.babble.com/ • Babble newsletter • Social media connection

• Both networks could appeal to young adults with children

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Segment Matrix Competitors / Entertainment Outlets

Competitor Name: Dateini Objectives What is their network’s value?

Members What categories do they fall into?

Lessons What can they teach us for our network?

• To provide couples with a date night out based on criteria you provide, including city, theme, budget, and food type • Users don’t have to plan anything themselves

• Couples looking for a great night out without having to plan it

• Their site shows us that it’s relatively easy to plan a night out based on some simple criteria

Approach How do they create value?

Homepage What is the entry point to their network?

Collaboration Opportunities Where or how do we overlap?

• They make it easy for couples to have a great night out without much effort • They also provide planning in a wider time range that the user is able to set

• Website: http://www.dateini.com/ • Social media connection

• Both networks seek to help couples set up a date or night out

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2x2 Matrix Findings The less planning couples would need to arrange, the more frequent they would use the products or services. Busy married couples, especially the ones with young children, find it time-consuming to plan things to do and arrange childcare. The less hassle the offerings require, the more likely they will use them more frequently.

Frequent � Babble.com

� Church

� Simple Marriage (App) � Foryourmarriage.org � � Movie theatres Restaurants � Home entertainments � Bowling alley Ad hoc � Dateini.com � itsdatenight.com � Shopping malls/ Department stores

� Meetup

� Community events � Concerts � Babysitting services � Sport leagues

� Hotels

� The Heart Bandits

� Couple classes � Travel

Infrequent DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Planning required

2x2 Matrices | 22

2x2 Matrix Findings Most inexpensive products or services are targeted to a specific group of users by location or interests. Its business offerings are not very scalable and may not be sustainable in the long run.

Inclusive

� Babble.com � Foryourmarriage.org � Dateini.com � Simple Marriage (App) � itsdatenight.com � Community events � � Shopping malls/ Meetup Department stores Inexpensive � Bowling alley

� Movie theatres � Concerts � Restaurants

� Hotels

� Travel

� The Heart Bandits � Home entertainments � Babysitting services � Sport leagues

Expensive

� Couple classes � Church Exclusive DMGT 720 Winter 2017

2x2 Matrices | 23

Good / Different Findings

• A zag strategy will need to be cost effective, but provide the high value that hotels and travel provide for couples.

Good but not Different �

�

Restaurants

Good

• Only two offerings made it into the Good and Different space. However, they are somewhat low on the Good scale.

Travel

Hotels

• Good offerings are also the most expensive offerings. The further up the Good scale, the higher the cost.

• Different offerings are mostly coming from the digital space and are lower on the Good scale.

�

�

�

Church

Movie theatres

�

Good and Different �

�

Couple classes

Community events

�

Home entertainments

�

Simple Marriage (App) Foryourmarriage.org

Not Good and not � Bowling alley Different �

Babysitting services

�

Shopping malls/Department stores

�

Meetup

�

Different but not �Good

�

Dateini.com

Babble.com

�

�

itsdatenight.com

Sport leagues

�

The Heart Bandits

Concerts

Different Good / Different Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Research Findings, Influencing Factors & Trends After analyzing behaviors, activities, and trends of married people in this day and age, a few key takeaways were found: • Social Media plays a huge role in people’s lives these days. It has gotten to the point where it’s an alternative reality for some people.

They live 2 lives on a daily basis; the one where they exist in the physical world - where they talk and interact with people and objects; and the digital world, which exists on their smart phones, tablets, laptops, watches, and other mobile devices. For married people, this trend becomes a problem because couples tend to spend less quality time actually talking to one another and interacting, and more time on their social network sites/ apps.

• Another trend identified in the good vs. different analysis was that the good entertainment outlets for married couples are often the most expensive, the most planning intensive, and take the most time. These include options such as travel or hotel getaways, which are great opportunities for couples to bond, but aren’t as accessible as going to a movie, for instance. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” is very true in this circumstance.

• Another apparent trend is that married couples are often too busy, or perceive themselves too busy to go on dates together.

Whether they’re two young hard-working professionals who don’t have the desire to go out after a hard day’s work, or parents of young Influencing Factors & Trends | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Research Findings,Influencing Factors & Trends children who take up their time outside of work, married couples can’t seem to find the time to go on dates. This trend calls for the need to develop a solution that will be engaging for the couple and also fit in their schedules.

• There are a number of faith based services and offerings which include holistic approaches and initiatives for a healthy married and family life. One also finds research oriented groups which focus on the subject like ‘The Gottman Institute’ and ‘The National Marriage Project’. The US Department of Health and Human Services has also been found to support these initiatives.

• Some sites also offer couple focused getaways or Marriage makeovers, that include stay, talks, therapy sessions and workshops.

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Opportunities Websites • Websites could provide resources to seek support locally • Websites could provide content to different areas/ be location specific • Based on faith based websites, offerings could cater to a different culture/ faith • As there are many websites that are sharing content, an opportunity to provide unique ways of promoting an initiative as well as creating a network for content writers • Dating Specific Websites could include things that couples don’t normally do

Good / Different Matrix | DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Opportunities Apps • An app that adds in the availability of babysitters in the area • Instead of the usual venues/ activities, an app that surprises you based on tastes and preferences • Apps that help resolve a conflict • Gamification app. For married couples

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Opportunities Podcast • Well compiled content • Ability to download and hear desired content at will/ on the go • eBooks related to the subject

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Part 2

Network Design Development

Identifying Opportunities and Concepts As we explored design apps for a new social network offering, we were inspired by these key insights from our initial research:

1 Married couples who devote time together at least once a week, not only have lower divorce rates, but also increase the perceived quality of the marriage

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2

3

There are a number of

Good entertainment outlets for married

Married couples are often

couples are often the

too busy, or perceive

most expensive, the most

themselves too busy to go

planning intensive, and

on dates together

take the most time.

4 faith and research based services and offerings which include holistic approaches and initiatives for a healthy married and family life.

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Identifying Opportunities and Concepts In addition to the above insights, some encouraging trends in context to the use of digital devices and relationships that was used as reference were: 71% of couples (married or in another committed relationship) use social networking sites.

74% of adult internet users surveyed reported that the internet had a positive impact on their marriage or partnership 93% of couples (described above) have a cell phone.

21% of cell phone owners or internet users in a committed relationship have felt closer to their spouse or partner because of exchanges they had online or via text message.

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Concepts Overview CONCEPT 1

CONCEPT 2

CONCEPT 3

RELATIONSHIP FITBIT

CAREER ORIENTED COUPLES WITH CHILDREN

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: FOOD AND EXERCISE

1 4

1 2 3

1 2

Focusses on helping couples enhance their

Focuses on career oriented couples with

Focusses on how a healthy lifestyle,

relationship by creating a platform where

childrent and explores the idea of helping

including food and exercise would impact a

couples can seek advice and support.

couples manage their schedules better.

relationship positively.

INSIGHTS KEY

1

Married couples who devote time together at least once a week, not only have

2

Good entertainment outlets for married couples are often the most expensive, the

lower divorce rates, but also increase the

most planning intensive, and take the most

perceived quality of the marriage

time.

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Married couples are often too busy, or perceive themselves too busy to go on dates together

4

There are a number of faith and research based services and offerings which include holistic approaches and initiatives for a healthy married and family life.

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Concept 1

Relationship FitBit Relationship Fitbit focusses on helping couples enhance their relationship by creating a platform where couples can seek advice and support from friends, families, other couples, professional sources like a counselor, church staff, or even books, websites, apps and workshops.

For married couples who are seeking to build a stronger bond, but lack the knowledge to do so, Our application will improve communication between spouses and provide relationship target goals and advice, along with reminders and catalogs of important events in the life of a couple.

Based on the following research insights from earlier: • Couples who devote time together at least once a week have lower divorce rates, an increased perceived quality of the marriage.

• Many faith and research based services and offerings include holistic approaches and initiatives for a healthy married and family life.

Additional Insights: • Relationship advice is a robust and lucrative

We do this by combining goal setting and communication tracking features (like a FitBit for communication) with quick relationship advice developed by professional counselors.

Unlike the current offerings, our product does not require extensive reading or practice and allows users to set simple step by step goals that will enhance a couple’s relationship.

business.

• It covers a wide range of offerings from couple oriented game apps to relationship focused books.

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Relationship FitBit Users COUPLES

DEMOGRAPHICS

THERAPIST / COACH

CONTENT CREATORS

BUSINESS OWNERS

Couples, looking at enhancing

Relationship therapists or Life Coaches

People who are proficient at creating

People who can be a good resource

their relationship through better

who are certified and have experience.

and curating content relevant to

for couples

communication and other holistic

relationship therapy

approaches.

OCCUPATION

COMMUNICATION METHODS

Can vary (couples where either one or

Counselors, relationship coaches,

Authors, curators, Journalists,

Childcare providers, event managers,

both members are working)

church staff

bloggers, website and App Developers

hospitality industry professionals

Phone call and messaging

Phone, Email, websites

Phone, Email, websites

Phone, Email, websites

Medical groups, therapy related

Social media, related groups

Social media, related groups

More direct, faster and intuitive

More direct, faster and intuitive

EXISTING NETWORKS SMS, Messenger, and WhatsApp

groups, websites, social media

FUTURE NETWORKS Voice to text, AI

More direct with patient, video conferencing

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Concept 2

Career Oriented Couples with Young Children This concept focuses on career oriented couples with children.

Research reveals that stress from a career and responsibilities of children negatively affect the relationship of a married couple.

The concept explores the idea of helping couples manage their schedules better, and creates opportunities to spend more time with each other.

Based on the following research insights from earlier: • Couples who devote time together at least once a week have lower divorce rates, an increased perceived quality of the marriage.

• Good entertainment outlets for married couples are often expensive, planning and time intensive.

• Married couples are often too busy, or perceive themselves too busy to go on dates together.

For career-advancing married couples with young children who desire romance and alone time out of hectic daily life with work, home and children, Our application will help manage your daily schedule, improve communication between spouses, and provide suggestions on when to take a break, the activities to pursue, and childcare options available within a few clicks.

We do this by building a mobile application that does it all for busy on-the-go parents.

Unlike other web and mobile apps such as Cozi and Care. com, our product aims to be the go-to place with smart features that learns and understands the needs of the couple and their children.

Additional Insights: • Parents feel the need to balance career expectations against parental responsibilities.

• Grandparents are leveraged as daycare proviers DMGT 720 Winter 2017

to save costs.

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Career Oriented Couples with Young Children Users COUPLES DEMOGRAPHICS

OCCUPATION

COMMUNICATION METHODS

CHILDREN

GRANDPARENTS

CHILDCARE PROVIDERS

BUSINESS OWNERS

Younger Gen X and older

Younger Gen Y and Gen Alpha,

Parents of Gen X & Millennials;

Childcare center, home

People who can be a good

Millennials, well educated and

use technology from a young

support their children financially

daycare, stay at home nanny,

resource for couples

career driven

age

or via childcare.

nanny share

Wannabe Entrepreneurs,

Students

Could be employed or retired

Taking care of children

Childcare providers, event

Startup Founders, Managers,

managers, hospitality industry

Mentors

professionals

Phone, messaging, Email

Phone, messaging

Phone, messaging, email

Email, SMS, video calls

Phone, Email, websites

Social media, related groups,

Social media, related groups

(Simple Interfaces and products)

EXISTING NETWORKS SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp,

None for the younger kids,

Viber, social media (Instagram,

social media sites for the older

twitter, facebook, LinkedIn)

kids

FUTURE NETWORKS Voice to text, Instant video call,

Instant connection, AI

Social media

websites

More direct, faster and simple

More direct, faster and intuitive

More direct, faster and intuitive

AI

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Concept 3

Healthy Lifestyle: Food and Exercise

The effects of stress and lack of intimacy often results in the loss of romance in the relationship of a married couple. This concept considers how a healthy lifestyle, including food and exercise would impact a relationship.

Based on the following research insights from earlier: • Couples who devote time together at least once a week have lower divorce rates, an increased perceived quality of the marriage.

• Good entertainment outlets for married couples are often expensive, planning and time intensive.

Additional Insights: • Wedded couples tend to put on weight after marriage, which can pose a hindrance to sexual attraction and general health.

For married couples who feel a healthy lifestyle plays an important role in their relationship (like reducing stress, increasing intimacy and creating an overall sense of wellbeing), Our application will enable couples to lead a healthier lifestyle by supporting their health and fitness goals as per their preferences, while bringing in a sense of teamwork and fun.

We do this by combining goal setting, with a teamwork spirit and creating customized information, based on couples preferences in the areas of food planning and activity oriented events and places.

Unlike current offerings which are individual focused, our product will focus on team spirit and bringing in the aspect of romance in a relationship.

• Exercising together fosters closeness, improves mood and is a stress buster • Cooking together can lead to improved physical health, stronger communication and memorable experiences DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Healthy Lifestyle: Food and Exercise Users COUPLES

DEMOGRAPHICS

INDIVIDUALS

COMMUNICATION METHODS EXISTING NETWORKS

Women, individuals with a low

Couples, individuals, content

Content creators, food experts,

Instructors, exercise centers,

kids, couples experiencing a life

self-esteem, going through a life

creators, therapists, instructors,

therapists, farmer markets,

therapists, content creators,

change, couples under a lot of

change, etc.

food experts, exercise centers,

culinary related stores,

exercise equipment stores

farmers markets

restaurants

Varies based on demographics

Varies based on demographics

Varies based on demographics

Can vary (couples where either

Can vary (couples where either

one or both members are

one or both members are

working)

working)

Phone call and messaging

Phone call and messaging

Phone, Email, websites

Phone, Email, websites

Phone, Email, websites

SMS, Messenger, and

SMS, Messenger, and

Social media, related groups

Social media, related groups

Social media, related groups

WhatsApp, FitBit

WhatsApp, FitBit More direct, faster and intuitive

More direct, faster and intuitive

More direct, faster and intuitive

FUTURE NETWORKS Voice to text, AI, FitBit successors

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SERVICE PROVIDERS: EXERCISE

Empty nesters, couples with

stress, etc.

OCCUPATION

COMMUNITIES

SERVICE PROVIDERS: FOOD

Voice to text, AI, FitBit successors

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Selected: Concept 2

Career Couples with Young Children

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Selected: Concept 2

Career Couples with Young Children We found Concept No. 2 to be most aligned with our earlier research and of value to our target audience.

Married couples are stretched and stressed with the challenge of balancing professional endeavors and commitments to family.

Add young children into the mix and the task becomes even more complex.

How can couples create and sustain a life together that balances

INSIGHT Married couples

INSIGHT Good

who devote time together

entertainment outlets for

at least once a week, not

married couples are often

only have lower divorce

the most expensive, the

rates, but also increase the perceived quality of the marriage

most planning intensive, and

2

take the most time.

careers, family, and a relationship that thrives?

INSIGHT Married couples are often too busy, or perceive themselves too busy to go on dates together

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CREATIVE BRIEF

NETWORK GOALS • Easy access, user-friendly application available via cell phones, smart phones,

NETWORK OVERVIEW For married couples with children, family life can be chaotic and overwhelming. It can be difficult to find and take time for the people closest to us. Our service offering will ease the burden of coordinating and finding time for family activities by helping couples personalize and schedule activities into their daily life.

laptops, desktops, and tablets 24/7 • Coordinate and communicate everyone’s schedules and activities, track grocery lists, manage to do lists, plan ahead for dinner, and keep the whole family on the same page • Set reminders via phone notifications, SMS, and email, so no one misses an appointment

OPPORTUNITIES Young families are extremely busy. There is a need for a product or service to help couples manage everything they need to do while providing them with resources to boost their connection. This platform would offer holistic solutions to daily life challenges such as bookings, reservations, childcare arrangements and other needs.

• Keep track of the couple’s milestones, remind/highlight any date & time suitable for couple date nights, and provide suggestions on celebrations and dates • One-stop place for booking appointments, reservations, and childcare • Capture and save photos and videos associating with appointments and events; instantly share to close family and friends or post to social media • Support newer devices as well as the old ones

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VALUE PROPOSITION For married career couples with young children who desire alone time in the midst of hectic daily life.

Our service is a one stop place to enhance the quality of married life by managing couples schedules, identifying dating opportunities, suggesting relevant activities or events and sharing relevant therapies to reach customized goals towards an improved relationship.

We do this by building a mobile application that does it all for busy on-the-go parents.

Unlike other web and mobile apps such as Cozi and Care. com, our product aims to be the go-to place with smart features that learns and understands the needs of the couple and their children.

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STATEMENTS MISSION STATEMENT To restore order to the chaotic lives of married couples with children and help them overcome challenges that prevent them from spending quality time together.

25 WORD STATEMENT SyndĂŠo is an application that is designed to help married couples with children find and spend quality time together.

ONLINESS STATEMENT SyndĂŠo is the only application that helps bring order to the chaotic lives of married couples with children in the U.S. and around the world who want to spend quality time together in an era when quality time alone is diminishing.

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5W’s & 1H

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Who?

Married couples with children with hectic schedules who are interested in spending quality time together.

What?

A one-stop application that helps couples identify and spend quality time together.

Why?

We believe healthy marriages offer the greatest benefits to society and couples with children need help bringing order to their chaotic lives.

Where?

Digital devices (smartphones, tablets, computers) that can connect to the application.

When?

Everday

How?

Provide syncing calendars and list creation tools, connect to childcare providers and identify date opportunities.

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USERS YOUNG MARRIED COUPLES - Younger Gen X and older Millennials, well educated and career driven YOUNG CHILDREN - Younger Gen Y and Gen Alpha, use technology from a young age GRANDPARENTS - Parents of Gen X & Millennials; support their children financially or via childcare.

CHILDCARE PROVIDERS - Childcare center, home daycare, stay at home nanny, nanny share BUSINESS OWNERS - People who can be a good resource for couples

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SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

• Improves communication and reduce misunderstanding between couples and extended family members

• Too busy to use the product

• Maintains good relationship by keeping open communication and consistent communicating method • Offers suggestions on date ideas which is helpful to busy people who does not have time to think/research

• Learning curve of the product will take time • Every family is different; product may not fit some families’ needs • Requires technology-readiness in order to use the product

• No need to use multiple apps and services or make frequent phone calls – one app does it all!

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• Fills the white space between the two types of existing products/services out there in the market space: rekindling romance and organizing family life

• Existing competitive product Cozi wihch geared toward scheduling reminders and family organization

• Suggests events and things to do to maintain a healthy marriage • Suggests therapies to receive to reach goals of improving relationships

• Existing competitive service Care.com which geared toward searching for a trust-worthy caregiver • Some non technology-savvy users may not want to use this product

• One-stop place to take care of all bookings, reservations, and chlldcare arrangements

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COMPETITORS

Competitors in the space reveal a disparity between a network that targets couples and one that targets families, indicating a whitespace for possibilities. Networks such as Kindu, Couple, and Pillow target couples (both married and dating) with specific regard to intimacy and rekindling romance. Products, such as Cozi and Care.com, are more family centric.

A blended model would have the potential to disrupt this market space and create a valuable resource for customers.

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Part 3

Defining Network Users

Introduction In an effort to validate our findings from Secondary Research

Does having a job and children impact the health of a marrIage/ relationship?

How does having a job and kids influence a relationship (Key areas/ key issues/ challenges)?

and have a better understanding of our users, Primary

What are some of the consequences of having a job and children on the relationship between spouses?

Research was carried out in the form of surveys, interviews and observations.

The main research question considered for our inquiry was: ‘How does having children affect the relationship of

What keeps a marriage going?

Main Research Question

What does a married couple value in their relationship?

What are the methods used to cope with the challenges/ key issues? Has it made a difference and how has it made a difference?

How does the couple use technology to improve their relationship?

dual-career married couples and what are the methods (traditional & technology based) used by a couple to keep their marriage healthy?’ From this, 8 sub-questions were extracted that would help collect the required information as well as cover periphery areas for richer insights.

What are the ways in which couples improve/ maintain the romance in their relationship?

User Groups Users were categorized into 4 groups to create questions specific for each interview.

1

2

WIFE / MOTHER

HUSBAND / FATHER

4

3 CAREGIVER - Extended Family - Nannies / Babysitters - Schools

PRIMARY USER

SECONDARY USER

TERTIARY USER

NON-CUSTOMER - Non-married Couples - Single Parents

Survey Surveys were disseminated directly to potential users (married couples with children) through social networks like Facebook and Google Forms.

The survey received an enthusiastic response with close to 40 responses within 24 hours. This indicated that our area of study is of interest to people. For the purpose of our research, 40 responses were taken into consideration.

Survey as it appeared on Google Forms

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Survey Results Key Quantitative Data Points: • 80% of those surveyed use mobile technology as a couple or family for budgeting, communicating, family organization, calendars, etc.

• 34% of couples with young children had one of the parents stay home as a means for childcare.

• 37% of couples with young children relied on daycare.

• 37% of couples with young children regularly had a relative watch their children as a solution to childcare needs • 75% of couples surveyed responded with either “yes” or “maybe” when asked if they felt their level of romance had declined since getting married.

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Survey Results After gathering survey results, the affinitizing process helped analyze the extensive data by grouping information into more manageable clusters.

Please refer to Appendix for high-res image of the working wall.

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Survey Insights • Technology amongst couples or as a family is used mainly for

• Couples feel connected doing outdoor and sport related activities

communication, followed by planning / scheduling, finance,

(especially walking or hiking), followed by entertainment (movies,

entertainment and shopping

concerts, theatre), food related activities (going out for a meal or

• Daycare and relatives (grandparents) are the most used caregiver options for parents followed by stay at home parent and nanny • A majority of the couples feel the romance has gone down in their marriage since they had kids • Most couples feel time is the main reason for this followed by

cooking together), and vacations • Love, the kids, faith in each other, commitment and mutual respect are some aspects which help keep the marriage going • Being supportive, companionship, trust, open communication and love are some aspects couples value about their relationship

busy lives, kids and stress

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Interviews and Observations Questions for the interview were derived from a project matrix.

Improvisations were made as users were interviewed. The team interviewed 20 users in all and covered all four user group categories.

Observations were made during three preschool campus visits as well as during the interviews.

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Interviews Wife & Mother

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Name: Victoria Age: 37 Location: San Bruno, California Profession: Senior Accounting Manager Status: Married with 2 children (6 and 2)

Name: Wenchi Age: 40s Location: San Jose, California Profession: Information Architect Status: Married with 2 children (twins, both 8)

Victoria and her husband are both working professionals with young children. They share childcare and chores equally. They have grandparents and relatives, who live nearby within driving distance.

Wenchi and her husband are both working professionals with young children. Her husband works till 11pm on weekdays. None of the grandparents nor relatives live in the USA.

Name: Kate Age: 30 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Profession: Marketing Coordinator Status: Married with 1 child (8 mos.)

Name: Sally Age: 27 Location: Monroe, Michigan Profession: Stay at home Mom Status: Married with 2 children (3 and 2)

Kate and her husband, Adam, are both working professionals with a young child. They both take their daughter to and from daycare. After having a baby, they are much more pressed for quality time together.

Sally and her husband Nick are hard working, God fearing people raising two young children in Southeast Michigan. They have relatives close by whom they visit often and who help out with child care when needed.

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Interviews Wife & Mother Name: Rajvi Age: 40 Location: Ahmedabad, India Profession: Designer & Entrepreneur Status: Married with 1 child (13) The support of family living close and flexible work hours have helped Rajvi raise her daughter. She feels that the many opinions, daughters busy schedule, and family expectations have been a strain. She would like more one on one time with her husband.

Name: Neha Age: 36 Location: Bangalore, India Profession: Senior Design Manager Status: Married with 1 child (3) Neha lives in a different city from her spouse, due to her career. Her day involves taking care of her son and office. She has created a photo album on Facebook on the saris she wears to work daily as a way to connect with her spouse. They meet once or twice a month.

Name: Heta Age: 42 Location: Bangalore, India Profession: IT Professional Status: Married with 1 child (7)

Name: Bea Age: 28 Location: Fairbanks, AK Profession: Nurse Status: Married with 1 child (9 mos.)

Bea lives with her husband Nathan and nine-month-old baby Nellie. Both Bea and Nathan are nurses, so when both of them are working, Nellie goes to day care. The biggest challenge for their family is juggling their time together with their busy work schedules.

Heta is career focused & has the complete support of her parents with raising her child. They live very close.

Trust in her parents makes her feel comfortable about pursuing her career confidently. She understands the importance of having a good support system.

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Interviews Husband & Father Name: Adam Age: 32 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Profession: Senior Visuals Producer Status: Married with 1 child (8 mos.)

Name: Nathen Age: Late 30s Location: Aurora, CO Profession: Financial Analyst Status: Married with 3 children (18, 15, and 6)

Adam and his wife, Kate, are both working professionals with a young child. Adam is also in grad school and has a busy travel schedule with his work.

Deciding and knowing what to do for little things like dinner are a pain point for Adam.

Nathen and his wife Christine are both hard working professionals in the banking/finance industry. They’re raising three kids and about to send one off to college next year.

Name: Nathan Age: 28 Location: Fairbanks, AK Profession: Nurse Status: Married with 1 child (9 mos.)

Name: Akshat Age: 37 Location: Bangalore, India Profession: Management Consultant, IT Status: Married with 2 kids (8 and 5) Akshat enjoys activities with his spouse that focus on teamwork and adventure. He thinks going on dates is important, provided the people are not distracted.

Nathan and his Wife Bea are both nurses living and working in Fairbanks, AK. They recently had their first child and are consumed with the challenges of managing two careers and a baby.

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Interviews Caregiver Name: Han Age: 50s Location: San Jose, California Profession: Full time nanny Status: Married with 1 child and 1 grandchild Han has been a full time nanny for close to 20 years and part time nursery worker at church. She cares for children from newborns to preschoolers.

Name: Sandra Age: 60s Location: San Jose, California Profession: Teller Status: Married with 3 children and 4 grandchildren Sandra is an empty nester and a grandmother. She lives with her husband and some of their children live nearby. She is still working full time.

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Name: Hannah Age: 21 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Profession: College student, part-time babysitter Status: Single Hannah has been a babysitter since she was 14 years old. For one summer she was a full-time nanny. Hannah keeps track of her own personal schedule using an app called Cozi. She enjoys taking care of kids and sees it as an opportunity to earn money.

Name: David Age: 60s Location: San Jose, California Profession: Technician Status: Married with 3 children and 4 grandchildren David is an empty nester and a grandfather. He lives with his wife and some of their children live nearby.

He is still working full time. He enjoys taking care of his grandchildren as it reminds him of the wonderful memories he had with his own children.

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Interviews Caregiver Name: Nalini Age: 64 Location: Ahmedabad, India Profession: Retired as a Program Assistant in UNICEF Status: Married with 2 children and 4 grandchildren Nalini takes care of her grandkids when required as she lives in a different city. Over the years she has learned to understand what works with the particular child’s temperament.

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Name: VS Age: 65 Location: Ahmedabad, India Profession: Banking Consultant Status: Married with 2 children and 4 grandchildren VS has two phones. One of them is full of game apps for his grandkids. He also enjoys playing hide and seek and indulging his grandkids. He says there is a very thin line as a grandparent – you are emotionally attached and cannot be strict at the same time.

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Interviews Non-Customer Name: Pansy Age: 40s Location: San Jose, California Profession: Part time accountant Status: Married with 2 children (16 and 13) Pansy became a stay-at-home mother since her first child was born. She had been the caretaker for both of her children. Her husband works full time and is the bread winner of the household. None of the grandparents nor relatives live in the USA.

Name: Alyssa Age: 23 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Profession: Public Relations Coordinator Status: In a committed long-distance relationship Alyssa and her boyfriend have been dating for five years. Two of those five years have been long distance.

They communicate throughout the day via text and Facebook messenger. After work they have phone conversations and will sometimes Skype.

Name: Nicole Age: 26 Location: Savannah, GA Profession: Human Resources Manager Status: Married (no children) Nicole and her husband are both very involved in their careers. They temporarily live about 2.5 hours apart during the week for work and see each other on the weekends. Nicole plans for children in the future.

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Empathy Map After gathering the data points from interviews and surveys, empathy maps helped us understand the users better by enabling us to go beyond demographic characteristics, and enhancing our understanding of the users environment, behavior, concerns, and aspirations. Empathy Maps were based on the following six questions: • What does he/she see?

• What does he/she hear?

• What does he/she think and feel?

• What does he/she say and do?

• What is the user’s pain?

• What is the user’s gain?

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Empathy Map

If her spouse does not involve with chores, she feels like a single mother.

Wife & Mother

between her career and family. The age range for children considered is from infant to pre-teen.

things to run smoothly

Opinions from extended family

“I trust who she [the child] is with (at daycare)”

Information from social media

Doesn’t have time for makeup or nice clothes

Information from social media

School offers marriage/parenting counseling for parents.

Friends keep up with trends in fashion, home decor, exercise, food, religious beliefs and politics

Truly listening to each other Uses Google goes a long way.

Calendar to manage family life.

When school is on break or child Try to find is ill, parents take time off work. common Make time to do things her hobbies with spouse would appreciate Values time with Tries to stay her spouse relaxed but gets children over both stressed as well spouses working Encouraging one another is very valuable.

See

aspires to have a good balance

Feels out of sync Feels left out when she is unable when she is unable to attend to attend industry A system is events from work conference due to important for childcare. due to childcare.

First time parents get nervous in many things.

Hear

A mother who works full time and

Hears too many opinions/advices from friends

Think & Feel

Values 1:1 conversations

Family surrounded by a lot of family as everyone stays close by

Say & Do

No family live nearby to help out when needed “Must make an effort to spend time together, otherwise it won’t happen.”

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No backup plan for childcare when needed

Pain

No time for friends or dating

“Less time available for dating and less spontaneity.”

Life/dating takes a lot more planning after baby.

“I can text the daycare teacher anytime during the day.”

Relationship/ perceptive between spouses changed after having children

Gain

Appreciates small things in life more now after having children Nanny-share occasionally to gain free time

Wants to set more time aside for her spouse

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Empathy Map Husband & Father

Think & Feel

Quality family time is very important

Media Influences: websites, books

Spouse is best

is his wife

good friends

amount of time with his family Childcare is expensive

learning and

romantic with his

growing

wife

romantic at an older age

Say & Do

Dating after having kids is much more difficult

Pain

He’s not sure how to be

Wants to be

father is vital He has a limited

way his wife wants

Wants to keep

Being a good

offerings pervasive

communicating the

is very important

Media Influences:

“adult” content

He’s not good at

Pleasing his wife

sports channels

Exposure to

friend and kids are

from infant to pre-teen.

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and work

more intentional

Hear

age range for children considered is

from church

less critical and Primary influencer

the workday

See

between his career and family. The

Friends come

He wants to be

A father who works full time and

He is worn out by the end of

family’s life

influencers

aspires to have a good balance

are at daycare

himself and his

family time

co-workers all

child when they

Wants to improve

Values extended

Church, friends,

Worries, misses

Money, time,

He wants to be

location restrict

a hero dad and

dates

husband

Marriage not as open and free as it was before kids

Advancing his career and growing in importance

Be more thoughtful of his spouse and kids

Gain

Improve his romance and intimacy Satisfying his wife

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Empathy Map

“I will text the parents a photo of the kids to let them know everything is okay”

Caregiver

Takes care of grandchildren when daycare/school is on break.

include part time or full time nannies, school teachers, babysitters, grandparents, relatives, or friends.

Part of her job is to create good routine and habits for the child.

“Parents want to know the highlights of what happened while they were out.”

Being a nanny means you are more part of the family.

Nanny prefers to have 1:1 with the child.

Sees how the parents raise the children.

Sees bad routines and habits setup by previous caretaker or parents.

Enjoyed the time when her children were still young.

Expected to household work (laundry, clean, etc.) and cook or pick up a meal.

Helps to create good routine and habits for the child.

“I will text the parents a photo of the kids to let them know everything is okay”

Uses Cozi to keep track of her own schedule.

Caretaker works with parents with different parenting styles and routines.

Caretaker works with infants and/or toddlers daily throughout the years.

“I don’t want to have to have to text the parents a million times to ask them questions and bother them.”

Previous caretaker/ parents did not set up a routine/habit for the child.

Pain

Trains the child to eat well and sleep well.

Say & Do Good to know expectations of the parents

Dislike controlling Children parents Parents want to know May not be have many highlights of what happened tech-savvy. allergies. while they were out.

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Some nannies prefer to be a nanny rather than a daycare worker.

See

parents when needed. These

Hear

A caregiver is someone who takes care of children on behalf of their

Think & Feel

Being a nanny means more expectations on tasks.

Sees other at-home caretakers at the community park/ library.

Grandparent takes care of the child when daycare/ school is on break or during illness.

Uses messaging app to manage family life.

“It would be great to have instructions for the kids online or easily accessible.”

Grandparents enjoy Grandparents enjoy caring their grandchildren. their memory of caring their own children.

Centralized location for instructions and emergency contacts

Daycare/caretaker Wants an app lets parents focus that marks do’s and don’ts to work

Gain

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Empathy Map A non-customer is someone who category but has the potential to be a customer of the product. He/she can

fulfillment is scary

are significant

and respected

contribute and

Understand where

improve lives

Moved by

they can add value

honesty, truth

other and parents

to the world

and intetionality

See relationships in communities,

Media Influences: social media (Facebook, Instg.)

Church, friends,

social network

Co-workers,

co-workers all

friends

influencers

be in a relationship without children, or dating.

as a quality person

Aspires to

Not finding

Primary influencers

Wants to be seen

Friends are from work, school, church

Feels positive Media Influences: television, websites

See

does not fall into the married couple

partner scary

Hear

Non-Customer

Think & Feel

Not finding a life

about the future of

Exposed to

the relationship

social media posts routinely

Wants to be

Ambitious in career

connected

Say & Do Limited

Willing to take risks,

Money, time and

communication

but fearful of hurt

career aspirations limit

opportunities

relationships

Dating experiences require effort

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Pain

Feels not connected when apart from other

To marry or find someone they

To be an excellent

Honesty, trust

parent and provider

and open communication

can share life with Make memories with significant other

Companionship

Gain

and intimacy are top-of-mind

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Personas Based on the Empathy Maps, eight personas were created for four user groups. We tried to differentiate personas by age, experience, the kind of childcare and prospective users.

1

2

3

4

WIFE / MOTHER

HUSBAND / FATHER

CAREGIVER

NON-CUSTOMER

• Diane, a high achiever mom; • Sia, an experienced mom who balances career and family;

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• Elvin, a striving dad; • Antonio, a mid-career dad;

• Julie, a seasonal nanny; • Dorothy, a grandmother;

• Virginia, unmarried, in a long distance relationship with her partner; • Angela, a wife with no children as of yet;

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Diane, 39

Married, mother of 2 children with age 5 and 2, college education, manager of her team at work, hired a full time nanny

Value Quality time spent with family while advancing in career Jobs High achiever mom

“ After having kids,

we have less time available for dating, and it takes time to plan.”

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Pains

• Manages a team at • Spouse on the workplace phone while spending time • Volunteers together personal time at church

• Activist for children’s safety, care, and education

• Needs odd-hour childcare to have flexibility to deal with work

Gains

• Spends her evenings caring her children and helping kindergartener’s homework

• Freedom to work full-time while the nanny takes care • Needs to put trust of children in nanny to care for her children

Expectations

• Husband and wife share the chores and responsibility of maintaining a household • Set aside 2 nights per month for her and her spouse to go out for dinner • Uses calendar app and reminders to manage family life • Relationship improvement after having children

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Sia, 45

Married, mother of 1 child aged 13, owner of own clothes business, extended family stays close by and is of great support

Value Wants to be a good mom, wife, entrepreneur and daughter

Jobs

• Runs own clothing business

Experienced Mom

“ A date is good provided both are in the same mindset at the time.”

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• Feels connected with her work • Accomodates work schedule to be available for daughter • Maintains a network of clients in the city

Pains

• Many opinions due to large family

Gains

Expectations

• Family support • Spending more one on one system enables her time with her spouse to work & raise a • Daughters • Going on family vacations child schedule physically • Daughter excelling in talents and mentally • Flexible work after effort put in demanding schedule • Not being influenced by family • Unable to focus • Husband is open opinions as a couple - having completely on and available their own understanding and business to share pickopinion up and drop-off responsibilities for the child 70

Elvin, 31

Married for three years, has a son aged 2, grad student, videographer for his organization

Value Being a good father and pleasing his wife Jobs Striving Dad

“ I need to be

more thoughtful and intentional than I am.”

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Pains

• Invests in his career • Budget restrains and education him from doing more with his wife • Makes wife and child top priorities in his life

• Ensuring he stays active and healthy • Travels for work on a regular basis

Gains

• Finds pleasure in cooking for his family

• Lacks the freedom • Enjoys simple he and his wife had to-do lists to before children remind him of responsibilities • Time limitations restrict his experiences

• Unsure of the best way to keep pursuing his wife

• Embraces every opportunity possible to have a positive impact on son’s life

Expectations

• Tools to help him prioritize and time manage his schedule • Advanced knowledge of events so he can plan accordingly • Ideas to help him thrive in his marriage and as a father

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Antonio, 40

Married for 19 years with three children, ages 18, 15, and 6, works as financial analyst

Value Time with his kids and separate alone time with his wife Jobs Mid-Career Dad

“ I love being with

my kids but sometimes my wife and I need our time too.”

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• Very involved with his work as a financial analyst • Helps people and improve lives on a daily basis

Pains

• Busy work and kid’s activities restrict leisure time with wife

• Before and After School program for youngest child is inefficient and • Both Antonio and inconvenient his wife work at the same company • Finances are uncertain with new house and college payments coming up

Gains

• Kid’s schools are very close to home allowing them to drive or be dropped off easily • Him and his wife work at the same company allowing them to eat lunch together every day • Family has weekly meeting to sync calendars and get everyone on the same page

Expectations

• An app that would allow the family to manage all calendars so there are no miscommunications • Increased time with his children to take weekend trips and vacations • Be able to take wife out more often on dates 72

Julie, 19

Single and not married, college student, work as a nanny during school break to earn extra income for school, tech-savvy

Value Job performance and experience gained Jobs Seasonal nanny

“ It would be

great to have instructions for the kids online or easily accessible.”

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Pains

Gains

• Uses calendar app • May not know • Wants a better way to keep track of her where everything is to inform parents own schedule how their children • Expectations are doing without • Expected to do are not clear ruining their time laundry, cook and sometimes clean • Appreciates a good • Takes time to household rountine • Expected to know understand the and system of first aid and know child’s habits and where everything is what to do during behaviors urgent situation

• Loving and caring for children

• Parents want to know everything at all time

Expectations

• Tools to know habits and routines of the children • Tools for parents to make notes and instructions • Calendar that can be shared between parents and nanny • Maintains good relationship with the family

• Prefers to work children with good habits and routines

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Dorothy, 62

Grandmother of 3 children and 5 grandchildren, college education, still working but near retirement, limited technology experience

Value Relationship and well-being of her children and grandchildren

Jobs Grandmother

“ My spouse

and I have fond memories of our children growing up.”

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• Works 9 to 5, 5 days a week with an office job • Provides care for her grandchildren on weekends or when needed • Leverages her sick days from work to care for her sick grandchild

Pains

Gains

• May not be tech• Caring for her savvy; need time to grandchildren adopt something brings back new enjoyable memory • Parenting for her children’s generation is different than hers

• Relationship improved with her children by helping out child-caring

• Grandchildren get sick from friends at daycare

• Be a part of with her children’s and grandchildren’s lives

Expectations

• Reminder tools to help marking do’s and don’ts with her spouse • Knows the latest communication tools that her children and grandchildren use to keep in touch with them • New topics of conversation with peers by knowing the latest and greatest from children and grandchildren

74

Virginia, 27

In a committed, long-distance relationship, but not married, no children, college education, Millennial, entry-level income

Value Openness, companionship and communication Jobs Non-customer

“ I want to feel

connected and like the other person is really there.”

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• Works full-time, volunteers on occasion • Has social obligations to friends and coworkers

Pains

• Budget constraints her activities and social life • Dating relationship is challenging with communication via technology and expectations

• Manages house chores when home • Challenge of wanting to be married but wanting a career

Gains

• Easy communication tool • Help with relationship advice • Connections to people • Opportunities to create lasting memories

Expectations

• Tools that help her feel more connected • Seamless integration of communication tools and apps • Connectedness to her boyfriend’s schedule • Engagement with people

75

Angela, 26

Married for 2 years, both her and husband have busy and demanding careers in separate locations

Value Limited weekend time with husband and busy job

Wife with no kids

“ I really appreci-

ate the time each week that I have with my husband” DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Jobs

Pains

Gains

• Commutes to work and travels on a regular basis

• Paying for two apartments in two cities

• Loves job and the people she works with

• Works a busy job that often includes travel and weekends

• Limited time with husband during the work week

• Dual-income with no kids allows the couple to travel and maintain disposable income

Expectations • Coule use a better budgeting tool/app that allows her to track the couple’s purchases

• Hopefully have kids within the next couple of years

• Volunteers with • Limited vacation time • Utilizes the full potential of calendar app to juggle church and other • Balancing desire schedules with husband • Be able to continue non-profits in her free to have kids with working after time • Ability to go on dates with advancement of having kids and husband and hang out with career advance her career coworkers during the week 76

Affinitizing The affinitizing process helped analyze the extensive data gathered by our primary research. Information was grouped into more manageable clusters based on the following themes: • Dating and romance • Marriage after kids • Tools • Communication • Childcare Insights generated from the affinitizing process are documented in the following section.

Affinity Diagram on Working Wall Please refer to Appendix for high-res images.

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Insights

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Insight 1

Quality Time Alone Couples need and want quality time alone. It is critical for a marriage to thrive amidst the hectic demands that are placed on a dual-career family that the husband and wife find time to be with just one another.

“ We have to make sure

that we spend time together... dating helps improve our relationship�

- Victoria

Supporting Insights

Opportunity

Dating after kids is more about quality than quantity.

To make finding quality time easier for a couple

Dates are constrained after having kids due to constrained time and money.

Parents must be more intentional about spending time together having kids.

Less spontaneous dating after having kids.

Expectations of dates lowered after having kids.

Staying engaged during the date is very important.

After having kids, dates are shorter and often involve less thought in planning.

Couples feel connected when doing outdoor activities together.

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How Might We Develop an application to help couples find the time to spend together?

Educate couples on the value of spending quality time alone?

Help couples plan their time together?

Set the mood so a couple is not distracted when they are out on a date?

Fascilitate activities or events where couples feel connected, and suit their conveninece?

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Insight 2

Simple is Better With so many demands (family, work, & social) vying for the attention of a couple, it is important to keep products and solutions smart, simple and easy to use, while making the system all-encompassing and fluid.

“ It would be nice to have

an app that made decision making easier, like what to cook for dinner�

- Adam

Supporting Insights

Opportunity

Tools need to make communication simple.

To combine, improve and custom create app. features that will help create a holistic system to support and make the lives of busy parents more convenient.

Consistent communication is essential for busy lives.

Communication becomes more important as the family grows.

A support system is very important.

Instructions for the kids need to be easily accessible.

Apps need to be more human: visual and verbal.

Couples are looking for products to simplify their lives.

Couples are looking and using apps to manage their time.

Couples use joint calendars, either print or digital.

Couples need to understand a family schedule.

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How Might We Integrate with existing channels to share information?

Make it fun for the customers to use a management system?

Make the tool easy to use as well as effortless on-boarding and adoption?

Integrate features in a holistic way to improve the quality of a married couple’s relationship 80

Insight 3

Be Intentional In today’s world dual-career couples with children are pulled in a thousand different directions. To help keep love alive and a marriage thriving, couples must be intentional. Being intentional means planning, thinking and acting on their relationship.

“ We have to make an effort

to spend time together, otherwise it won’t happen” - Kate

Supporting Insights

Opportunity

Couple is more focused on the family than each other.

To introduce a product that enhances a couples unnatural ability to be intentional

Career motivated couple have harder time after having kids.

Raising kids can be time consuming and exhausting.

Work and money don’t leave a lot of time of anything else.

Parent’s conversations are centered on discussing the child.

How Might We

Couples agree that love, kids, faith in each other and committment are some of the core values that keep the marriage going.

Better prepare couples to be intentional with their romance, time and communication?

Couples value partner support, companionship, trust, open communication and mutual respect in their relationships

Encourage couples to look beyond their schedule and value their relationship?

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Overcome the barriers to intentionality, e.g. selfishness?

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Insight 4

Outdoor Activities

“ A team mindset as

The absence of household responsibilities during a vacation, or team spirit ignited doing an activity together, can help a couple feel more connected and relaxed.

opposed to, ‘this is your task, you do it’, made it more enjoyable” - Akshat

Supporting Insights

Opportunity

Couples stated outdoor activities (including walks, hiking, camping, playing sports, etc) as one of the key ways they feel connected.

A vacation is usually amongst the most enjoyable memories.

Being outdoors or on a vacation changes the regular setting of daily or household nuances for husbands and especially wives.

Adventure and exploring something together brings out a sense of team spirit that strengthens a relationship.

To help couples plan outdoor activities and adventures of mutual interest that fosters relationship connect.

How Might We Help couples plan outdoor activities of their interest?

Bring in a sense of adventure, team spirit and fun to the daily routine?

Manage childcare so couples can spend time on outdoor activities of their interest?

How might we help couples plan activities within their budget and childcare constraints?

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Encourage couples to spend time doing outdoor activites?

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Insight 5

Childcare Roller Coaster Whether you are a parent or paid childcare provider, you have a tough job that requires an unimaginable amount of patience and planning. Childcare can be stressful and a delight. To handle the childcare roller coaster, key strategies must be implemented.

“ Finding adequate

childcare for the baby is the biggest barrier to us going on dates” - Bea

Supporting Insights

Opportunity

Childcare providers play a crucial role in shaping the children’s character.

To create a more inviting childcare experience for married couples with children

Arranging childcare creates stress on the couple.

When childcare is closed, it creates stress on the couple.

Parents want to be informed about a child’s progress.

Caretaker wants to know the expectations of the parents.

Convenience and trust are important to parents.

Parents can focus on their work or each other when they know their children are in good hands.

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How Might We Develop a process that enables the childcare provider and the parent?

Design a better, more complete childcare experience for providers and for parents?

Develop a stress-free process for parents dealing with childcare?

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Research Conclusion The research revealed that the relationships of dual-career married couples are often strained by family and work related responsibilities.

Much effort and time is spent in keeping things going, leaving little or no time for the couple to connect. This is something that couples yearn for, even in a simple way as opposed to elaborate experiences.

Couples also value the importance of an efficient support system that meets their hopes and expectations, whether it be communication, calendar syncing, budgeting or childcare. In the midst of this, if the ignored, yet deep rooted aspiration of being valued and cared for by their partner is met, and the core abilities that keep a marriage going as a team are incorporated, we might be able to provide an offering of immense value to our selected users.

The high level of interest in our research from married couples, their use of technology as a means to communicate, budget, plan as a family and the absence of a holistic tool amongst the current available offerings, demonstrates the potential user base for creation of an innovative solution in this market.

From our research we can conclude that the key for making a married couples App. successful will be to provide users with a specific tool that solves more than one of their problems and does it well!

Marketing Strategies Based on findings from our research, it is evident that the social network app needs to be built on the foundation of four primary factors:

Simplicity

Connectedness

This user group is extremely busy To enhance their marriage or and does not have the time or keep it thriving, couples need to patience for complexity. They

require easy-to-use designs that do not require excessive time to operate.

staty connected. They do this via multiple platforms, including instant messaging, phone and video calls and emails. It will be critical that any platform offers integration into these comunication tools.

Schedule Management

Support/ Encouragement

Calendar sharing was a common Career support, emotional factor across the research

support, encouraging healthy

respondents. Consolidating their

lifestyles and general well-being

schedules allows couples to plan all help keep a marriage thriving. ahead, be intentional and get the The team must keep these most out of their time together. A essential relationship factors in schedule management tool is a

mind when designing the final

basic tool needed and desired by solution. this user group.

Marketing Strategies The first challenge for this platform is going to be getting users on-board. One way to achieve this is to target organizations that are invested in the health of marriages such as churches, counseling services, family websites and programs. This could be accomplished by seeking out influencers in these organizations, influential family bloggers and magazine editors/writers to use the app and discover the benefits for their audiences. As it is used and written about, word-of-mouth and information sharing will help spread the news and the user base will grow.

To jump start this ripple effect, we intend to incentivize early adopters with attractive limited-time offers. We will do this by partnering with organizations in the hospitality and entertainment industries (hotels, airlines, theatres, restaurants, etc.). Such partnerships can create value for both sides by increasing their visibility and giving our social network a good excuse to try out the app.

Marketing Strategies The Strategy Canvas below provides an understanding of where we want to invest in our potential offering based on research. The horizontal axis captures the range of factors that our application will compete on and the vertical axis captures the offering level that customers receive across the factors.

High

Strategy 1 Offering focused on life management

Strategy 2 Offering focused on connecting couples and creating experiences Strategy 3 Offering is more holistic and covers a broad range of options

Low Price

Communication / Messaging Travel

Time Management / Calendar Childcare Management

Entertainment Ideas Financial Management

Support / Encouragement Activities Planning

Intimacy

Three Value Creating Strategies Strategy #1

Strategy #2

Strategy #3

Management Focused Offering

Connection Centered Offering

All-Encompassing Offering

Strategy 1 focuses on the management of

Strategy 2 is centered around the idea of

Strategy 3 is a more holistic approach to

couples’ lives. Our primary research led us

couples needing romance and quality time

a service that will help couples across a

to the insight that couples need tools to

together. This solution would focus on

broad range of areas. This product does not

help them manage their busy lives. Some

these underlying factors that contribute to

excel in any one category but offers benefits

of these tools include scheduling, childcare,

delightful experiences.

that matter to our customers based on our

and clear communication.

primary research.

Part 4

Competitor Research and Analysis

Introduction

High Focus Gottman Institute

To gain a better understanding of the current market space and identify hidden, untapped value opportunities, we decided to examine two leading businesses that compete across complementary product and service offerings: The Gottman Institute and Cozi. These businesses were married couples. They also occupy the extreme ends of two market strategies that we identified in part three.

Gottman is relationship/connection focused while Cozi competes in the productivity/management space.

High Base

Relationship Enhancement

selected for review because they appeal to and target

Low Base

Productivity Based

Cozi

Low Focus DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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The Gottman Institute

Customer Segments

The Gottman Institute is a well-known, research-based relationship counseling organization. Gottman’s mission is to ‘reach out to families in institute provides a multitude of services including training and certification for clinicians (mental health professionals), products designed for couples, parents

The Gottman business model is best described as a blend of an Open Business Model and Multi-Sided Platform Model. Research and development

Gottman Institute

(Gottman Certified Therapists and National Marriage Seminars). Relationship and services for customers such as content on mobile apps, blog posts, books, videos, website, workshops and more. Because Gottman serves two distinct customer segments (couples and parents, and clinicians), it has two value propositions and two revenue streams. Gottman’s main costs relate to content creation for products and human capital (e.g. researchers, knowledge creation, and instruction).

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Content

research and development results are transformed into value creating products

Event Production

activities are concentrated in-house and leveraged by utilizing outside partners

National Marriage Seminars

Cash , Sub scrib er Da tabas e Prod ucts, Clinic ians, Rese arch

Cash

ts, n e v E

Cash, Clients

and clinicians and an extensive network of clinicians around the world.

Clinicians

ork w t e ts, N c u d ro P , g n ini a r T , arch e s e R ch a e R nd a r B , Cash

Counseling

order to help create and maintain greater love and health in relationships’. The

Couples & Parents

ent t n o an C m t t Go

Gottman Institute Value Web 91

Cozi Cozi is a leading online productivity tool for families that aims to ‘integrate creatively’ on multiple fronts in a quest to help users manage the chaos of family life. It organizes and integrates the schedules of family members by letting moms, dads and kids sync up activities and errands with an online calendar, shopping, to-do lists and messaging, that can be accessed anywhere and on any platform. Cozi families keep track of everything from school schedules and sports activities to grocery lists, meals and chores, all in one place.

The Cozi business model uses both Freemium, a model that blends free basic services with paid premium services and Multi-Sided Platform Model, which generates revenue by selling to advertisers. Cozi is a free product (app and website) with a large user base benefiting from a free, no-stringsattached offer. The small base of paying users subsidize the free users. Cozi also generates revenue by selling advertisements within their monthly editorial content to their larger user base.

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Business Model Canvas The Gottman Institute KEY PARTNERS

KEY ACTIVITIES

KEY PROPOSITIONS

• Certified Gottman Therapists (clinicians) • National marriage seminars

• Relationship Management • Content creation for products (apps., books, workshops, videos, website, events, etc.)

• GI training of clinicians and network • Research

Married Couples and Parents:

KEY RESOURCES • Gottman brand • Customer database • Intellectual property (i.e. Gottman Method Couples Therapy) • Gottman Referral Network • Certified Gottman Therapists (clinicians CGTs) • Gottman products

• Extensive network of certified clinicians • Expert knowledge and research • Legacy of success helping customers overcome problems associated with marriage and parenting • Accessible and customizable content in a manifold of formats, much of it available 24/7

Clinicians • Legacy of success helping clinicians develop successful practices and methods • Referral network • Industry leading research, training and certification • Tools/resources for delivering customized content to clinician customers

COST STRUCTURE • Employees & Human Capital • Content production • Network CGTs platform and support • Material production and product maintenance (books, apps, website, videos, workshops, trainning, etc.)

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

• Interact daily with couples and clinicians through social media, email and website • Workshops, events, training are held weekly, monthly, annually

• Couples • Professionals (i.e. clinicians, social workers, church leaders) • Parents

CHANNELS

• Social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter) • Referral network • Email marketing • Subscriber database: segmented by customer type • Workshops & events • Social media advertising • Website

REVENUE STREAMS • Intellectual property defense • Marketing (advertising, social posts, etc.)

• Partnership with national marriage seminars (revenue split, space rental, logistics)

• Partnership with national marriage seminars • Product sales (apps, books, videos) to public • Certification of clinicians (CGTs) • Marriage Seminars

• Material purchases from CGTs for their workshops • Workshops & trainings

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SWOT Analysis The Gottman Institute STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• Content available in multiple formats & platforms • Multiple revenue streams • Gottman brand is credible, respected and has high value • Robust referral network provides easy way for customers to identify clinicians, which makes becoming a Gottman certified instructor desirable creates loyalty loop • Partnership with National Marriage Seminars provides way to expand reach • Largest organization of it’s kind, no direct competitors • Extensive customer and clinician subscriber database • Gottman intellectual property protected • Global accessibility (both content & certified clinicians)

• Divorce rates in the U.S. (ranked 10th in 2014) and in Europe at an all time high and there is a need for services that can help create/maintain healthy marriages • Leverage the brand and move into the family management space with new platform creation • Leverage partnership with certified counselors to offer new services in untapped areas, such as premarital counseling on college campuses, corporations, etc.

• Extend brand into childcare management tools

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• Gottman apps are seperated by problem solving needs and not all inclusive • Gottman does not have any dedicated online communities other than a clinician Facebook group • Only one centralized office • Lacks family management tools such as calendar, planner, list creation • Lacks communication messaging tool • No childcare management tools

• Divorce rates in the U.S. and Europe at an all-time high, and a trend is developing to forgo marriage altogether • Cheaper solutions, such as competitor apps like Couple and Avocado, could pull couples away from more expensive and time-consuming Gottman counseling solutions • Busy schedules of married couples with children limits opportunities to inform them of services

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Business Model Canvas Cozi KEY PARTNERS

KEY ACTIVITIES

KEY PROPOSITIONS

• Time Inc. • Affiliate Program • Premium account subscribers

• Software versioning and testing • Social media • Customer support • Marketing content

• Simplify the logistics of managing everyday life • Keep the whole family on the same page • Free productivity tool • Premium service • Access anytime, anywhere

KEY RESOURCES • Platform • Software • Platform Development • Marketing

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

• Self-served FAQ’s • Email-based customer support • Premium priority of emailbased customer support

• Parents who own smartphones • Parents who need ideas to organize their lives • Parents who organize and schedule family activities • Primary purchaser of the household • Parents who use mobile calendar frequently • Military families • Divorced / separated families

CHANNELS • Cozi.com • TimeInc.com • Affiliate program • Media coverage • Club Cozi

• Social media • Marketing content • Advertisement

COST STRUCTURE

REVENUE STREAMS

• Platform Development • Marketing • Software Development • Software Maintenance

• In App advertisement • In App purchase • Free limited basic account • Annual subscription premium account

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SWOT Analysis Cozi STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• Easily accessible platform for on-the-go users • Free to use, pay to use premium features • No initial cost to try out • Large user base — 15 million • Easy-to-use tools for free download • View calendars of individual or family at once • Create lists and shared to-do lists for whole family to access in real time • Family journal for busy parents • Sync family calendar with work calendar • Company backed by Time Inc.

• Similar competitive product, Google Calendar, provides a roadmap and market entry strategy • Fill the white space between the two types of existing products/services out there in the market space: rekindling romance and organizing family life • Suggest events and things to do to maintain a healthy marriage • Enable features to make bookings, reservations, and childcare arrangements within the application • Explore and capture market for new user group DMGT 720 Winter 2017

• Adaption to the product takes time • Big learning curve to use this product • No patents • Easily out-run by competitors who want to produce similar products • Lack of diversity in user type: majority of users are Caucasian and female • Small portion of male users: men are not adopting like women • 91% of the users are within USA • Uncertain amount of active users

• Similar competitive product, Google Calendar, that has the advantage of seamlessly syncing with the suite of Google products • Dated design and technology platform • Not able to capture new and younger customers • Slow down in growth within US market • No plan to expand in a different market or other emerging markets

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Similarities and Differences SIMILARITIES

DIFFERENCES

• Both business models offer mobile application platforms

• Gottman Institute is focused on relationship building; Cozi

• Both Cozi and The Gottman Institute utilize social media

is focused on family organization through creating shared

platforms as channels for customer interaction • Both business models offer email-based customer service and support • A key resource to both business models is their intellectual property and proprietary software • Both business models offer a paid premium subscription for customers looking to get the most out of their product • Neither model is focused on the childcare needs of families

calendars, to-do lists, and grocery lists • Gottman apps and services are offered on a paid basis; Cozi offers customers a free limited basic account • Cozi only offers app and virtual services; Gottman customers have access to “real-life” clinicians and products (e.g. workshops) • Gottman’s business model includes a partnership; Cozi does not have a partnership • Unlike Cozi, Gottman features a robust referral network for customers

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Similarities and Differences The Strategy Canvas below provides an overview of what the Gottman Institute and Cozi business models offer customers. The horizontal axis captures the range of factors that offerings compete on and the vertical axis captures the offering level that customers receive across the factors.

High

Gottman Institute Cozi

Low Price

Time Management / Calendar

Communication / Messaging Childcare Management

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Activities Planning

Multiple Platforms / Touch Points

Support / Encouragement Revenue Streams

Intimacy

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Weakest Business Model After analyzing the business models, and comparing their strengths

Reflecting on the primary and secondary research insights, we

and weaknesses, we found useful attributes of both. The Gottman

find the Cozi model to be more relevant to our targeted user group

model is centered on building lasting, healthy relationships,

and defined problem area. Cozi is simple and has a highly focused

matching a concern of our primary user group (married couples) .

value proposition of helping couples organize and connect their

The Cozi model is directed toward helping create family organization lives. The Gottman model has been incredibly successful and has through calendar syncing, and to-do lists solving a major pain point

undoubtedly helped thousands of couples. However, in regards

of our primary user group.

to the challenges facing dual-career married couples with children (i.e. schedule and childcare management, making time for each other, etc.), we find that the Gottman offerings are beyond the scope of what primary users are looking for in an app and do not solve their primary pain points. Still, we discovered opportunities for improvement in both business models.

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Improving The Gottman Model Some ways in which The Gottman Institute could be adapted to cater to our targeted customers include: Improving the ability to

Offering a free app or service

Offering family management

Implementation of a

appeal to customers with

to help reach a broader

tools including to-do lists,

messaging/communication

young children by offering

range of customers, as the

calendar syncing, and

tool into the platform.

childcare solutions.

high cost of membership

shopping / recipe lists that

and attending seminars is a

could be used on a daily

deterrent to young families

basis. This would greatly

who are just starting out in

improve their customer

their careers.

reach.

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Key Takeaways This process helped us as a team to understand the strengths and weaknesses of two very different approaches to the same problem. Studying the two business models helped us glean a myriad of opportunities for our own product/service for development. A blend of the two business models we studied, combined with a more robust childcare service would be very useful to target customers. Some key takeaways from our business model analysis include: Developing a product/service

Providing couples/families

Offering dating ideas and

Partnering with an

that centers around family

with solutions to childcare

romantic outing planning,

organization like Gottman

keeping the needs of married

to offer relationship/family

couples in focus

counseling, seminars,

organization

and general marriage and parenting advice

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Part 5

Business Model Generation

Introduction After compiling primary and secondary research, as well as assessing the business models of two competitors within our sector, we were able to derive our own business model that focused specifically on key areas pertinent to the user base, dual-career married couples with children. We aspire to strengthen connections between spouses who have lost that spark due to busy careers, raising children, routine chores, or just lack of motivation. Designed to help couples overcome these barriers, our product will simplify family organization and management and create opportunities for relationship enrichment. We will do this by meeting the needs of modern couples with offerings such as calendars and list syncing, on-demand childcare and relationship building and goal setting.

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17-Step Process 17 checkpoints for evaluation Each checkpoint addresses one of four key elements – differentiation, focus, trend, and communication

1

Who are you?

A resource for married couples who want to enhance their relationship amidst the chaos of routine family life to build healthier marriages.

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2

What do you do?

We help couples manage their busy lives and reinvest in their relationships.

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17-Step Process 3

What is your vision?

To be the primary resource that married couples turn to for managing their lives and creating opportunities for connection and romance.

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4

5

6

7

What wave are you riding?

Who shares the brandscape?

What makes you the “only�?

What should you add or subtract?

The trends of mobile convenience, social networking, ondemand service, simplicity, instant communication.

No other competitors share the same brandscape. There are products that offer similar services on the market in a limited capacity but not a comprehensive product that meets multiple needs.

We are the only product that offers customers family organization and relationship building in one platform.

+ Childcare service + Relationship building partnership + Partnership with local businesses + On-demand services in customer’s area

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17-Step Process 8

9

Who loves you?

Who is the enemy?

Married couples who want to reinvigorate their marriage but need a tool to do so.

Modern married couples with children face complex daily issues: time management, home management, parenting, finances and career decisions.

10

What do they call you?

Syndéo The Greek word for “Connect.”

This embodies our business model for the connection of married couples.

11

12

How do you explain yourself?

How do you spread the word?

Syndéo is all about helping couples achieve connections.

Focus on early adopters and

Tagline: Organizing your life so that you can focus on what matters.

• Influential marriage bloggers

those who strongly believe in the value of healthy marriages.

Target:

• Influential church leaders • Marriage therapists • Business partnerships • U.S. Healthy Marriage Project • Word of mouth • Online advertising

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17-Step Process 13

14

How do people engage with you?

What do they experience?

We offer a comprehensive product for couples to engage with each other through childcare solutions, relationship enhancing goal setting, and family organization/ management.

• Connection with spouse • Pain point eliminating childcare • Seamless family organization

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How do you earn their loyalty?

Our users will be rewarded based on frequency of use and referrals with discounts at local businesses.

16

17

How do you extend your success?

How do you protect your portfolio?

• Expand the product internationally • Build business partnerships • Buy-out by one of the dating apps in order to extend services • Design the app for multiple platforms

• Patents • Proprietary software • Exclusive partnerships with businesses

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ABC....Q Approach A Meeting Expectations Family Organization and Management A tool which syncs up calendars, helps create lists, and has couple centric communication, designed to reduce the hassle of routines and chores and create free time.

However, How is this different from Cozi or Google?

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ABC....Q Approach B Creating Confidence Strengthen Relationships In addition to organizing and managing life, the offering will help couples build stronger bonds and connections through relationship goal setting and advice. This is achieved through a partnership with the Gottman Institute using their content to design realistic, fun and meaningful pursuits for couples. Additionally, the tool will aid date planning.

However, Many married couples are unable to go on dates due to the unavailability and inconvenience of childcare.

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ABC....Q Approach C Creating Anticipation Childcare on Demand Finding adequate, affordable and convenient childcare are barriers for our primary user group going on dates and strengthening romantic connections. Childcare on demand is the solution. By easily connecting parents with responsible, screened providers in their immediate area, couples can relax and take comfort knowing their children are in qualified hands.

However, To completely satiate the needs of the modern couple with children, and capture market whitespace, a more holistic offering is needed...

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ABC....Q Approach Q Re-contextualize Syndéo: Family Organization and Relationship Enhancement Syndéo is the total tool for couples who want to organize and manage their lives and reinvigorate their relationship. Through features like calendar and list creation and syncing, childcare on demand, and relationship enhancing goal setting and advice, Syndéo solves the major pain points of dual-career married couples with children.

Additionally, Syndéo connects local businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, marriage counselors and sole proprietors like nannies and babysitters to an eager audience. These connections not only create new opportunities for customers, but multiple revenue streams for Syndéo, surpassing any current available platform.

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Why, How, What Approach

What

Relationship goal setting and advice

The ‘Why, How and What’ model helped us evaluate

Shared list, plans and schedule creation

our business model on a deeper level. We started with the ‘Why’, which is our core belief, and this drives

By helping couples create opportunities for romance

our business strategy. The ‘How’, then describes the processes by which we accomplish our goal. Lastly, the ‘What’, encapsulates the actual products / services that we offer as a business to attract customers.

How

By helping couples arrange childcare Support / Counseling Connections

Why

On-demand childcare options

By helping couples organize their busy lives

Calendar syncing

We believe healthy marriages provide the greatest benefit to all society.

By keeping all plans, lists, and schedules in sync

By connecting businesses with couples for date options

Connecting with local and national businesses

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Business Model Canvas Syndéo KEY PARTNERS

KEY PROPOSITIONS

KEY ACTIVITIES

PayPal / Preferred payment method

Premium subscribers

Amazon / e-commerce platform

Religious Institutions

Local Daycare

Uber / Local ride services

Local Businesses & National Businesses

Local Babysitters / Nannies

Affiliate Programs

Starbucks / National robust chain

UX Development

Legal

Relationship Management with partners

Marketing of Application

Customer Service

User acquisition and retention

KEY RESOURCES Software Developers

Network of users

Designers

Marketing Experts

Investors

Robust network of Business Partners

Mobile and online network

Legal

Product development

Marketing

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■ Childcare related

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Simplify the logistics of managing everyday life

Free tool

Access anytime, anywhere

Secured personal information

Reliable childcare providers

Secured payment

Flexible work schedule

On-demand childcare

Interestbased activity suggestions

Premium service

Parents who own smart phones

Reservation through App

Couples who desire time together without children’s presence

CHANNELS Website

Social media

Referral network / Incentives

Marketing materials

Traditional media ads

Weekly blog / newsletter

Reminders by push notifications

■ Dating related

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

Daily interactions with customers

Dating/ meeting time & date suggestions

COST STRUCTURE Human capital and employees

■ General

Media coverage

Parents who organize and schedule family activities

Childcare providers seeking employment

Childcare providers who manage own work schedule

Extended family who provides childcare

Local entertainment businesses

Local food businesses

Advertising at partner events and venues

REVENUE STREAMS Infrastructure

Platform buildout costs

Customer Service

Legal

Free limited basic account

Annual subscription premium account

Subscription plans based on # of calendar sync’ed

Commission fee of childcare service

Booking fee

Commission fee on partner services

Top search listing service fee for businesses

Ad listing service fee

Annual registration fee for childcare providers

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Syndéo Value Web

Content, User Incentives

Syndéo

Value

ion t i s o Prop

ach e R d ran B , h Cas

Cash , Use r Ince ntive s Acce ss to User s

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Couples & Parents

Cash

Access to Users

Primary Customer Segment

Services

Gottman Institute

Access to Parents

Cash

Childcare Providers

Local Businesses

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SWOT Analysis Syndéo STRENGTHS

WEAKNESS

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• First holistic app, which includes childcare options • Few competitors and none with comprehensive services like ours • The marriage health market is vast and ever expanding with products and services • Partnership with hospitality industry businesses • Digital platform allows for accessibility around the world, removing barriers for couples • Solves multiple pain points of target user group • Large population of strong believers in healthy marriages

• Encourage the community to help it grow and develop • Create a simplified version that alleviates the pain points of learning a new product • To find investors that believe in the value and benefits to society and lower the start-up risk / cost factors • Divorce rates are high and there is a growing need for marriage help • The marriage health market is vast and ever expanding with products and services • Modern couples are familiar with using digital tools and this platform would fill an existing gap in the market DMGT 720 Winter 2017

• No established brand name to build network • High start-up costs • Network model could be easily copied • Couples could prefer to manage their lives as they have been • Learning curve of using a new app could be a turn-off or overwhelming for the user • Privacy • Too big to handle and do well

• Individual apps able to do it more successfully • A bigger name in marriage health (Gottman) or live management (Cozi) could flood the market with a similar product / service • Studies reveal social networks or too much time on the phone can have a damaging effect on inter personal relationships

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Similarities and Differences The Strategy Canvas below provides an overview of what the SyndĂŠo model offers customers compared to the Gottman Institute and Cozi. The horizontal axis captures the range of factors that offerings compete on and the vertical axis captures the offering level that customers receive across the factors.

High

Gottman Institute SyndĂŠo Cozi

Low Price

Time Management / Calendar

Communication / Messaging Childcare Management

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Activities Planning

Multiple Platforms / Touch Points

Support / Encouragement Revenue Streams

Intimacy

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Performance & Delight HIGH SATISFACTION

The 2x2 matrix plots the value of Syndéo features from a

(DELIGHT)

user’s perspective. The performance attributes are factors that are considered basic to competing in the market. The

Childcare Tool

Connections to local Businesses

delight attributes are factors that are unexpected from

Relationship Building

customers, but they delight in having them.

Suggested Content

Calendar and List Sync

ACHIEVED

PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES

ABSENT

(WOULDN’T MISS IT)

(MUST BE THERE)

Privacy Network Connect Profile Building

LOW SATISFACTION (DISGUST)

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Strategies Syndéo Based on the Business Model and SWOT Analysis, below are some ways in which Syndéo reaches its fullest potential:

MAXIMIZING STRENGTHS

MINIMIZING WEAKNESSES

• Attracts a large user base to capture market share by offering

• Avoids out-run by copycats by prioritizing user acquisition and

free basic account.

• Allocates engineering resources to prioritize building a global digital platform.

• Applies for patent to protect product against competitors.

• Targets and establishes partnership with leaders in various industry.

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retention as a key activity for success.

• Builds brand name and reduce learning curve by having daily interaction with customers.

• Markets privacy to attract customers who have concerns with privacy of their information.

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Strategies Syndéo

KEY PROPOSITIONS

Amazon / e-commerce platform

Religious Institutions

Local Daycare

Uber / Local ride services

Local Businesses & National Businesses

Local Babysitters / Nannies

Affiliate Programs

Starbucks / National robust chain

UX Development

Legal

Relationship Management with partners

Marketing of Application

Customer Service

User acquisition and retention

KEY RESOURCES

Network of users

Designers

Marketing Experts

Investors

Robust network of Business Partners

Mobile and online network

Legal

Product development

Marketing

Access anytime, anywhere

Secured personal information

Reliable childcare providers

Secured payment

Flexible work schedule

On-demand childcare

Interestbased activity suggestions

Dating/ meeting time & date suggestions

COST STRUCTURE Human capital and employees

Premium service

Reservation through App

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Free tool Daily interactions with customers

Reminders by push notifications



Software Developers

Simplify the logistics of managing everyday life



Premium subscribers

■ Partnership with key industries, businesses, and population



CHANNELS Website

Social media

Referral network / Incentives

Marketing materials

Traditional media ads

Weekly blog / newsletter

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS Parents who own smart phones

Couples who desire time together without children’s presence

Media coverage

Parents who organize and schedule family activities

Childcare providers seeking employment

Childcare providers who manage own work schedule

Extended family who provides childcare

Local entertainment businesses

Local food businesses

Advertising at partner events and venues

REVENUE STREAMS Infrastructure

Platform buildout costs

Customer Service

Legal

Free limited basic account

Subscription plans based on # of calendar sync’ed

Commission fee of childcare service Annual subscription premium account

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■ Small base of paying “pro” users

■ Strategies to gain market share quickly

KEY ACTIVITIES

PayPal / Preferred payment method

■ Large base of basic accounts for casual users

Annual registration fee for childcare providers



KEY PARTNERS

■ Fixed and sunk costs related to platform development

Booking fee

Top search listing service fee for businesses

Ad listing service fee

Commission fee on partner services

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Part 6

Defining the Users’ Needs

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Value Proposition After the feedback we received, we decided to refine our value proposition by removing the “relationship enhancement” feature and focused on an application that helps couples find and spend quality time together. The renewed value proposition is:

For married couples with children who desire quality time with each other, our application will decrease the “out-of-control” feeling by taking control of schedules, to-dos and childcare.

We do this by building a mobile application that is free to use for busy on-the-go parents. Unlike other web and mobile apps such as Cozi and Google Calendar, our product aims to be the go-to tool to help married couples manage their time, find accessible childcare and opportunities to spend quality time together.

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The Process We used a multi-step process to identify differentiating features that delivered the value proposition. The various scenarios, matrices, and canvases used, led us to a better understanding of our users and the features that we would need to implement in the prototyping phase.

1

3

Empathy Maps

Ideation: Dream Scenario

Ideation: Good/Different Matrix

4

5

6

Ideation: Creative Matrix & 5E’s

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Ideation: Value Proposition Canvas

Summary of Findings

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Empathy Maps The team created empathy maps for each persona, deepening our connection and understanding of the users.

1

3

Empathy Maps

Ideation: Dream Scenario

Ideation: Good/Different Matrix

4

5

6

Ideation: Creative Matrix & 5E’s

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Ideation: Value Proposition Canvas

Summary of Findings

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Empathy Map Wife / Mother (User 1) A mother who aspires

Concerned about children's safety, care and education

to have a good balance between her work and family. The age range for children

Other career moms

considered is from

Mom's of daughter's friends

infant to pre-teen.

Childcare support from friends

Values 1:1 conversati ons with spouse

Out of sync when unable to attend work related events

Frustrated about being burdened with responsibilitie s of the home

Responsible for the family

Spending time with spouse will help relationship

A system is important for things to run smoothly

Feels like a single mom when spouse doesn't involve himself with the chores

Children's aspirations are important to her

Good food, ambience, and a relaxing atmosphere is important for an enjoyable date

The house can always be cleaner, but letting things so a bit is a good skill to have as well

Bad about sacrificing career advancement for young children

Dating helps improve the relationship with her spouse

Social media (especially facebook)

Comparisons

Information from social media

Nervous as first time parents

Information / resources related to her field of work

Child's schedule

Think and Feel

School offers marriage / parenting counselling for parents

Media magazines, TV, Websites

No No time for time for dating friends

Doesn't like spouse on the phone when on a date

Uses text messaging to plan dates

Keeping track of the to-dos, including bills, child needs, husband needs & other demands

Balancing the desire to be with kids while finding satisfaction in her job

Unable to go on frequent dates as would earlier

Being able to trust the nanny to care for children

Needs odd hour childcare to have flexibility to deal with work

No extended family live close by to help out when needed

Less time & spontaneity after having kids - takes more time and effort to plan

No back up plans for childcare

Unhappy about expenses

Stressed: Tries to stay relaxed but gets stressed as well

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Say and Do

Tries to find common activities with husband

too much effort taking the baby to childcare

Manages a team at work

Spending quality time with family is a priority

Other parents, especially other moms

Work related: deadlines, meetings, travel, timings

Home Respon sibilites

Social media including Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest

Friends keeping up with trends in fashion, home decor, exercise, food, religious beliefs and politics

School offering marriage / parenting counselling for parents

Other career moms

A sense of fulfilment in her work & home life

Wants best for children

Communication with caregiver through text messaging / Overview of what happened at daycare

Contribute skills & talents to create a better life for kids & society

Getting to-do list accomplished with ease

Less time spent on children's classes and homework

Each partner shares chores & assigned duties

Going on family vacations / spending weekends with family

When together, not distracted by phone

Help during marriage crisis

Feel healthy, fit, knowledgea ble & successful

Time to focus n her work

Traveling & vacations with the family

Diane, High Achiever Mom DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Work respon sibilities

Using calendar app & reminders to manage family life

Goes out with husband

Needs to take time off from work when child is unwell / has holidays

The right mindset is important when on a date

Guilty when unable to attend children's programs / activities

A support system that enables one to work and raise a child

A system is important for things to run smoothly

Values 1:1 conversati ons with spouse

Tired & Overwhelmed

Children's aspirations are important to her

Too many opinions/ad vices from friends and family

Comparisons

Information from social media

Too much demand on her time - less time to focus on work / career

feels the need to spend more time together with spouse

Daughter's schedule physically and mentally taxing

When on a date, would like self and husband to have the right mindset and focus on the time together

Keeping track of all the to-dos, including bills, child's needs, husband's needs, and other demands

Feels responsible for keeping the house clean and in order

Needs to make effort to spend time together, otherwise it won't happen

Wants to be a good mom, wife, daughter & daughter in law

Spending time with spouse will help relationship

Dating helps improve the relationship with her spouse

Social media (especially facebook)

Mom's of daughter's friends

Responsible for the family

Information / resources related to her field of work

Work respon sibilities

Home Respon sibilites

Media magazines, TV, Websites

Social media including Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest

Friends keeping up with trends in fashion, home decor, exercise, food, religious beliefs and politics

Other couples

Other parents, especially other moms

Child's schedule

Family everyone stays close by

Going on vacations with the family

Husband is open & available to share pick-up & drop off responsibilities for the child

Efforts have an impact on child's success

Less effort and time on child's activities

Time for herself / Personal growth

Flexible work schedule

Time to focus on her work

Taking photos, making memories

A support system that enables her to work and raise a child

Wants best for children

Time together with spouse

Feeling values & appreciated

Think and Feel

Work related conversation s: with staff & clients

Overwhelmed by opinions from extended family

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Say and Do

Meets family whenever she finds the opportunity

Takes daughter for different classes outside of school

Manages social obligations with extended family

Manages the house: chores / shopping / children's schedules

Accommodates schedules to be available for child

Manages a team at work

Makes time to do things her spouse will appreciate

Manages the house

Accommodates work schedule for home responsibilities

Runs own business

Maintains a network of clients / colleagues

Goes out for social gettogethers with spouse

Sia, Experienced Mom 124

Empathy Map Husband / Father (User 2) A father who aspires to

Time management is a concern

have a good balance between his work and family. The age range for children considered is from infant to pre-teen.

My friends and peers providing marital and parenting advice

Influencers are friends, his parents, colleagues

I want to feel that my son is safe and in great hands when we are not there.

I worry that I am not investing enough of myself in my son

Childcare is expensive I'm frustrated that I don't have enough time to spend with my wife

I worry that I am not investing enough of myself in the marriage

Doesn't completely trust digital sources

I see a lot of expensive options for childcare and for dates.

Dates are limited by budget and distance from home

About the dangers of childcare in the media

No time to plan dates or quality time with his wife

Not good at planning in advance things to do with his wife

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

I try to stay positive and good natured, but I get worn out with my schedule

I enjoy trying new things Marriage and parenting are tougher than I thought

I want to spend quality time with my wife, but it's hard for me to find it.

I try to think about planning things in advance, but I end up getting too busy and forget

Elvin, Striving Dad DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Feeling like his marriage is thriving Know how to improve his relationships

Say and Do

Doesn't know what to do with quality time with wife

I see a lot of options to create a sync'd calendar, but nothing that stands out to help me and my wife find time together.

I don't see many options for finding trusted childcare.

Marriage videos and audio books

Think and Feel About the importance of pursuing your wife

Sometimes I feel like I don't have anything under control

Wife and friends are the biggest influencers

Invest time where it counts

Simple way to connect with his wife

I feel like our schedules are crazy and complicated

How safe is our current childcare?

Think and Feel

Friends say to get a nanny

Miscommunication

Other families using nannies for their childcare

How can I show my wife that I care about her?

That he needs to put his family first

I don't see many digital offerings that are private without paying a lot.

Respect of his wife and child and colleagues

How can I create more romance in my marriage?

Family calendar is a paper calendar

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Quality time with wife is hard to come by

Be known as a good father and loving husband

Busy work and after work activities restrict leisure time

See my wife a lot, but we not quality time

Helping managing all the family's events / schedules

Say and Do Spend more time with his wife

I want to ease the burdens placed on my wife, take more responsibility, but I don't

Work schedule is not sync'd up with his wife

Is getting a nanny an option?

If I focus on my marriage and raising my kids, I can't go wrong

I want to be the best dad that I can be and raise my kids well

I pay attention to what my wife says

I want to make time alone with my wife a priority

Increased time with his kids and more family vacations

If he could take over some of the scheduling of childcare and other things his wife has to do now.

I don't have time to do the things I want to

Antonio, Mid-Career Dad 125

Empathy Map Caregiver (User 3) A caregiver who takes

Wants consistent work from same parents and children

care of the children on behalf of their parents when needed. These include part time or full time nannies, school teachers, babysitters, grandparents, relatives, or friends.

Feedback from children

Complains from parents

Different languages used towards children

Set my own work schedule

Influential on children's character

Easy and secure payment

Compliments from parents

Expected to be good at childcare task

Different type of parenting

Get support by the app when need to

Reviews from parents Provide parents highlights of the day

Receive instructions from parents

Understand routine of the child

Works with parents with different parenting style

Bad routine/ habits of the children

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Deal with parents who do not pay enough or on time

Works with children all day long

Uses calendar to keep track of schedule

Say and Do

Influential on children's character

Set up good routine/ habits for the children

Get paid on time Need a way to organize children's routine

Need to keep track of multiple customer bookings

Julie, Seasonal Nanny DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Influential on children's character

Do not need to work more

Requests from their grandchildren

Think and Feel

Difficult to find more babysitting jobs

Build trust with customers

Earn more by working demanding time and date

Part of the family

Keeping parents informed allow them to focus on their work

Need to make a living

Wants more work hours in order to earn more

Different upbringing of children

Caregiver allows parents to focus on their work.

Stable work schedule

Use messager app to manage communicatio n

Calendars help caregiver to understand schedules and to-do's.

Flexible work schedule

Part of the family

Does not need to make a living

Taking care of grandchildren out of enjoyment not for living

Other grandparenting style

Think and Feel

Requests from their children Hear

See

Pain

Gain Trustworthy

Understand routine of the child

Spoil the grandchildren

Say and Do Works with own grandchildren only

Not the parents

Influential on children's character

Helping out their own children

Different parenting style than their children

Enjoyment

Works with own children only

Need to understand family schedule

Bonding time with grandchil dren Use calendar to keep track of schedule

Use messager app to manage communicatio n

Dorothy, Grandmother 126

Empathy Map Non Customer (User 4) A non-customer might

I want to feel connected, like the other person is really there

be someone who does not fall into the ‘married couple with children’ category but has the potential to

Has strong family relationships

Wants to have quality communication with boyfriend who lives states away

Feels busy all the time with managing work, volunteering and social life

Only hears boyfriend's voice over video chat and phone calls

Uses social media to connect with people

Spends all day listening to coworkers and friends

Think and Feel

in a relationship without children, a single mom or currently dating.

Budget constraints her activities and social life

Managing expectations for a long-distance relationship

Mostly sees boyfriend over video chat

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Dating relationship is challenging with communication via technology

Challenge of wanting marriage but also a successful career

Manages household chores herself

Works full time Has social obligations to friends and coworkers

Say and Do

Opportunities to create lasting memories

Lives alone Volunteers on occasion

Virginia, Non Customer DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Wishes there was a better budgeting app/tool out there

Cherishes the time she has each weekend with her husband

During the week, she spends a lot of time on the phone at work and talking with co-workers

Only sees husband on weekends

Talks to family often on the phone

be a customer of the product. He/she can be

Tries to balance her desire to start a family and advancement of career

Sees and engages with co-workers on a daily basis

Think and Feel

Her apps she uses to manage her life

Easy communicatio n tool

Budgeting for two apartments in two locations at the same time

Help with relationship advice

Limited vacation time

Connections to people

Limited/no time with husband during the weekdays

Sees a future with kids in the next few years

Hear

See

Pain

Gain

Balancing desire to have kids and advancement of career

Say and Do

Dual-income with no kids Utilizes calendar app for syncing schedules with husband

Ability to spend time with friends during the week and with husband during weekends

Works hard during the week

Manages the bills and household chores

Wishes there was a better way for her and her husband to budget easier

Loves job and people she works with

Disposable income Manages her and her husbands budgets

Angela, Wife with no kids 127

Ideation With the empathy maps in mind, we then moved into the fuzzy front-end ideation phase. Using methods like the Dream Scenario, Good/Different Matrix, 5Es Creative Matrix, and the Value Proposition Canvas, the team was able to discover potential features that would optimize Syndéo and create a Blue Ocean

1

during the ideation process, keeping in mind the features they thought would be most relevant to the users of Syndéo.

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3

Empathy Maps

Ideation: Dream Scenario

Ideation: Good/Different Matrix

4

5

6

market opportunity.

Members of the team individually voted on the ideas that emerged

2

Ideation: Creative Matrix & 5E’s

Ideation: Value Proposition Canvas

Summary of Findings

128

Dream Scenario Ideation Method 1 The dream scenario method is useful in coming up with farreaching, exploratory features intended to stretch thinking. In this case, the team brainstromed ideas around the questions: What if Google designed SyndĂŠo? What would it do and be? How might it function?

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Good / Different Matrix Ideation Method 2 Following the dream scenario ideation exercise, the team then positioned some of the ideas on a Good / Different Matrix. The purpose behind this was to find the truly differentiating factors.

Each member could vote on 5 ideas.

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Creative Matrix & 5 E’s Ideation Method 3 Next we created a template of the different ideas and product features on a 5 E’s matrix. This helped us visualize the consumer process from first impressions to long lasting brand loyalty.

Each member could vote for 3 ideas each in the wife, husband and nanny category and 2 ideas in the grandparent category.

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Value Proposition Canvas Ideation Method 4 Finally, the value proposition canvas helped us to once again identify the product features, gain creators, and pain relievers. This process narrowed down what our product will ultimately focus on.

Each member could vote for 2 ideas each in the three categories of the value map

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Summary of Findings Once the ideation process was complete, we voted on the concepts and product features that would be most important to our target customer. We affinitized these voting groups in two ways: 1. Based on the ideation process

1

prioritizations of the offerings.

The design concepts with 4 votes would be heavily weighed in our decisions for prototyping. The concepts with less votes would still shape our product development, but, would not be as heavily

3

Empathy Maps

Ideation: Dream Scenario

Ideation: Good/Different Matrix

4

5

6

2. Based on the product features The affinitizating process enabled the team to define the

2

Ideation: Creative Matrix & 5E’s

Value Proposition Canvas

Summary of Findings

weighed in decision making.

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Summary of Findings Affinitizing

4 VOTES

Decrease the "out-ofcontrol" feeling by taking control of schedules, todos, and child care

VALUE MAP CALENDAR SYNCING / SCHEDULE RELATED

Easy import calendars and contacts

Syncs calendar with husband Puts content on caldendar

Easy sync with family calendar

Organize personal calendar as well as business

Decrease the "out-ofcontrol" feeling by taking control of schedules, todos, and child care

Comprehensive Calendar and List creator that syncs schedules and lists

Create balance and mutual understanding between couples with synced calendars

Eliminate schedule surprises by having all calendars synced with reminders

Set up my spouse's profile

Create profile with interests and dietary restriction

Easy sign up process

Easy sign up process

Create profile Easy sign up for low-tech users

GENERAL FEATURES Memorize my schedule and habits

I would want it to be safe and secure

It would be intuitive

Use an algorithm to send me preferred information

It would be super simple and elegant

Free to use

DATING RELATED Searches date activities and ideas based on user preferences and past usage

Increase couple's quality time with each other by scheduling entertainment and activities

Auto suggest things to do around town based on my availability and interest

See options for dates and activities

Searches date activity ideas It would allow my husband and I to schedule entertainment that fits both of our busy schedules

Easy sign on flow

Eliminate pain of scheduling conflicts by merging calendars

Reminders to book events/restaurant s for upcoming special occasion

Increase couple's time together by providing childcare options

Childcare arrangement and scheduling I would be able to rate the childcare provider

Read profile and instruction

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Receive payment via app

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Eliminate pain of scheduling conflicts by merging calendars

Childcare arrangement and scheduling

Increase couple's time together by providing childcare options

Eliminate schedule surprises by having all calendars synced with reminders

Increase visibility of calendar whitespace to take advantage of

Create balance and mutual understanding between couples with synced calendars

Increase couple's quality time with each other by scheduling entertainment and activities

Get referrals and reviews from customers

Decrease stress of remembering the family's commitments by setting calendar reminders

I would be able to see multiple options for childcare and date activities

Set reminders on special occasion

Get a summary of daily activities

Searches childcare options

Receive payment via app

Searches childcare options

Clock-in and clockout babysitting service

1 VOTE

Comprehensive Calendar and List creator that syncs schedules and lists

COMMON TO DATING & CHILDCARE

Get a summary of daily activities

2 VOTES

Searches date activities and ideas based on user preferences and past usage

5 E's

Upload certificates and documents

It would store information on my kids for the childcare provider

Easy import calendars and contacts

Syncs calendar with husband

Set up my spouse's profile

See options for dates and activities

Auto suggest things to do around town based on my availability and interest

Create profile with interests and dietary restriction

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Reminders to book events/restaurant s for upcoming special occasion

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Searches date activity ideas

Clock-in and clockout babysitting service

Create profile

Easy sign up process

Easy sync with family calendar

Easy sign up for low-tech users Get referrals and reviews from customers

Easy sign up process

Puts content on caldendar Read profile and instruction

Upload certificates and documents

Enable user to set availability for work flexible schedule

Organize personal calendar as well as business

CALENDAR CHILDCARE RELATED Enable user to set availability for work flexible schedule

GOOD / DIFFERENT CHART

Set reminders on special occasion

Memorize my schedule and habits

I would be able to see multiple options for childcare and date activities

I would want it to be safe and secure

It would allow my husband and I to schedule entertainment that fits both of our busy schedules

Free to use

I would be able to rate the childcare provider

It would be intuitive

Use an algorithm to send me preferred information

Easy sign on flow

It would store information on my kids for the childcare provider

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CHILDCARE RELATED

Enable user to set availability for work flexible schedule

Decrease stress of remembering the family's commitments by setting calendar reminders

CALENDAR DATING RELATED Increase visibility of calendar whitespace to take advantage of

SIGN UP / PROFILE RELATED

3 VOTES

It would be super simple and elegant

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Key Features Syndéo Customized Profile Syndéo will offer an easy sign up process and flow, allowing users to customize their profiles. Spouses will have the ability to fill in their list of favorite places, interests and dietary restrictions, amongst other information. For caregivers, qualifications and certifications will be a part of their profile requirement. There will also be an option for easy sign in for low-tech users.

Personalized & Secured Syndéo will be free to use, have a simple and elegant interface and be incorporated with strong safety and privacy features. It will be intuitive and memorize the users’ schedule and habits over time. An algorithm will enable the application to forward relevant information

remembered “What?! You forgot our Anniversary?”

(like good deals and special events) to its users.

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Key Features Syndéo Synchronized Calendar The Calendar is an important element of Syndéo. It will import events and sync schedules between the couple. This will increase the visibility of calendar whitespace, which the couple can take advantage of, as well as, eliminate any schedule surprises that were not communicated. The calendar will also prompt the user about upcoming events with suggestions of events or restaurants for a special occasion.

Shared Lists Like the calendar, synced lists are also an important element of Syndéo. A shared list between the couple, will help them knock of

“I’ve got “Oh Darn! I forgot it, honey!”

tasks that were to be completed or grocery that had to be bought.

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Key Features Syndéo Date Planning Syndéo will enable spouses to schedule entertainment around their combined schedules. Calendar syncing will help couples find potential opportunities to go out on a date. The search feature will help find activities and ideas based on the couple’s preference as well as previous history and provide booking information amongst other details to plan their outing.

Childcare Clicks Away Syndéo’s uniqueness lies in its easy to organize childcare option.

Based on the couples’ planned event, they can search and connect with childcare providers in advance. The app is equipped to enable the caregiver fill out a summary of the activities of the

“Yay, we’ve got “I so wish we had a sitter!”

child and payment transaction can be done on the app itself.

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Key Features Syndéo Customer Benefits Syndéo plans to offer incentives to loyal customers, which they can use to their benefit for an outing or caregiver services. The app also allows customers to share referrals and reviews.

Set Your Own Work schedule Caregivers can set up their availability for work according to their schedule, making it more convenient. Caregivers can also leverage their profile to find jobs, receive reviews from customers, and be paid securely and on time, via the app.

Freemium Model Syndéo basic offereing is free for everyone to download and use, without obligations or contracts. A premium service is available for a subscription fee.

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“I get to set my own work “My manager put me on shifts that don’t work with my schedule!”

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Part 7

Prototyping and Brand Development

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The Brand SyndĂŠo enhances the relationships and lives of married couples. We are committed to enriching marriages through providing solutions for childcare, syncing family calendars and organizing daily routines, as well as planning date options for couples.

Married couples today, are constantly on the go and consumed by work, raising children, and the constant noise of life. Our mission is to help couples refocus on their marriage and prioritize what’s important by alleviating the stressors.

SyndĂŠo strengthens marriages with three key goals in mind:

Manage

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Connect

Restore

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The Brand Manage

Connect

Restore

Syndeo will provide useful calendar, lists and communication tools, to help couples organize their busy lives and enable them to focus on what’s important. Syndeo will also help arrange and manage childcare and date planning options for the couple.

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The Brand Manage

Connect

Restore

Syndeo will connect couple’s schedules, calendars and lists to reduce confusion and aid them in keeping everyone on the same page. Some key features for this aspect of Syndeo include, calendar syncing and compiled shared to-do lists for the couple/family.

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The Brand Manage

Connect

Restore

Syndeo understands the value of spending quality time with ones spouse, and it’s positive impact on a relationship. Syndeo’s restore function will place the couple’s focus back on what is truly important, their marriage. This feature will help couple’s plan date nights and provide entertainment ideas for the couple to engage in, based on their preferences. The restore feature is contingent on the effectiveness of the manage and connect features. Once childcare is coordinated, schedules are synced, and to-do lists are complete, the marriage comes into focus.

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Syndéo The Role of Aesthetics Syndéo’s goal is to enrich married couple’s relationships and ultimately their lives through managing necessities such as childcare, connecting through shared calendars and to-do lists, and restoring their bond as a couple. With these principles in mind, we understand that customers will feel the need to connect with our product in a unique way. For this, we have considered six core values, which form the basis of the brands experience, appearance and interaction. These are: Simple, Intuitive, Helpful, Trusted, Personal and Connected As Syndeo will be used by couples as well as babysitters, we decided to use a violet color palette. It is gender neutral, and brings in a balance of warm and cold colors, once again communicating a neutral feel. Violet also represents the romance that we hope to celebrate in a relationship, especially of a married couple.

INTUITIVE SIMPLE The product is designed with a simple, yet sophisticated interphase, making Syndeo easy to engage with and use. Visual graphics include art and photography, that center around the theme of married couple’s spending time together, thereby emphasizing the goal of Syndeo.

Syndeo is intuitive in understanding schedules and lists and tracks users tastes and preferences to be able to suggest dating opportunities, restaurants and babysitters.

PERSONAL The ability to make custom suggestions for the user, while communicating in a friendly and interactive way, gives the product a personal and human appeal.

TRUSTED

SyndĂŠo CONNECTED Syndeo boasts of being able to efficiently connect across its features, whether it be calendar syncing, crossing off items on the to-do list or finding the right restaurant or babysitter.

HELPFUL The calendar, notes and communication tools have a clean look and feel, and are organized so as to make accessing information convenient, helpful, easy to use and see.

Syndeo induces trust in the user by creating a space exclusively for the user, with strong privacy and security features in place. The ability to see customer reviews and give feedback as a customer themselves, further enhances this. Good customer service in case of any issues also builds the trust in the brand.

The Role of Aesthetics As Syndeo will be used by couples as well as babysitters, we decided to use a violet color palette. It is gender neutral, and brings in a balance of warm and cold colors, once again communicating a neutral feel. Violet also represents the romance that we hope to celebrate in a relationship, especially of a married couple.

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The Role of Aesthetics Syndéo’s goal is to enrich married couple’s relationships and Simple necessitiesIntuitive ultimately their Values lives through managing such as

Helpful

Trusted

Personal

Connected

childcare, connecting through shared calendars and to-do lists, and restoring their bond as a couple. With these principles in mind, we understand that customers will feel the need to connect with Experience our product in a unique way. For this, we have considered six core values, which form the basis of the brands experience, appearance and interaction: • Simple

Appearance

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How the Business Model Strengthens the Brand Synchronized Calendar Syndeo is a secure and private platform, that aims at helping couples manage their busy schedules to find time for each other. It does this by syncing the couple’s calendars and lists and proposing windows of opportunities for the couple to go out on a date. The program also reminds users of upcoming events and helps them plan for it.

Easy Buy The synced list feature allows couples to work together in completing tasks, whether it be household chores or buying groceries. Syndeo plans to partner with Amazon, by incorporating a small button that will help couples buy items directly and slash out items from their ‘tobuy’ lists, thereby increasing the scope of having more time to spend together in a click. This will also give Syndeo an initial advantage vis a vis revenue.

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How the Business Model Strengthens the Brand Partnership with Businesses Based on the users tastes and preferences, Syndeo suggests activities as well as restaurants that might be of interest to the couple. For this, Syndeo partners with local and national businesses. In terms of revenue, Syndeo receives a commission from restaurants and charges a service fee for special listing and advertising.

Starbucks is a key partner for Syndeo. We find this partnership would be beneficial, as coffee is the simplest date a couple can go out for and partnering with a robust and popular national (and international) chain like Starbucks will give us a revenue and marketing advantage.

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How the Business Model Strengthens the Brand Secured and Easy Childcare When planning for a date, couples can use Syndeo’s on-demand childcare to choose a babysitter. Syndeo partners with religious institutions, local daycares and local babysitters to build its resource of caregivers. By conducting a background check, keeping a record of credentials and also allowing its users to rate and provide feedback for caregivers, Syndeo is able to provide a service that can be trusted and is reliable.

Syndeo is great for babysitters as well as it helps them control their schedule and find work easily. Payment through the app makes it convenient for both parents as well as care providers.

Syndeo charges a nominal one-time registration fee to caregivers and deducts a small percentage of the earning from their job as commission.

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How the Business Model Strengthens the Brand Subscription Plans In case a couple prefers to have a family member as the care provider, this can be added into the users setting and account and the couple pays a nominal fee to add each user on.

Different subscription plans based on frequency of usage enables Syndeo to be used as a free app or provide premium services, thereby spreading its services as per the preference of its user base.

Couples who need the service often, can consider the premium subscription. Customers who need the service once in a while can consider the lighter plan (where the service can be used upto twice a month). New customers, are given a free trial of upto 2 bookings.

Syndeo promotes its offering through its website, social media, promotional emails and posters, relevant magazines and referral network and incentives.

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Site Map Wireframe - Syndeo Syndeo Landing page Facebook About / Service

Log In

Sign Up Google

Childcare Mission and values

Enter username and password

Email Create Account

Add to childcare customer listing

Website

Subscription Purchase

Create Profile Preferences Add to Childcare provider listing Invite a partner (spouse)

Add Email

Add Phone Number

Logout

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Purchase

Family Organization / Management

Date ideas

Contact Information

Scheduling

List Creation

Favorite Restaurants

Customer Service

Payment

Calendar Syncing

Entertainm ent Ideas

Rating / Reviewing

Calendar Reminders

Birthday, Holiday, and Anniversary Reminders

Legal

Founders Terms of Service

Add Personal informaton

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Mock Ups

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Mock Ups

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Mock Ups

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Mock Ups

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Mock Ups

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Part 8

Network Sales Pitch

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Validation Survey on Google Forms We prepared a brief survey for potential users to validate our product, Syndeo. This was done by sharing the video of the product and asking targeted questions. The survey got a good response with 31 participants over a period of 24 hours. Participants comprised of married couples with kids, childcare workers and business owners.

Survey results revealed that potential users liked the organizing and syncing feature very much, and it would help couples coordinate their schedules. Users also liked the date planning and discounts on local restaurants features, saying it would make going out as a couple easier.

Users liked the idea of one App that handles all the needs for scheduling, and mentioned that there are other apps that fill these needs individually, but Syndeo could be the one stop shop.

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Validation Survey Response (Quantitative)

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Validation Survey Response (Qualitative)

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Final Pitch The final pitch was aimed at investors, which informed the

Attention grabber

State the problem

Introduce the solution

Take the viewer through the Product

Context to potential users & revenue stream

Validation

Market Opportunity

Get the viewer interested

Could use footage / still shots from previous video here try to include all the problems in a simple way if possible could also include a statistical infographic

Brand Id short line about what it is

Go through screens of how it works. What problems it solves.

Keeping it crisp. Start from login - could use parts of previous video

User ecosystem, revenue streams

Validation from people who face specific pain points.

This could also be a short video - showing interaction with product and feedback.

Potential market size: couples, babysitters, restaurants people in the ecosystem

1 slide

Not too much emphasis crisp, to the point

1 slide

Multiple slides

1 slide

Video or multiple slides hitting on the personas we worked out: mom/ dad/ babysitter/ local restaurant. Could also be a google survey sent out.

1 - 2 slides

framework for the storyline.

We tried to emphasize on the feasibility, desirability, and usability, aspect of the

Marketing Strategy

Competitors

Conclusion

End: Brand & Tagline

Crisp, focussed and worked out

What makes Syndeo the Only?

Conclude - crisp, brief & strong

Final Screen

1 - 2 slides

1 slide

1 slide could include Qualitative data from the survey

1 slide

app., and highlighted potential subscribers, expected revenue and marketing strategies to appeal to investors. Information about competitors and validation from potential users brought in the aspects of ‘what makes Syndéo the only’, and ‘what people say about Syndéo’.

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Storyboard

Do you have trouble making love in your marriage

A priority?

Well, you’re not alone.

Modern married couples are so caught up in their busy lives that they do not make time for each other. Add kids into the mix, and the problem grows exponentially. Parents have to deal with obstacles such as finding good childcare and coming up with date ideas.

Meet Syndeo, a platform designed to help married couples spend quality time together.

We have something that can help.

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Storyboard

Syndeo intuitively syncs calendars and finds open opportunities for couples to go on dates. But it doesn’t stop there.

Syndeo will suggest date activities based on user preferences and even help arrange childcare.

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It all begins with a very simple onboarding And input your user preferences. Users process. Simply input your name and can also add their spouses. location.

When a user opens the calendar page, they can add any number of other users and begin sharing content.

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Storyboard

Once an open date is recognized and suggested for a date opportunity, users can select from various date options based on their preferences, planning a date with a few clicks.

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And if mom and dad need to find a sitter, Syndeo does it in a snap. Users can search, contact, schedule, rate the sitter and even pay all without ever having to leave the app.

Syndeo is an active ecosystem of couples, babysitters and local business owners.

Revenue will be generated by couples who pay a very nominal annual subscription fee.

Childcare providers will pay 5% of their service fee to Syndeo and local businesses will be charged a small fee for prominent listings and advertising to users.

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Storyboard

To put the potential for Sydneo in context, there are 79 million families in the US.

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Of those, 36 million have children under the age of 18. That translates into a huge market that needs a service like Syndeo.

And If only five percent of those families signed up for Syndeo, we’re talking 1.8 Million users and that’s just in the first year.

We showed Syndeo to potential users including couples, childcare workers and business owners for validation and received encouraging feedback. 65% of respondents said Syndeo would be a valuable tool for them while 46% said they were willing to subscribe.

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Storyboard

If 1.8 million couples subscribed at $1.99 for an annual subscription, we are looking at an annual earning of $ 3.6 million in subscription fees and on top of revenue generated from childcare provider and business listing fees.

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Our market strategy begins with targeting married couple influencers, particularly the wives. We will begin paying popular mom social bloggers to review the app in key markets around the U.S.

We will also target moms and babysitters on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Another important group will be counselors and religious organizations who are invested in helping couples thrive in their marriage. We plan to use public relations to attract their attention and get media coverage on family programming via platforms such as radio, websites, television and newsletters. We also will be exploring opportunities to co-promote the app with local business.

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Storyboard

Competitors in the brandscape are singularly focused. Some focus solely on dating, others childcare, others lifestyle management. Syndeo combines all three. No other competitors can match our offering, creating a blue ocean opportunity.

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Here is what potential customers are saying about Syndeo:

Syndeo, organizing your life so that you can focus on what matters.

Link to Pitch Video: https://youtu.be/mBFuwbK-IQs

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Gantt Chart

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4-Jan

11-Jan

18-Jan

25-Jan

1-Feb

8-Feb

15-Feb

22-Feb

1-Mar

8-Mar

Contextual Design Inquiry

Working Wall + Documentation

Prepare and Update Gannt Chart

Process Book

Identify Opportunities/ Concepts

Select four user groups & Define them

Identify potential concept

Form Design Strategy/ creative brief

Survey + Documentation

Empathy Map

Completed Incomplete

Personas: Template + Document

Document User Analysis Build business model canvas for 2 leading networks Document Findings + Compare models

Compile Part 5 Deliverables into PDF

Save Pitch as video file (make pitch?)

Create B2B empathy maps for personas Document findings of possible components for the site Create and share WIP video Create a video sales pitch to market social network

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References

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Blatchford Emily, (2016). Date Nights: They Are More Important For Your Relationship Than You Think. Retrieved on January 9th, 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/03/07/date-nights-they-are-more-important-for-your-relationship-than/ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment Statistics. Retrieved on January 16, 2007 from https:// www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.t04.htm.

Charter, C. (2016, December 21). The Complete Guide To Generation Alpha, The Children Of Millennials. Retrieved from http://www. forbes.com/sites/christinecarter/2016/12/21/the-complete-guide-to-generation-alpha-the-children-of-millennials/#35859bad5452 Charter, C. (2016, December 1). How The Great Recession Left A Lasting Legacy On Millennial Families. Retrieved from http://www. forbes.com/sites/christinecarter/2016/12/01/how-the-great-recession-left-a-lasting-legacy-on-millennial-families/#1d0c39b71a58 Diller, V. (2011, November 8). The Real -- Not Reel -- Problems Facing Gen X Couples | The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/gen-x-couples_b_1078421.html Fry, R. (2016, April 25). Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation | Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http:// www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/ Higgins, L. (2016, September 22). 5 Critical Decisions Millennial Couples Face | The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost.com/entry/5-critical-decisions-millennial-couples-face_us_57e41c5be4b00267764fbb92 Iyer-Ahrestani, S. (2016, February 10). Millennial Planner Finds Success With Millennial Clients. Retrieved from http://www.thinkadvisor. com/2016/02/10/millennial-planner-finds-success-with-millennial-c References DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Kim, T. (2016, October 31). What will Generation Alpha’s trends be? | SmartBrief. Retrieved from http://www.smartbrief.com/ original/2016/10/what-will-generation-alpha%E2%80%99s-trends-be Landrum, S. (2017, January 9). How Millennials’ Happiness Is Tied To Work Friendships. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ sarahlandrum/2017/01/09/how-millennials-happiness-is-tied-to-work-friendships/2/#4343372f6abc Millennials: A New Generation of Family Values | Millennial Marketing. (2009, July). Retrieved from http://www.millennialmarketing. com/2009/07/millennials-a-new-generation-of-family-values/ Next Avenue. (2016, September 13). The Undetected Influence Of Generation X. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ nextavenue/2016/09/13/the-undetected-influence-of-generation-x/#e2bb88d36abf Nowiniski, J. (May, 2014). Can Execessive Social Networking Harm Marriages? Psychology Today. Retrieved January 9, 2017, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-almost-effect/201405/can-excessive-social-networking-harm-marriages Pew Research Center (2011). Barely Half of U.S. Adults Are Married – A Record Low. Retrieved January 9, 2017, from http://www. pewsocialtrends.org/2011/12/14/barely-half-of-u-s-adults-are-married-a-record-low/.

Reilly, Winifred M. (2014). 4 Reasons to Put Date Night on Your Calendar – In Ink. Retrieved on January 9th 2017. http://www. huffingtonpost.com/winifred-m-reilly/4-reasons-to-put-date-night_b_5667016.html Scott, R. (2016, November 28). Get Ready For Generation Z. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/causeintegration/2016/11/28/ get-ready-for-generation-z/#5459632f1dfe References DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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Some Common Causes and Reasons for Divorce. (2012). Retrieved on January 16, 2017 from http://www.divorcestatistics.info/some-common-causes-and-reasons-for-divorce.html US Census Bureau (2015). Number of married couples in the United States from 1960 to 2015 (in millions). Retrieved January 9, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/183663/number-of-married-couples-in-the-us/.

White, M. (2015, July 9). Generation X Will Never Be Ready to Retire. Retrieved from http://time.com/3935428/this-is-why-gen-x-willnever-be-able-to-retire/ Wilcox, W. Bradford & Dew, Jeffrey. The Date Night Opportunity – What Does Couple Time Tell Us About the Potential Value of Date Nights? The National Marriage Project, University of Virginia Zingraf, Gerald. Why Dating Is Important For Marriage. Retrieved on January 9th, 2017. http://www.foryourmarriage.org/why-dating-isimportant-for-marriage/ & www.nationalmarriageproject.org

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Appendix

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Introduction: Identifying Opportunities and Concepts We found some interesting insights from our research in Week 1, but we also realized that we need to dig deeper and document some of the innate issues that go into depleting the romance in a marriage. These were added to our working wall as we progressed ahead and the ones relevant to the selected concepts are summarized here as well.

Based on our research on the subject, the team initially brainstormed concepts individually. These were then discussed amongst the members and three concepts were selected to be explored further in detail. Some of the concepts chosen were derived by combining two or three ideas from the individual brainstorm, which made the process interesting and also added more value to the concepts.

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Key Findings from Initial Part 1 Research

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Working Wall of Initial Concept Brain-storm

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Concept 1

Relationship FitBit Relationship FitBit is a concept that is centered around the question and social network of how married couples get advice, communicate and boost their relationship. Research revealed that advice can come from a multitude of sources. Some of these sources include friends and extended family members, other couples, from a spouse within the marriage, and from professional sources such as a counselor, church staff, nonfiction books, websites, apps, workshops, etc.

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In addition to user groups, the marketplace was examined.

Findings suggest that the relationship advice is a robust and lucrative business. For example, a search in Amazon turned up nearly 25,000 book offerings. Author Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages, a book that provides advice on communicating in relationships, has been a New York Times best seller since 1992 and is available in more than six formats and has been translated into 49 languages. New media, i.e. mobile apps, podcasts and websites, are also booming. Platforms offering anything from sexual intimacy games to a couple’s calendar and to-do list management are growing in number.

Though this market is fruitful and expansive, it is representative of a red ocean of fierce competition where organizations compete for market share with features and niche experiences.

Highlights from this social network concept and user group research follow:

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS Communication

Relationship Advice

• Marriage makes couples less social.

• Marital satisfaction requires effort.

• Poor communication leads to marital dissatisfaction.

• Partners provide unique social support.

• Knowing how to communicate with your spouse increases marital satisfaction.

• Partners support helps overcome life’s biggest challenges.

• Communication can be both nonverbal and verbal. Both play a significant role in relationships.

• Couples who consider their spouse their best friend have happier marriages/life than those who do not.

• Family problem solving increases marital satisfaction.

• Couples are willing to seek advice from professionals and non-professionals to enhance their marriage.

• Accuracy of communication vital to good communication patterns.

• Couples have access to thousands of advice resources available on any platform.

• Relationship advice is a lucrative business.

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KEY INFLUENCERS Nonprofessional

Products

• Spouse (within the marriage)

• Books

• Friends and extended family

• Websites

• Other couples

• Broadcasts (radio, television, podcast) • Apps

Professional

• Workshops

• Counselors

• Articles

• Relationship Coaches

• Videos

• Church staff • Authors • Journalists and Bloggers

Image retrieved on January 17, 2017 from: https://www.blackloveadvice.com/2013/07/15-keys-to-a-happy-marriage/

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KEY USER GROUPS Nonprofessional • Spouse (within the marriage) • Friends and extended family • Other couples Professionals • Counselors • Relationship Coaches • Church staff • Authors • Journalists and Bloggers • Website and App Developers • Business Owners (childcare providers, hospitality industry managers) Image retrieved on January 17, 2017 from: http://houseofroseblog.com/top-marriage-blogs/

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PROPOSED VALUE PROPOSITION For married couples who are seeking to build a stronger bond, but lack the knowledge to do so, our application will improve communication between spouses and provide relationship target goals and advice, along with reminders and catalogs of important events in the life of a couple.

We do this by combining goal setting and communication tracking features (like a FitBit for communication) with quick relationship advice developed by professional counselors.

Unlike the current offerings, our product does not require extensive reading or practice and allows users to set simple step by step goals that will enhance a couple’s relationship.

Concept 1: Relationship FitBit User Groups

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Working Wall for Concept 1: Relationship FitBit

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Working Wall for Concept 1: Relationship FitBit

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Working Wall for Concept 1: Relationship FitBit

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Concept 2

Career Oriented Couples with Young Children This concept is focused on career oriented couples with children. Research reveals that stress from a career and responsibilities of children negatively affect the relationship of a married couple. Some more contextual research was carried out to understand and define the concept better, the inferences of which follow below:

Key Findings from Initial Part 1 Research

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KEY PATTERNS Well educated, pursuing career dreams

Living with parents (grandparents)

• 50% of these young couples are individuals who want to be entrepreneurs

• Difficult to have open communication

• Get financial/childcare support from their parents

• 55% of startup founders are part of Gen X • X’ers are taking management roles and mentoring young coworkers Balancing career expectations against parental responsibilities • High value on good parenting • Leverage job mobility to share responsibilities • Interested in healthy, locally produced and organic food

Influenced/enticed by social media • Experience beautiful things now than later • Evolve the use of social media as living through parenthood

Raising Gen Y and Gen Alpha • After experiencing 9/11, these young couples value the importance of a safe world for their children • Anonymous social media is more appealing to these generations • Embrace multiculturalism

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KEY STRESSORS / INFLUENCERS Childcare

Communication

• 2nd largest monthly expense for families after mortgage/rent payment

• With parents or step-parents living under the same roots, couples find it difficult to have open communication with one another

• Share a nanny with friends/coworkers to reduce childcare cost

• Fear of stirring up drama or conflict within the family system

• Get financial support for childcare from their parents

• Feel controlled and obligated to make certain life decisions

• Leverage grandparents already living in their home as daycare providers Finance • College debts • Childcare • Instead of down sizing, these couples are up-sizing their home to fit multi-generations in their home

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KEY USER GROUPS The couples

Grandparents

Childcare providers

• Younger Gen X and older Millennials

• Parents of Gen X and Millennials

• Child care center

• Well educated, career driven

• Support their children financially or via childcare

• Home daycare

• Use of technology to stay in touch / in line with family

• Nanny share

• Value life experiences • Finance is a stress Young children • Younger Gen Y and Gen Alpha • Greater use of technology • Expect instant gratification as they are growing up

Colleagues • “Work family” of the couples

• At home nanny • Grandparents • Cost, credibility and trust is a concern to parents (post 9/11 generation)

• Willing to share personal details

• Communication via email and SMS to keep parents informed

• Influence on parenting

• Webcam gives parents a sense of security

• More cautious in social media and life choices • Embrace multiculturalism

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PROPOSED VALUE PROPOSITION For career-advancing married couples with young children who desire romance and alone time out of hectic daily life with work, home and children, our application will help manage your daily schedule, improve communication between spouses, and provide suggestions on when to take a break, the activities to pursue, and childcare options available within a few clicks. We do this by building a mobile application that does it all for busy on-the-go parents.

Unlike other web and mobile apps such as Cozi and Care.com, our product aims to be the go-to place with smart features that learns and understands the needs of the couple and their children.

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Working Wall for Concept 2: Career Oriented Couples with Children

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Concept 3

Healthy Lifestyle: Food & Exercise Some indicators from the previous research pointed towards the effects of stress and lack of intimacy resulting in the loss of romance in the relationship of a married couple. This concept considered how a healthy lifestyle, including food and exercise would impact the relationship. Research revealed that leading a healthy lifestyle can benefit the relationship of a married couple in many ways, inducing a renewed confidence, sense of teamwork, improved intimacy and exploring new activities together. Key insights are summarized in the following pages.

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS Individual’s response to life changes • The effect of marital transitions on weight changes differs by gender; • Women are more likely to gain weight in a marriage, while men are more likely to tip the scale after a divorce, especially if they are above 30 - Women may tend to eat more and exercise less after getting married and starting a family because of the stresses of child bearing and maintaining the household; • One’s chances of becoming obese increased by 37% if one’s spouse becomes obese • About half of the time, people don’t get the support, which can make it difficult to change eating habits given the crucial role relationships can play.

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS (contd.)

Impact of Exercise in a relationship • Exercising together fosters closeness: After exercising, couples come away with a feeling of synchronicity, cooperative spirit and shared passion. It helps build better communication and common goals; • 94% of couples stuck to a fitness program when they did it together by keeping each other motivated and exploring new fitness activities;

• Exercise is good for self esteem as well as sex life in a relationship.

There is a strong correlation between exercise and sexual intimacy; • The impact of exercise on sex life doesn’t apply to young couples only;

• Exercise provides unique benefit for those going through tough times, because it changes the actual chemistry and function of our • Exercise improves mood (because of the production of endorphins brains and bodies; and serotonins) and is a stress buster; • Exercise is a great way to release negative energy. Bodywork like yoga or a massage gives the opportunity to release toxicity and emotional pain; • A dance class is romantic and gets one’s blood pumping;

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS (contd.)

Intimacy • Studies show that people with active sex lives tend to exercise more frequently and have better dietary habits than those who are • One third of couples in America suffer from low sex drive or desire, less sexually active.

• Many diet related conditions can negatively impact one’s sex life and getting things back on track isn’t always simple; • Wedded couples tend to put on weight after marriage, which can pose a hindrance to sexual attraction and general health;

• Added energy & improved body image improves intimacy; • Short intense exercise is linked with increased testosterone levels, which help stimulate sexual desire and behavior; • Women are more sexually responsive following 20 minutes of vigorous exercise. Also, women enjoy sex more when they are physically active; • Couples who reported any kind of marital intimacy, from holding hands to sex, exhibited lower levels of hormone produced by stress

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS (contd.)

Food Related • Couples use cooking as a way to invest in their marriage; More than 70% of surveyed married couples enjoy cooking together and were significantly more satisfied in all areas of their lives than couples who didn’t cook together; • Cooking together can be a source of great joy in a marriage; Cooking together can lead to improved physical health, stronger communication and memorable experiences; • Couples have the greatest impact on one another’s dietary patterns; • A history of eating disorders or chronic dieting can also influence one’s relationship with food and one another;

• Couples can have widely different eating habits. Food isn’t just nourishment. It’s also what you believe in how you were raised.

Sometimes different food preferences and habits can be a source of stress in a relationship. Sources of potential conflict include cultural differences, religious dietary restrictions, tensions between vegetarian and omnivore, tension between picky and adventurous eaters; • Eating with others can cause one to consume 33% more than they would solo; • The feeling of being judged makes couples stop eating together;

• Food doesn’t only affect our bodies physically, but also our emotions and hormones. Poor diet can deplete energy and cause stress or anxiety. A good diet can boost your libido and ensure your body is working well;

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KEY PATTERNS & INSIGHTS (contd.)

Image of Self • A negative body image is the number 1 sexual issue for women; For women, negative self-image is often related to weight gain, constant exposure to unrealistic media images of women, and aging.

• Feelings of self-worth carry over into our relationships.

• It’s helpful to have friends, family and particularly a spouse on board when one’s trying to lose weight; • When you’re feeling down you can easily give into the comfort food cycle;

• Added energy improved body image, which improved intimacy; • Self esteem comes from accomplishing things that are important to us. Being fit shows us that we can overcome obstacles and reach goals, and gives us a sense of power in determining our circumstances; • The connection between mind and body influences how we project our own personal beauty; • People with better self-esteem tend to have fewer problems with jealousy, and a lesser need to control others. This translates to a freer and stronger marriage all-round; DMGT 720 Winter 2017

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KEY USER GROUPS Married Couples

Individuals in a Marriage

• Empty Nesters

• Women

• Couples with kids

• Individuals with kids

• Married couples looking to do something fun & different together

• Individuals with a negative self image/ low self esteem

• Married couples supporting their spouses through a life change

• Individuals who commit to a healthier lifestyle

• Married couples experiencing a life change

• Empty Nesters

• Married couples with different food preferences

• Individuals in a marriage going through a life change

• Married couples under a lot of stress

• Individuals in a marriage who want to improve their libido / sex life

• Married couples wanting to improve their sex life

• Individuals in a marriage who are under a lot of stress

• Married couples wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle

• Individuals in a marriage who are supporting their partners during a life change

• Married couples looking to reconnecting with their spouses • Married couples with a common interest in working out or cooking

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KEY USER GROUPS (contd.)

Community

Service Provider: Exercise

• Married couples

• Instructors: all kinds of exercises

• Individuals in a marriage

• Gyms / Studios / Exercise centers

• Content creators

• Therapists

• Therapists

• Content creators

• Instructors: all kinds of exercises

• Exercise equipment stores

• Food experts / dieticians • Gyms / Studios / Exercise centers

Service Provider: Food

• Farmers / Farmers markets / Grocery stores

• Content creators • Food experts / dieticians • Therapists • Farmers / Farmers Markets / Grocery stores • Cooking / culinary related stores

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POTENTIAL DIRECTIONS FOR CONCEPT 3 The concept grew too wide, but there were some ideas which showed great potential if narrowed down and focused on. Some directions based on this concept were: 1. An offering for women going through the ‘marriage life change’ to improve her self esteem and also have spouses on board for support; 2. Couples Marathon Training as a way to build teamwork and support in a relationship; 3. Dance / Synchronous body movement regimes; 4. Game Scheduler: For couples to book a court; 5. An offering encouraging couples to cook together; 6. An offering motivating inactive couples to exercise together;

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Working Wall for Concept 3: Healthy Lifestyle (Food + Exercise)

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Good / Different Findings We see a Blue Ocean opportunity for our app/service, particularly in these areas: • • • • • • •

Career driven parents with young children Child care Romantic connections Date night ideas Travel planning Relationship enhancement Extended family involvement

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Competitors

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Project Matrix Research Questions

What do I need to know?

Why do I need to know this?

What kind of data will Where can I find the answer these questions? data?

What type of research methods will I use?

How do having careers and a family impact the relationship of a couple within marriage?

• • • •

• To understand the before and after • To understand what issues occur within the process • To find out the pains and gains of these users

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Survey

• To understand what it takes to maintain a marriage • To understand life lessions learned by individuals/ couples • To find out the pains and gains of these users

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Survey

In what ways does children • Beside normal work hours, what are some of the situations that • To understand how family affect relationship of a affect relationship of a couple? couples seek childcare? couple • How often do couples date after starting a family? What types of • To explore things that family do that affect relationship dates? What stories about dates do they have? of a couple • What kind of activities do couples/individuals do that require childcare?

• What kind of activities do children involved in? Do they require parent involvement? How? How do they affect individual/couple?

• What kind of activities do family do together? How do they affect individual/couple?

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Observation • Survey

In what ways do caketaker affect young families?

• How does caretaker have affect on the family?

• How is the grandparents/relatives involved with the family? What do they do? How do that affect the family and the couple?

• To understand the role of caretaker have on a family • To understand what affect caretaker have on a family • To understand what affect caretaker have on a couple

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Survey

How does techology effect family and couple’s life?

• What are some of the technology products that couple use to manage your family life?

• What are some of the technology products that couple use to plan/ setup dates?

• What are some of the books/reading materials couple read for the purpose of improving marriage/family life?

• What do couple do/use when seeking improvement on their relationships? Books? Therapy? Apps? Activities?

• To understand how technology changed the way family/couple live • To explore how technology can positively enhance the life of family/couple

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Observation • Survey

How is the relationship between spouses before having children?

How is the relationship between spouses after having children?

How are couples balancing both careers and family life?

What are the impacts to couple’s marriage with children and career?

How are couples in a marriage • What does a spouse do in order to improve or maintain relationship maintain their relationship? with his/her spouse?

• What works? What does not work?

• What are the lessons learned?

• What are the pains and gains?

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Project Matrix Research Questions

Why do I need to know this?

What kind of data will Where can I find the answer these questions? data?

What type of research methods will I use?

Does having a job and • If couples feel that hav-ing a job and children im-pacts the health of children, impact the health of a their mar-riage, i.e., do they experi-ence that their rela-tionship lacks marriage/ relationship? romance

• Want to know if couples acknowledge this as an issue in their relationship

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Survey

How does it influence the relationship (Key areas/ key issues/challenges)?

• What are some of the areas that couples might feel stressed about which results in lowering of romance in the relationship. What areas do couples think they are?

• Want to know some of the key areas/ challenges that married couples in a job with kids might face or think cause the relationship to deteriorate

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Survey

What are some of the consequences of the impact?

• What are some of the behavioral changes

• Qualitative • Quantitative

• Primary Research • Secondary Research

• Interview • Observation • Survey

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What do I need to know?

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Affinitizing Survey Results

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Affinitizing Diagram

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Qualitative Survey Results

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Qualitative Survey Results

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Qualitative Survey Results

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Qualitative Survey Results

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Gottman Institute Business Model Canvas - Working Wall

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Cozi Business Model Canvas - Working Wall

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Working Wall

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Working Wall

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Working Wall

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5 E’s Product Development SUMMARY

Entice

Text goes here Wife/Mother

Enter

Engage

Easy to create profile

Easy sign up process

Heard from friends

Create profile with interests and dietary restriction

Location service knows where I live and events happening around here

Promise of creating more quality time with spouse

Safe and secure

Easy import calendars and contacts

Looking at the features

Activity Feeds

Syncs calendar with husband

Set up my spouse's profile

Husband/ Father

Wife introduces product

Promise of creating more quality time with spouse

Free

Branded like Google

Easy sign up process Easy import calendars and contacts

Looking Easy to around create the app profile Syncs with wife

Keep a list of special occasion

Can easily see options Set reminders on special occasion

Exit

Save nannies/ babysitters as Favorites

Save date activities ideas as Favorites

Share Favorites with husband

Remember the last babysitter I used (Saved as Favorites)

Sync'ed with OpenTable, Yelp, Trip Advisor etc.

Auto suggest things to do around town based on my availability and interest

Searches date activity ideas

Give reviews and rating of childcare

Searches childcare options

Creates a to-do list

Assign owner to tasks on to-do list

Puts content on caldendar

View sports activities available around town

See options for dates and activities

Give reviews and rating of childcare

Views a to-do list

Auto suggest things to do around town based on my availability and interest

Books a restaurant or event

Clock-in and clockout babysitting service

Extend

Remember the last task performed with the app

Signoff

Preferences are remembered

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Introduce new features

Reminders pushed to email and text messages

Referral bonus

Contact by customer support

Coupons and discounts on special events

Keep pushing activities of interest to him

Sync up with work calendar and to-dos

Introduce new features

Offer incentives to loyal customers

Reminders pushed to email and text messages

Reminders to book events/restaurant s for upcoming special occasion

Save credit card info to book/pay for childcare

Nanny

Granparent

Easy sign up process

Embedded with Android phones

Easy to connect with potential clients

It will only show few options vs. many

Easy sign up process

Branded like Google

Sync with Gmail

Multiple calendars at a glance

Accept jobs via app

Small service fee

Organize personal calendar as well as business

Read profile and instruction

Receive payment via app

Calculate distance and cost of gas

Auto suggest range of price based on demand

Information is secured

Privacy settings for personal calendar

Remember the last task performed with the app

Both personal and business usage

Upload certificates and documents

Easy sign up for low-tech users

Easy sync with family calendar

Privacy settings

Receive reminders / alerts via app or SMS

Shared calendar with family

Free to use

Predict what user needs based on content of email

Post for different activities

Get a summary of daily activities

Activity feeds

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Create profile

Give reviews and rating to parents

Get referrals and reviews from customers

Enable user to set availability for work flexible schedule

Reminders pushed to email and text messages

Reminders pushed to email and text messages

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Value Map Product Development Increase couple's time together by providing childcare options

Increase visibility of calendar whitespace to take advantage of Improve couple's relationship by scheduling couples events

Childcare arrangement and scheduling Comprehensive Calendar and List creator that syncs schedules and lists

Comprehensive todo lists and grocery lists in one location

Enhance childcare experience by understanding schedule

Gain Creators Create balance and mutual understanding between couples with synced calendars

Helping managing all the family's events / schedules

Invest more time in growing couple's relationship through more personal dates

Know how to improve his relationships

Finding Balance in her life

Fit

Avoid marriage/family problems by spending more time together

Avoid the anxiety of work and home related stress by balancing requirements

Eliminate pain of scheduling conflicts by merging calendars

Decrease stress of remembering the family's commitments by setting calendar reminders

Responsibility to keep the house in order

Too many demands on her time Not enough time to focus on work/career

Eliminate schedule surprises by having all calendars synced with reminders

Decrease the "out-ofcontrol" feeling by taking control of schedules, todos, and child care

DAD

MOM

Have improved relationship with husband

I want to make time alone with my wife a priority

A healthy, happy, satisfying marriage

Spend more time with her family

How can I show my wife that I care about her?

I try to think about planning things in advance, but I end up getting too busy and forget

Spend quality time with husband

I want to ease the burdens placed on my wife, take more responsibility

Managing the family schedule

Be supportive of husband and children

Find activities to do with her husband

Trust issues with childcare provider

Doesn't know what to do with quality time with wife

Dates are limited by budget and distance from home

No time to plan dates or quality time with his wife

Find safe, excellent childcare

Manage the children's schedule

Busy work and after work activities restrict leisure time

Pains

Invest time where it counts

Customer Job(s) Know and

Has to make an effort to spend time with husband

How can I create more romance in my marriage?

I try to stay positive and good natured, but I get worn out with my schedule

Responsibilities easily communicated and accomplished

No time for friends

Wants husbands attention

Support system to help her with kids

Efforts have an impact on child's success

Manage the control the household schedule

Keeping track of all the todos

No time for dating

No extended family nearby

More time for herself

Have deeper connection with husband

No opportunities for spontaneity

No enough quality time with husband

No backup plans for childcare

Overview of what's happening with kids when she's not there

Personal growth

Spend more quality time with husband

Respect of his wife and child and colleagues

Feeling like his marriage is thriving

Simple way to connect with his wife

Pain Relievers

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Gains

Invest time where it counts

A sense of fulfillment in her work and life

Feel valued and appreciated

If he could take over some of the scheduling of childcare and other things his wife has to do now.

Be known as a good father and loving husband

Increased time with his kids and more family vacations

Decrease the stress of child care by always knowing the schedule

Successfully manage family schedule

Spend more time with his wife

Increase couple's quality time with each other by scheduling entertainment and activities

On demand child care options

Products and Services Searches date activities and ideas based on user preferences and past usage

Increase efficiency of grocery shopping by compiling grocery list

Shared responsibilities of raising the children with husband

Work schedule is not sync'd up with his wife

Doesn't completely trust digital sources

Wants to be a good mom, wife, daughter & daughter in law

Manage to-dos Have healthy work/life balance

Feel in control of schedules

Quality time with wife is hard to come by Miscommunication

Not good at planning in advance things to do with his wife

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Good / Different Chart Product Development SUMMARY Text goes here Good, but Not Different

Good and Different I would be able to see multiple options for childcare and date activities

Good

It would be intuitive

I could store information in the cloud

It would be super simple and elegant

The technology would make my life easier

It would allow my husband and I to schedule entertainment that fits both of our busy schedules

Predict what user needs based on content of my email

Not Good and Not Different Easy sign on flow

Free to use

I would want it to be safe and secure

It would list top results

I could map out activities and determine what I want to do

I would be able to rate the childcare provider

I would access to my schedule anywhere

Use an algorithm to send me preferred information

It would store information on my kids for the childcare provider

Memorize my schedule and habits

Know my work and home schedule

It would have a personal assistant

Different but Not Good

It would update with new features regularly

Sync with Gmail

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Values

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Easy

Simple

Communicate clearly

Assist

Strong safety & security features

Intuitive

Fun

Friendly

Connected

Helpful

Enable

Team work

Ease of visibility

Elegant

Smart

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Not sure if we want to do two stories (mom and a nanny).

I'm thinking not - John

Meet user 2

Should we include our value proposition somewhere?

Meet Jill.

She is a full-time nanny. She would love to get more clients and income but she doesn't have a great way to let parents know about her services.

Slide or Scene 1

Slide or Scene 2

Slide or Scene 3

Slide or Scene 4

Reveal the product right up front.

IDEATION NOTES IN GREEN

Highlight what is unexpected about the topic

Slide or Scene 1 Strong societies are built on strong families, which originate from strong marriages It's time to make love a priority by putting the focus back on the married couple's relationship

Married couples are so busy they don't have enough time for each other.

Choose 1 approach to grab audiences attention from the start. Something new or unusual, could be emotional

Attention Grabber

The Syndeo app can ______

The Syndeo app can decrease the "out-ofcontrol" feeling by taking control of schedules, todos, and child care

Problem:

Slide or Scene 5

Tell about the problem through a story.

Better if we have a real story.

Slide or Scene 6

Ideally we want to speak of people in different situations, but where each could benefit from the Syndeo solution.

Meet user 1

Problems made emotional

Meet Emily and David.

Emily and David are busy parents. They both work full-time and are raising 3 kids. Emily and David would love to spend more quality time together, but they just can't seem to make it happen with their busy schedules. And when they finally do find the time, they face another obstacle of finding safe, trusted and available childcare.

The lack of quality time together has left Emily and David feeling distant in their marriage and hurt their relationship.

Slide or Scene 7 Discovering what Syndeo can do.

Do you make love...

Slide 1

Answer: Just one, with a little help from your smart phone 2

A priority?

3

4

Modern married couples with children are so caught up in their busy lives that they do not make time for each other. And when they finally do find the time, they have to deal with obstacles such as finding good childcare and coming up date ideas. We have something that can help.

Discovery

Then, a friend told Emily about Syndeo. Now Emily and David can sync their schedules on an easy-to-use calendar. They find open dates and together make a plan and schedule quality time.

Slide 2

5

Meet Syndeo, the app for married couples looking to spend quality time together.

Use footage of couple talking at table with kids in foreground.

VISUALS

Introductory slide

Couples easily plan dates from a list of suggested options based on their preferences. So the next time you need to pick a restaurant you're set.

video clip of user interface

Closing: testimonials: who supports your idea?

Milestones for the business?

Market Opp.

Revenue

Slide or Scene 13

Slide or Scene 12

Closing: milestones: what has been accomplished and what might be left to tackle?

Stats about marriages or productivity apps?

With the out-of-control feeling gone, Emily and David are enjoying their marriage and time together more. In fact they have two dates scheduled later this month.

Validation

Marketing Strategies

Slide or Scene 13 Revenue Streams, Customers, Key Partners

Business Model?

Closing: What's next?: How can the audience get involved or find out more?

Request funding?

Syndeo organizes your life so you can focus on what matters.

8

When mom and dad need to find a sitter, Syndeo does it in a snap.

Safe, trusted and convenient childcare is available in their area.

They can make contact, schedule and even pay.

Use app movies with restaurants

Need footage of Emily and David looking distant

Slide or Scene 11 If a statistic is too big to comprehend relate it to something familiar.

Use stats and relate them back to story.

Out-of-control feeling gone

7

Slide or Scene 10

Stats 9

Use concrete, specific details

Syndeo also provided a way for Emily and David to quickly and easily find safe, trusted and convenient childcare. That is an answer to one of Emily’s biggest concerns. Instead of going through her call list of friends and looking for a random teenage babysitter, Emily is able to do it all with Syndeo. She can find babysitters in the area, read reviews, see prices, make contact, schedule and pay.

6

(login) Syndeo offers an easy sign up process and flow. Users customize their profiles and preferences and can add their spouses.

How do you know when you have too much on your plate?

How can you tell when you life has reached a tipping point?

Show how Syndeo helps the people in the stories reach their goals.

Discovery 2

1

How many languages do you need to communicate with the rest of the world?

Slide or Scene 8

Market opportunity...

(calendar syncing) Intuitively sync calendars to make more time so that couples can focus on what really matters, each other.

Use app movies with childcare

Use b.roll from first video and app movies

Is it when your busy schedule starts infringing on your marriage?

Is it when work, school, or your children become your sole focus in life?

State the problem

Introduce the solution

Take the viewer through details of the App

Context to market Opp.

What do Kelly and Jill have in common?

They have both let their busy schedules become the priority in their lives and have sacrificed their marriages

Validation

Their marriage has been restored and they are experiencing the "honeymoon" phase once again!

Syndeo organizes your life so you can focus on what matters.

Revenue Streams

End: Brand & Tagline

April 2017 Beta Launch with identified early adopters: xyz

2017

2018

It's time for them to refocus on their spouses and rekindle the flame in their marriage

Rethinking these June 2017

January 2018

Full launch

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GoJaneGo link: http://bit.ly/2lrgjtu

For married couples with children who desire quality time with each other, our application will decrease the “out-of-control” feeling by taking control of schedules, to-dos and childcare.

We do this by building a mobile application that is free to use for busy on-the-go parents. Unlike other web and mobile apps such as Cozi and Google Calendar, our product aims to be Who are the go-to tool to help married couples manage their time, nd we? accessible childcare and opportunities to spend quality time together.

Who are we?

(Option 1) We are a mobile app for busy on-the-go parents who desire quality time with their spouses. We decrease the out of control feeling by taking control of schedules, to-dos and childcare.

Who are we?

(Option 2) We are the go-to too to help busy married couples manage their time, find accessible childcare and (dating?) opportunities to spend quality time together

‘The go-to mobile app, for busy on the go parents, who desire quality time with their spouses’ DMGT 720 Winter 2017

Working well - The simplicity of the brand is working really well. It aligns nicely with your business values. Like how you described this in your process book - You do have an innovative product! You've done a good job of demonstrating an easy to use product that can have value in to your customers.

State the problem

Could use footage / still shots from previous video here try to include all the problems in a simple way if possible could also include a statistical infographic

Not too much emphasis crisp, to the point

Introduce the solution

Brand Id short line about what it is

1 slide

Take the viewer through details of the App

Context to market Opp.

Go through screens of how it works. What problems it solves.

Keeping it crisp. Start from login - could use parts of previous video

Potential market size: couples, babysitters, restaurants people in the ecosystem

Who are we?

Who are we?

(Option 1) We are a mobile app for busy on-the-go parents who desire quality time with their spouses. We decrease the out of control feeling by taking control of schedules, to-dos and childcare.

(Option 2) We are the go-to too to help busy married couples manage their time, find accessible childcare and (dating?) opportunities to spend quality time together

Multiple slides

1 / 2 slides

- You video and process book is well formatted and organized.

- The user experience also has a nice familiarity but softened through photography. This makes a very approachable product for a diverse set of users.

Validation

Validation from people who face specific pain points.

This could also be a short video - showing interaction with product and feedback.

- Hood overall process in the aesthetics. Perhaps come up with a unique interaction style? Seems you are using industry practices, but a key tagline or interaction could help differentiate.

Revenue Streams

Crisp and worked out

1 slide

End: Brand & Tagline

Conclude - crisp and brief

1 slide

Video or multiple slides hitting on the personas we worked out: mom/ dad/ babysitter/ local restaurant. Could also be a google survey sent out.

Needs Improvement - A good business strategy is also about choosing what not to do. I found myself a little bored towards the end of the video. You are trying to pile a lot of features. you could have 230