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So, around here, Dunkin Donuts is doing this thing where they have a life-sized standee of Rob Gronkowski, tight end for the Patriots, with his arm out at normal human shoulder height, so that you can take a photo with him. Do so, then post it to your Facebook, and you could win a lunch with Gronk. You can also post and upload a video or photo of you spiking a football. Or, as a last resort, and the only way available to people not on Facebook, is to email them an entry.
Let's look at all the assumptions that Dunks is making about their clientele here. First, obviously, they have Facebook accounts. Second, and less obviously, they have cell phones with cameras and the ability to upload photos to Facebook. Third, they are going to Dunks with friends who can take the photo for them. Or, I guess they could do the "hold the phone out to take a self-portrait thing", so maybe that third one doesn't really count. So let's replace the third one with "maybe SOME people aren't on Facebook, but the absolute dead minimum that ANYBODY would have is an email address."
But the first two do -- they believe that their market is people with cell phones with Internet access, and Facebook accounts. And Dunks have free Wi-Fi.
What makes this interesting is that it was only a couple years ago that Dunks made a snarky announcement that THEY wouldn't have Wi-Fi, like Starbucks does, because THEIR market was people who wanted to get coffee and donuts and then leave and go to work, but not THOSE kinds of PRETENTIOUS Starbuck-y people who sit around and Pretend To Write Their Novels and just take up space.
The thing is . . . since that time, Dunkin Donuts' hasn't changed who their customers are. But their core customers -- blue collar workers, high school kids, and general working stiffs -- HAVE changed how they use technology. The exact same plumbers and carpenters are going through the exact same Dunks -- but that Dunks NOW has Wi-Fi, because those carpenters need to check their email to download the new updated blueprints to their smartphones, while drinking their coffee and eating their donuts.
Having a smartphone and Wi-Fi access is now a requirement for skilled blue collar work. Dunks has Wi-Fi NOT because their customer base has changed, but because the technology requirements of their customer base have changed.
Let's look at all the assumptions that Dunks is making about their clientele here. First, obviously, they have Facebook accounts. Second, and less obviously, they have cell phones with cameras and the ability to upload photos to Facebook. Third, they are going to Dunks with friends who can take the photo for them. Or, I guess they could do the "hold the phone out to take a self-portrait thing", so maybe that third one doesn't really count. So let's replace the third one with "maybe SOME people aren't on Facebook, but the absolute dead minimum that ANYBODY would have is an email address."
But the first two do -- they believe that their market is people with cell phones with Internet access, and Facebook accounts. And Dunks have free Wi-Fi.
What makes this interesting is that it was only a couple years ago that Dunks made a snarky announcement that THEY wouldn't have Wi-Fi, like Starbucks does, because THEIR market was people who wanted to get coffee and donuts and then leave and go to work, but not THOSE kinds of PRETENTIOUS Starbuck-y people who sit around and Pretend To Write Their Novels and just take up space.
The thing is . . . since that time, Dunkin Donuts' hasn't changed who their customers are. But their core customers -- blue collar workers, high school kids, and general working stiffs -- HAVE changed how they use technology. The exact same plumbers and carpenters are going through the exact same Dunks -- but that Dunks NOW has Wi-Fi, because those carpenters need to check their email to download the new updated blueprints to their smartphones, while drinking their coffee and eating their donuts.
Having a smartphone and Wi-Fi access is now a requirement for skilled blue collar work. Dunks has Wi-Fi NOT because their customer base has changed, but because the technology requirements of their customer base have changed.