Presented during the High Performance Marketing Conference 2014, organized by Accenture on January 23rd, 2014.

1. ANNUAL TRENDS
2014
TRENDS IMPACTING SERVICE DESIGN IN

2. Old businesses will become new.
Traditionally non-digital businesses will have to
reinvent themselves to consider the role of digital
services in their organizations.
We’re entering the age of Living Services.
With more things becoming connected,
the living services wave will radically
shape people’s lives and expectations.
Change will beget change.
Digital innovation does not happen on its own or
without consequences.

3. TRENDS 2014
IN CONVERSATION WITH OBJECTS
EVERY PRODUCT IS A SERVICE WAITING TO HAPPEN
As more objects get “smartified,” deep challenges to social
conventions will emerge
The lines between products and services is blurring.
TELCO 3.0
WHAT PRESCRIPTION DOES THE HEALTHCARE
INDUSTRY NEED?
Big is back and it’s a make or break year.
Digital health won’t reach critical mass until there is true
innovation in the system.
LIVING ARROWS
UNDERWRITING DIGITAL
Brands used to be control freaks but now
they need to relinquish control.
The insurance industry transforms.
THE DISTRIBUTED HOME
TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE
Home is where your mobile is.
Design to empower people, without abandoning customer
service.
INVISIBLE MONEY
YOU ARE THE INTERFACE
The transformation of money will affect commerce at every level.
What does cash mean at all?
Screens are out and skin is in, but we must consider
human bandwidth.

4. Apple Genius Bar
Expedia Last-Minute Deals
LIVING ARROWS
Brands used to be control freaks but now
they need to relinquish control.
Most-pinned items at Nordstrom
Amazon Studios
Kickstarter

5. LIVING ARROWS
Facebook security
WHAT’S GOING ON
Amazon Instant crowdsourcing
• We've seen brands jump on social media and Internet forums to
join the conversation about them, but they can still appear as an
outsider encroaching on an open discussion.
• To reframe this relationship, organizations are inviting people to
improve their products in more collaborative ways.
Good Eggs

6. LIVING ARROWS
WHAT’S GOING ON
MQSFT at Art Basel
• Brands need to incorporate super users into the core of the
brand, while also reminding users that organizations are run by
people, not just technology.
• Brands are also allowing users to navigate both product and
services in a way that fits their natural behavior.
Dove Campaign for Real Women
Microsoft

7. LIVING ARROWS
LOOKING FORWARD
• Companies embrace brand inclusion and coproduction even more.
• By building platforms that empower people to
create their own products, services and
community.
• People will be more in control of their own
experiences, but in a way that still feels unique
to the brand.
• This year's buzz trend was brands learning to
become more dynamic storytellers, but now
they have to be better facilitators of their users'
stories.
• Kickstarter is an obvious hotbed, but bigger
brands will begin crowdsourcing as well.

8. LIVING ARROWS
FJORD SUGGESTS
• Centrally controlled traditional branding is dead,
as most brand interactions are now digital.
• This emphasizes brand behavior. What is your
brand’s body language?
• Companies need to elevate their most
fascinating participants and find ways to deliver
and align with their values.
• Showcase understanding for users that creates
an almost peer-to-peer relationship between
users and brands.
• The brand and audience that make together,
stay together.

9. Fiat eco:Drive
EVERY PRODUCT IS
A SERVICE WAITING
TO HAPPEN
The lines between products and services is blurring.
Brands must rethink their ecosystems to add
meaningful value.
Nespresso
adidas miCoach Smart Run
Uber
Hudl

10. EVERY PRODUCT IS A SERVICE WAITING TO HAPPEN
WHAT’S GOING ON
Hudl
• Customer attention is more fragmented by multiple
content/activity streams.
• Brands are creating services to maintain relevance, and in
doing so, disrupting both the status quo and market chains.
Disney Infinity Wave
• Startups and unexpected competitors (like suppliers and
distributors) threaten larger corporations as they create useful
services that quickly expand past their product at launch.
adidas miCoach Smart Run

11. EVERY PRODUCT IS A SERVICE WAITING TO HAPPEN
Airbnb
WHAT’S GOING ON
Red Bull
• Fjord expects more direct-to-consumer innovation with FMCG
companies (Nespresso, Red Bull), which poses a question for
the role of traditional retailers when brands begin to bypass
them.
• adidas miCoach is a service now supported by
a product.
• Uber or Airbnb are pure platform services—they simply provide
the service infrastructure to connect people to the things they
need, in a personal and easy to use way.
Nespresso

12. EVERY PRODUCT IS A SERVICE WAITING TO HAPPEN
LOOKING FORWARD
• Toys and gaming are sectors to watch for
inspiration.
• Brands will expand services to meet audience
needs and thereby shatter industry boundaries.
• More toys will be connected to services that
grow and evolve alongside children.
• We’ll see a greater number of and more
extensive mash-ups in 2014.
• More retail chains will continue to heavily invest
in digital services, like Tesco with their
Blinkbox offering and tablet, Hudl.

13. EVERY PRODUCT IS A SERVICE WAITING TO HAPPEN
FJORD SUGGESTS
• New services that only add to the (virtual) noise
and clutter will not win people over.
• Brands should embrace and consider nontraditional coupling.
• Services must grow and mature with their
audiences: personal investment in the brand
builds loyalty.
• Think through hyper-smart consumption – how
will it change demand and supply?
• Brands must transform from commodities to
loyal partners who support us in living a
meaningful life.
• The new lifespan of a product is extended
through digital information and intelligence.

14. Airline ticket kiosk
TO SERVE OR
NOT TO SERVE
Design to empower people, without abandoning
customer service.
Ryanair
My3
Airbnb
Self check-out

15. TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE
WHAT’S GOING ON
Starwood Preferred Guest Service
• The outsourcing epidemic is spreading.
• This experience is often riddled with commercial advertising.
London Underground
• People are getting lost in translation.
• Instead of feeling freedom, customers end up feeling frustrated
and abandoned without the sole perk of saving time.
TripAdvisor meta search

16. TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE
LOOKING FORWARD
• Organizations have to flip their approach: it’s
about aligning around customers, not around
business processes.
• Fjord’s My3 project is a prime example: 50% of
users reported that they called customer
service less about their bill.
• Self-service could streamline sectors as
diverse as energy, health, travel.
• Since the launch of TripAdvisor’s meta search
feature their stock has nearly doubled ahead of
their leading competitor and site traffic
increased nearly 50%.
• More services like Turkcell’s new Platinum
approach: loyalty benefits with one click and
the service will come to wherever they are!

17. TO SERVE OR NOT TO SERVE
FJORD SUGGESTS
• Reorient towards people’s experience, and
identify the areas where you can deliver higher
value, save customers time, and reduce
customer service needs.
• Understand when you still need to utilize
human contact in the user journey.
• Give people more control of things that used to
be backstage or off limits.
• Make self service moments delightful: consider
planting “Easter eggs” that aren’t tied to
functionality, but charm the customer.
• Aggregation of data does not make a service:
what extra layer is required?

18. THANK YOU
MARK CURTIS
MARK.CURTIS@FJORDNET.COM
FJORDNET.COM
@FJORD #FJORDTRENDS