Branded Desktop RSS: Lessons Learned

Have you ever heard of Southwest "Ding"? They have achieved crazy success with their RSS based desktop application - driving over 1 million downloads and $60 million in sales per year since its launch.

When I was with a previous company I managed the development of a similar application. It was closely modeled after the Southwest Ding desktop app as a way for customers to make the most out of their membership. When I left the company over a year ago, the product was getting serious traction - but not after some interesting lessons were learned.

The company I worked for was in timeshare (or vacation ownership...the word "timeshare" is taboo now in the industry) and the desktop application was available for members to find good deals on vacations to exchange for their own. It was also a good way for the company to promote inventory they wanted to move. It seemed like a win for both the company and the customer.

When we launched it the adoption rate was steady, but soon after the complaints came pouring in...

Some typical complaints:

• Cannot not use the application due to not meeting the system requirements
• Paranoid about it affecting the functionality/performance of their computer
• Worries about security and computer viruses
  
• Worried about getting spam

It was quite amazing. We thought that we had thought of everything - but it was some of the obvious concerns that were ringing true...

Majority of timeshare owners were older and more skeptical of downloading applications on their computers - and many were not extremely comfortable with technology in general, so our online tutorials and FAQ went by unnoticed. What we got instead was a deluge of email and phone calls about the very same topics covered in the FAQ and online tutorials!

So we quickly ramped up our customer support so we could respond to their incoming questions and concerns. We began monitoring the response in the call center and online... there are quite a few blogs dedicated to timeshare ownership and as soon as we released the app to the public - they were all over it. Their response was extremely eye opening.

So we began soothing member concerns right away by using both a support phone line and through email. We also added a support blog as a part of the application which helped immensely. We had made assumptions that just turned out to be incorrect - and were in need of a full support mechanism to ensure our products success.

The lesson here is that while desktop RSS applications can be extremely successful - they can also pose a large commitment of resources to support it. Before you take the plunge, make sure that you accurately anticipate what your user response will be and be ready to answer questions. Your product success and development hinges on this 2 way communication.

What we learned (quite obviously) was that the choice to download an application to ones desktop is a quite a personal one - and needs to be treated with alot of respect. If you are successful - then you have an open and direct line of communication with your customer - and the opportunity to build a relationship on trust and mutual benefit. If you fail - you will most likely loose them forever. Its all about the lifetime value of the customer vs. the cost of customer acquisition. This is why if done correctly - desktop RSS is a viable marketing tool.

So as a result of being able to respond to their customer's initial concerns , the product is very successful and has become a major channel for the marketing department. They are able to use it to communicate to their customers in ways that even email cannot.

If you are interested in companies that specialize in desktop RSS applications - I highly recommend The Port...they are building a superior solution and can customize it for the specific needs of your business.

If you are interested in learning more about desktop RSS here is a great article on top desktop applications being used today.

Happy Marketing!