Watch the following video, in which Snap CEO Evan Spiegel [1] talks about the Snapchat update, then read on below and follow the instructions to complete the exercise.
Snapchat case study
In 2017, Snap, the parent organisation of Snapchat, went public [2] and nine months later, CEO Evan Spiegel, announced that Snapchat would undergo a significant redesign. Among the many changes, the redesign entailed separating celebrity content from one’s friends and close connections. It also entailed several updates to make the app easier to use.
However, Snapchat users did not receive the changes well and so, after continued and growing criticism, Snapchat eventually rolled back some of the updates. This redesign cost Snapchat many of its customers and Snapchat has since seen a steady decline in customers.
In response to the product’s alleged redesign failure, Spiegel acknowledged that users were frustrated over the updates and revealed that the design felt rushed. [2] While the update solved one problem, it subsequently created many others. He further acknowledged that the product improvement plan was also complicated by the fact that Snap had gone public. In other words, going public had meant more stakeholders to manage, align, and get buy-in from. Since the redesign, many of Snap’s executive-level employees, such as its chief strategy officer, left after the public disapproval of the redesign.
However, Spiegel claims that ‘innovation really is about taking risks. It’s about doing things that are different’. [2] He explains that this thinking is encouraged at Snap so that employees can take risks each day and not feel at risk of being judged. He goes on to say that they make time for employees to connect in small groups and share their ideas. Through this type of thinking and these practices, Snap makes continuous improvements over time.
Instructions: Key lessons from Snapchat
- Post a brief reflective paragraph in the discussion below that answers the following question: What key lessons can we take away from this real-world example? Make sure you cover topics such as:
- What mistakes did Snapchat make with regards to its product improvements?
- How should communication have been handled?
References
- The New Snapchat in 60 Seconds [Video]. Snapchat; 2017 Nov 30. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx1R-eHSkfM
- Yurieff K. Snapchat always proved critics wrong. Then Evan Spiegel pushed for a redesign – CNN [Article]. Edition; 2019. Available from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/10/tech/snap-ceo-evan-spiegel-profile/index.html
Snapchat didn’t seek and put into consideration the customer feedbacks before making the changes in the app.
There’s also lack of communication amongst the product management team; also lack of communication between the PM and the stakeholders this is seen from the eesignation of its executive employees
One of Snapchat’s mistake was not taking into consideration customers’ feedback before taking action. Just as we have learnt in the previous lesson, feedback is the breakfast of champions.
Snapchat didn’t oay attention to user or customer feedback.
Could have explained every step they take to the stakeholders. Let the users k ow every change they made
Without paying attention to the feedbacks of the users, Snapchat made changes that led to their failure
The lessons learned from Snapchat are:
Firstly, Snapchat changed the app design without properly considering user feedback. This resulted in confusing and less user friendly experience.
Secondly, Snapchat didn’t communicate the reasons behind the changes to their users, which led to frustration.
Communication should have been handled if they were more transparent in explaining the upcoming changes to users. They could have involved users in the decision making process and listened to their feedback.
Snap did not take cognizance of the feedback from their users before investing on a new product
Snap were too abrupt and hasty in the introduction of the new features
Snap did not communicate effectively with the users on this new features
None of the Feedback mechanism was used by Snap for guidance
No Survey was conducted
The Build-Measure Learn Process was ignored
For such adjustment to take place, A customer Feedback Loop should have been employed.
Communication would have been better handled by engaging the Team and Stakeholders from the planning phase which would have effectively resulted in cascading such information to the majority of the users
The use of Marketing funnel as a tool after launch should have been employed in order to track the behaviuoral pattern of the product among the users just for a feedback purposes.
The Continuous Improvement metric such as the Success metric to track the success of the product was not employed, Hence the failure.
Thanks
Snapchat were prompt with the changes they made on the app. It seems like they disregarded users feedback and went ahead with what they felt was “users need”.
The communication to the public regarding the change could have been better and more publicised.
Snapchat is an app that users use almost everyday ,so If a user signed out of the app this night and signs in back tomorrow to see that their snap views have been disordered, they’ll get confused and discouraged
What mistakes did Snapchat make with regards to its product improvements?
Snapchat underwent a major redesign aimed at simplifying the app’s interface and making it more user-friendly. However, the redesign was met with significant backlash from users, with many complaining about the confusing layout and the difficulty in finding their friends’ stories. There was separation between social and media. This resulted in a loss of users and a drop in engagement, prompting Snapchat to make adjustments to the redesign.
How should communication have been handled?
Snapchat should have been transparent about the reasons behind the redesign and the goals it aimed to achieve. By communicating openly with users about the changes and the rationale behind them, Snapchat could have managed expectations better and potentially mitigated the backlash.
Lesson learnt about snapchat fails to plan and also carry their stakeholders along in other to adjust to the existing design they are about to introduce to the market.
Snapchat also fails to communicate to their users online in other for them to get acquainted to the new design, they also fails to get feedback from the users without reaching the targeted audience.
The issue was that Snapchat were prompt with the changes they made on the app. It seems like they disregarded users feedback and went ahead with what they felt was “users need”.
The communication to the public regarding the change could have been better and more publicised.
Snapchat is an app that users use almost everyday ,so If a user signed out of the app this night and signs in back tomorrow to see that their snap views have been disordered, they’ll get confused and discouraged
Lessons learnt from Snapchat is the that while they were been innovative they didn’t carry their stakeholders along in other to be prepared about the update.
Secondly, Snapchat didn’t create an enabling environment for their stakeholders to give feedback on improvement, this drove customer away and futher enabled by their poor publication of their update.