Revolutionized Ride Services

Growing up in Toronto, Ontario I thought taxis/cabs were just for people to go from an origin to a certain destination because they did not have a car, or needed a ride from/to the airport because they had to leave their car behind. I grew up in a household watching my grandpa make a living by driving a taxi where people would need rides to the airport, or a ride to the grocery store. Considering the 1990’s there were not a lot of taxi companies that operated in the city, however there were a few main ones that majority of people knew of. Moving forward into the 21^st century, the taxi industry revolutionized with Uber bringing in a modern yet exceptional product development and design to the fore front of society which conveyed many benefits to all people of society. The success of their product development and design comes from the use of 3 product development factors which consist of speed, cost, and brand impact.

 

The factor of speed that comes into play for product development was initiated through an innovative method where the organization is able to communicate with the consumers and employees with the use of their app. The Uber app which is available on iOS and Android devices is the main reason and component for the success and evolution of the taxi industry. The development of this app gave Uber a competitive advantage bringing in tremendous success to the business and enabling great benefits to consumers leading to a larger customer base. It is evident that Uber understood the struggles of taxi users and sought to bring in change where customers feel connected to the organization and feel like they are in a safe environment. With the click of a button, customers are able to book their orders, see information regarding the driver, and see availability of drivers. The ease of connectivity between the customers and the organization plays a large part in the success of the company’s product development and design.

Although a company may outperform various other companies in an industry due to its ease of speed of product development, it is important to consider the costs that a company conveys which are presented to consumers and costs that a company has to pay itself for the product development and design that it to be initiated. Through the use of social media, Uber reduced costs by marketing it’ app on social media platforms where more and more people got to know about the service. Word of mouth spread at a vast rate, and many users were sharing Uber’s ads which brought in more potential customers and eventually portrayed a large audience and customer base. With the use of its app, customers were able to submit feedback about their rides where the company was able to use that feedback to generate new improvements in their organizations’ overall success and app development.

Uber’s initiative through the use of their website, Facebook Page, and Instagram page has increased brand impact in many positive ways. Through these social media pages, customers are able to interact with the organization by providing feedbacks, reviews, likes, shares, and comments which the organization can monitor and provide feedback to its consumers. These social media platforms are also used to market various campaigns which has enabled Uber to expand its business at a vast rate. Because of the tremendous success of Uber rides, Uber introduced Uber eats where customers would be able to order food and have it delivered to their door by an Uber driver. Uber marketed campaigns on their social media pages which provided coupons to new customers creating a good brand impact and attracted more users. They also use social media tools to market their company benefits and earnings so people can consider becoming an Uber driver.

Lessons for Others

Overall, Uber has done a great job in initiating product development through social media where customers and the organization can connect with one another through many aspects. Without the use of its social media pages, Uber would not have been able to generate brand awareness and attract a large audience where they can showcase their product development. With the success this company has brought in just a short amount of time, it is yet to think what enhanced product development Uber will bring in the coming years.

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

---

References