Quibi’s failure is a product issue first.
Quibi is a paid-app that launched on April 6th, 2020 that provides streaming in smaller, 10-minute or less snippets. It’s expectations were huge, but the results were dismal.
Who’s to blame? Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the founders who was also the one time head of Walt Disney Studios and founder of Dreamworks SKG, blames the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent article on entrepreneur.com suggested it was marketing, I believe it was and still is a product problem.
Product management does not supersede marketing by any means, the frameworks and processes during the product management lifecycle do come before marketing, so why hasn’t anyone pointed it out?
Let’s have a look at the demographics, Quibi states that their target market are 18–34 year olds, the app launched in Canada and the USA and it’s a paid service.
Can you see any problems in that statement? Without the details of their MVP (minimum viable product), MMP (minimum marketable product), business model canvas, problem solution canvas, user stories, customer journey maps, and more, it would be hard to determine at which point they went wrong….or is it? I can assume they didn’t work through the above, it accounts for more product failures than anything — aligning your product to your market, the users, and resolving their problems with similar products is critical in its success.
Let’s assume their MVP was a streaming app that gave 10-minute or less snippets of content by big names, celebrities, etc. (as mentioned above). Was the MVP validated? If so, what was the MMP? Did they align? Did they complete a business model canvas? How did that look? What did their user stories look like? Did they even develop a buyer persona?
To put context to the above, here are some simple frameworks to follow when developing an app. These are by no means the be all and end all, but they do help you find out the WHY:
Two simple frameworks to follow that most product managers can attest to, did Quibi complete them? Another great one-pager to get to the heart of your why is the business model canvas:
If the team at Quibi hasn’t completed any or most of these, it’s not too late. Most importantly, since the Covid-19 pandemic has put a wrench in several product launches, it’s time to make a PIVOT.
Just a thought, since the pandemic has caused a reduction in spendable income, and the demographics they selected where the most affected by layoffs — why are they only offering 14-day trials? Would a 60 or 90-day trial during this time allow for more analytics on what is working or not? Would a free app to start with help more? How about a free app, free content and the right to choose channels at a paid premium?
I get what Quibi is trying to accomplish, I think the idea is brilliant BUT are they aligning their idea with what the customer actually wants, can pay for and will use? The evidence is in the 1.6 million downloads.
The marketing department is getting thrown to the chopping block when the product does not meet the expectations of the chosen user base. The content, from several perspectives is not what is consumed by 18–34 year olds.
Lastly, Quibi recently did say that Apple users will be able to stream on TV. This pivot was critical and android users will follow shortly….but is it enough? NO — what the company needs to look at is the psychographics, demographics, speak to the users, survey, and develop a product roadmap that contains iterations that will excite the masses. Dropping a big app with restrictions, fees, short user time and bad publicity is either going to result in a bust or a historical event that will be taught in marketing and product classes worldwide. My advice to the executive team at Quibi, have a look at your MVP, develop user stories and customer journeys, survey, pivot, iterate and repeat. It would be shame to see this product fail any further.
