Headspace — A Missed Opportunity
Where’s The Why?
After watching Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk, my view of large-scale marketing had shifted a little bit. Advertising to the public about why you do something versus what you are selling is fascinating. “Think Different”. Apple’s famous tagline sparked millions of people to want to buy their products because they believed they would be different from the rest of the world. They wanted to be outliers.
The company that I chose to research is Headspace, a meditation app that focuses on bringing an easy, accessible, guided meditation practice to the masses. I have been using this app for almost three years now. On their website, the header is “Your guide to health and happiness followed by, “Live a healthier, happier, more well-rested life with Headspace.”
Although this is an appearing moto, based on what I’ve learned from Simon, I do not believe this to be an incredible motivating company purpose. It explains much more of the “what” as to the “why”. In actuality, Headspace has probably transformed upwards of millions of lives. And they must have had a goal in mind, a belief to do so. A belief in the power of meditation, that it has the ability to transform people's lives through a self-practice. A differentiator. So why not focus on this instead of the idea of self-improvement. Although this message is a positive one no doubt, I think they could have gone much better here. Much more powerful.
The What
An easy and fun to use meditation app that provides accessible guided meditation practices
The How
Accessible through smartphones, the annual subscription fee is $90. Use it anywhere that you have the app on your device
The Why (My Thoughts)
The belief that a better, more positive and grounded world can come with one more meditative person at a time. Imagine what the world could accomplish if everyone meditated for even five minutes every day? Be part of that change.
Other Thoughts Regarding Headspace
Overwhelming Options
As stated earlier, I have used Headspace for almost three years. I’m not a daily user, but I try and use the app at least once a week. I keep coming back to it because I really do enjoy using it, and the guided meditations are pretty fantastic.
As the app progresses and changes, they are constantly adding new features and new options for different types of mediation. Although I appreciate this and understand that they want to appeal/help as many consumers as they can, at times it can be a bit overwhelming. This can lead to decision paralysis.
One option to remedy this is to have some kind of initial questionnaire. Ask the consumer what they would like to get out of the app, instead of throwing hundreds of options for a guided meditation at the and hoping that a few of them stick. Out of these many options, there are really only three or four that I use on a regular basis. A good portion of the guided meditations are set up in a “lesson” style, where you go through a set of them, you complete then, and then you move onto the next one.
The Best Kind of Notifications
Headspace is one of the few apps I have on my phone that push notifications that I actually want to read, and that I enjoy reading.
The notifications are like mini-meditations. Phrases or words that remind me to stay grounded and present. It allows me to have to actually have to enter into Headspace and start meditation to get what I need out of the app, which is a beautiful thing. Great UX. I don’t even have to tap my phone, I just hold it up to my face, and if a notification is there, I can just read it, use it how I will, and then put my phone down.
It’s these types of thoughtful notifications that I hope to utilize as I explore the user experience field for myself.
