I Loved Pirates of the Caribbean. Hated the second one. Loved Men in Black. Hated Men in Black II. Loved the Bourne Identity. Surprise, I loved the Bourne Supremacy even more! Then I thought the Bourne Ultimatum was the best yet! Why do most sequels stink? The same reason your customer experiences can get progressively worse – when your motives are wrong.
The Sequel Letdown
Movie sequels rarely deliver because the intent is to milk a concept for as much money as the movie companies think it is worth. They try to capitalize on the concept by rushing the writing, making it more mainstream and making sure all the juicy roles of the original get more screen time in the second one. Notice nothing about the movie viewer interests? Nothing about what can be done new that is interesting? Nothing about making it as good as the original. In fact, I think most film makers expect the sequel to be worse than the original.
Sequels are a letdown because the motivation is wrong and the customer is lost in the money making frenzy. You could argue the same thing happened to Microsoft with its Vista operating system. Sequels happen in the business world as well. Businesses that are successful become more focused on the money than what made them successful – no news flash there. (Although, Apple seems not to suffer from that malaise.)
But what makes Apple, The Bourne movie franchise and others who do well in sequels different?
1. Improved not re-created
The Bourne stories build on the previous movie although the story arcs are different and unique. They aren’t trying to make the same movie again. The sequels are essentially a new movie using known characters. Apple creates new technology essentially using tried and true creative methods but intending on creating dramatically different results. Are you re-creating your process expecting better results? Are your customers telling you they like the new ideas?
2. Know your customer
Facebook is experiencing unprecedented growth. Recently, they changed how their pages look and work and the customer backlash is significant. What happened? They listened to designers more than they did their customers. They lost focus of why they exist. “Improvements” don’t always make things better unless the customer agrees. In the midst of the uproar Facebook has an option to go back to the way it was or ride out the complaints hoping the customer base will eventually get used to the changes. What would you do in the face of growing customer dissatisfaction? Apple and the Bourne movies obviously are in touch with the customers’ expectations of quality and demand. That’s why they work.
3. How important is the money?
Once a business becomes more focused on making money or fueling stockholders as the top priority the focus is in the wrong place. Don’t get me wrong I am sure Apple and The Bourne movies want to be profitable and I applaud that. However, that is not the top focus. The top focus is making a great product, delivered in the best way for an audience they fully understand.
When the focus is on quality and the customer, the money will follow. When the focus is on the money, rarely will the customers be pleased with what they receive, and they are then lost.
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