A Bold Case Indeed

The production value of the video is strong, which should not be surprising given the nature of the firm being profiled. In the background are open-concept office plans, with headphone-clad young workers typing away at computers. In the foreground are employees of the firm, touting the firm's products and processesespousing terms like benefits, customer experience, and points of interaction.

This is not a Silicon Valley company, but rather the Bold Innovation Group (BIG), originally from le-des-Chnes, Manitoba, which boasted just over 1,500 residents in the 2016 census. The company's acronym (BIG) accurately describes the aspirations of the firm.

BIG touts its biggest accomplishment as Shopify's top Application and Development Partner. Shopify is an Ottawa-based e-commerce firm that specializes in developing online stores and point-of-sales systems for small businesses. The Shopify platform is surpassed only by Amazon and eBay, and as such has over 1 million active users and more than $34 billion in sales on the platform since it launched.

Bold has managed to find a niche in the Shopify world, by building apps that specifically assist small businesses that are using the Shopify platform. BIG has ridden the wave of growth, exposure, and success with its first Shopify-specific app: Product Upsell. The app is added to the Shopify platform and offers customers products related to the ones they have placed in their Shopify cart. Product Upsell is the highest-rated app in Shopify's history.

The success of Product Upsell has allowed BIG to move up the growth ladder of firms. In 2015 BIG won the start-up of the year award in Winnipeg, and a few months later the firm won an award for medium-sized business. The growth for BIG has been exactly that, which is why in early 2016 the company moved from small-town Manitoba to Winnipeg, with a staff numbering over 100 in 2017.

And Bold continues to be bold: it has developed a new product development structure that allows it to create new ideas through separate companies that are allowed to develop independently to determine success. BIG has created a crowdfunding platform called Kickbooster that helps start-ups to get traction and attention to their online fundraising campaigns.

The key to developing any of BIG's products is providing responsive customer support. From the first negative review of Product Upsell to the current work done on Kickbooster, the team at BIG has a strong customer focus that creates the high expectations that are set internally at BIG by its employees and leaders.

This strong focus on the customer subsequently requires a dedicated workforce to respond to inquiries. A key element to the BIG experience is the presence of someone to help you. When you visit Bold's websites you are greeted by an online message from a team member at BIG, who offers to chat or discuss via email any questions or inquiries you may have. This focus on relationships is much more reminiscent of business-to-business interactions, which is also an aspect of how BIG creates a strong product development strategy.

The Bold Partners program encourages interaction with various members of the BIG network. Whether you are a user of Product Upsell or a website designer, BIG encourages coordination of activities and skills that will bring benefit to both them and Bold. BIG also supports the tech industry in Winnipeg, and looks to develop the Manitoba capital into a tech hot spot. New Media Manitoba, a non-profit group that looks to promote the interactive digital media community, recently said about the group at BIG: "It's really exciting to have a successful company like Bold that can inspire the industry. Companies don't always do that. Some become far removed from the community. But not those guys."

And it is precisely that group at Boldthe ones seen in the introduction video mentioned at the start of this casethat will be vital in the success of BIG moving forward. The development of products is important to the success of any firm, but the role of people can never be underestimated. You should now be emboldened to apply what BIG does to any company's product development strategy.

Q1.Bold Innovation Group helps small businesses create online marketplaces for products like clothing and jewellery. What type of consumer product is the focus for many of Bold's clients?

a. unsought

b. shopping

c. convenience

d. shopping

Q2.The importance of people was apparent in the Bold Innovation Group case. This means that staff would need to be trained properly to provide a similar experience each time a customer interacted with BIG. Which of the 4Is of service does this approach strive to tackle?

a. inconsistency

b. intangibility

c. inventory

d. inseparability

Q3.Which of the four factors of a product offering is the most important at the Bold Innovation Group?

a. tangible goods

b. services

c. ideas

d. people

Short Answer Questions

Q4.It is clear that Bold's products are not that tangible, which makes them challenging to communicate to potential customers. Describe the Bold offering using the 4Is of service.

Q5.Using the four elements of a product offering, describe how BIG has been able to create such a successful product development strategy. Be sure to highlight which one of the 4Is is the most important for BIG.

Q6.Much of what the Bold Innovation Group sells would be considered a business product. Given this, describe how you would characterize the business products that BIG sells.