Inconvenience and irrationality create powerful brand experiences.

This series explores the potential of "Undiscovered Benefit" (UDB), including inconvenience benefits, from multiple angles.

[Part 1]
Convenience is good? No, inconvenience can be even better!!

[Part 2]
Who wants a predictable trip!?

The final installment features a trialogue between Professor Koji Kawakami of Kyoto Institute of Advanced Science (a leading authority on inconvenience benefits), Wataru Nozaki (Director and CCO of Smiles, operator of the soup specialty store " Soup Stock Tokyo "), and Kotaro Matsui.

The three founders of the "Unknown Benefits Including Inconvenience" collaborative research community, launched in April 2021, discuss the unexpected relationship between inconvenience and convenience highlighted by the pandemic, and the appeal of incorporating "unknown benefits including inconvenience" into business.

*Affiliation changed as of April 2021 = Formerly a Specially Appointed Professor at Kyoto University

 

 

The "Something" Resonating with Inconvenience Benefits I Felt at an Admission-Fee Bookstore

 

Matsui: As this is the final installment of our series, I'd like to ask both of you about the role and potential of " unknown benefits that include inconvenience," considering the current era, and how they might be applied to future business. First, Professor Kawakami. Could you remind us what inconvenience benefits are?

Kawakami: Inconvenience benefits refer to gains obtained precisely because of physical or cognitive effort—in other words, the benefits gained through inconvenience. There are two main aspects to inconvenience benefits. One involves gaining new insights by viewing perceived inconveniences from a different perspective. The other involves creating new systems or businesses that intentionally provide such inconvenience benefits. My research leans more toward the latter domain.

Professor Koji Kawakami, Kyoto Institute of Advanced Science

Matsui: So it's about leveraging inconvenience benefits to create new things and shape the future. Mr. Nozaki, what was your first impression when you heard about inconvenience benefits?

Nozaki: To put it simply, I felt really confused (laughs). Because Smiles isn't actually creating inconvenience , but I intuitively sensed it resembled our approach—one that values "n=1" feelings, original experiences, and passion over quantitative marketing research. I became intensely curious: What exactly was this confusion?

Matsui: Looking back now, I feel that seed of unease was the very beginning of everything. When we went to Kyoto together and first met Professor Kawakami, we talked about how " it might not just be inconvenience, but something close to it, " right?

Kawakami: One aspect of inconvenience benefits is " not seeking efficiency." When I heard about Smiles' work, I sensed a connection with inconvenience benefits in how they create value along a different axis than efficiency.

Actually, even before meeting Mr. Nozaki, I was intrigued by " Bun-Kyu, " a bookstore Smiles produced. A bookstore that charges an entrance fee—it's not exactly inconvenient, but it definitely has that "inconvenience benefit" vibe, you know? (laughs).

"Bun-Kiku" – A bookstore with an entrance fee. Savor coffee or sencha tea (free refills) while leisurely selecting books from a collection of about 30,000 volumes. Spend time at your favorite seat and purchase your chosen book.

Nozaki: We hesitated to implement the admission fee system right up until launch. In a world where free bookstores are the norm, Bunkyoku doesn't have an overwhelmingly large book collection, and in terms of convenience, it can't compete with online shops. In other words, it doesn't have a quantitative advantage that justifies an admission fee.

So what value does Bunkyu's admission fee exchange for? After much deliberation, the concept of " a bookstore for encountering books " suddenly opened our eyes. Paying an admission fee to enter the bookstore creates motivation: "I will absolutely find a great book!" This shifts awareness toward bookshelves previously glanced at casually or overlooked, fostering new, serendipitous encounters with books.

While the admission fee system isn't rational, it taps into something in human psychology. I believe it significantly elevates the value of the acts of "encountering books" and "buying books."

Kawakami: Bunkyoku isn't inconvenient, but in the sense that the barrier itself creates motivation, it resonates with the concept of inconvenience benefits.

Nozaki: Yes. I feel there are many more value-laden territories surrounding inconvenience benefits, and it was this desire to unravel them that led us to the concept of " unknown benefits that 'contain' inconvenience benefits " this time.

Smiles Director and CCO, Mr. Wataru Nozaki

The "benefit" of appreciating vases, born from pandemic restrictions

 

Matsui: Professor Kawakami, you've been researching inconvenience benefits for over 20 years. I feel the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly highlighted the role and significance of these benefits. What are your thoughts?

Kawakami: While it existed before COVID, the pandemic accelerated efficiency-driven movements across society. Coming from an engineering background, I used to be fixated on efficiency and would get annoyed by anything inefficient. But the belief that efficiency is always the right choice is actually a misconception.

For example, an electronic dictionary lets you jump instantly to a word you want to look up, while a paper dictionary requires flipping through multiple pages. The latter is more inconvenient, but within that process lies the unexpected encounter with new words and discoveries. You might even come up with ways to reach your target word faster. Physically underlining words while learning them also helps them stick in your memory better.

In this way, there's value to be found in deliberately embracing inefficiency. If anyone feels inconvenienced by the pandemic, perhaps they could view their current life as an opportunity to discover things they hadn't noticed before.

Nozaki: For those working from home during the pandemic, eliminating the "waste" of commuting time seems incredibly efficient and convenient, right? But for me, I realized this paradoxically created inconvenience. Working from home means sitting at the same desk all day, with meetings continuing seamlessly without breaks. This is truly hell (laughs). By the end of the day, I was utterly exhausted and drained.

But even before COVID, I often had meetings all day long. The difference? Commute time. Those 5, 10, or 30 minutes between meetings—that's when I'd switch off my brain or engage in creative thinking. In other words , it was precisely because of the time constraint of moving from place to place that I gained that free time to think about anything I wanted.

Matsui: That's a value we couldn't discover before COVID, right?

Nozaki: I heard one of our staff members, while working from home, started going to a nearby flower shop every day to buy a single flower and put it in a vase. They'd never really kept flowers in a vase before, but precisely because they could only move short distances, they started going to a flower shop they'd never noticed before and began appreciating flowers. I think this is a perfect example of finding joy in life born from inconvenience.

Kawakami: That's a wonderful initiative. To put it bluntly, if you could commute via a teleportation device, you'd never discover a flower shop. While convenient, it leaves no room for the kind of creativity that comes from tending to a vase.

Matsui: Discovering life's richness. And what's significant is that he gained this with a genuine sense of fulfillment.

Kotaro Matsui, Representative, Portamento LLC (affiliated with New Horizon Collective, G.K.)

Beyond inconvenience and inefficiency lies the birth of your own powerful brand experience.

 

Matsui: Earlier we mentioned dictionaries, and indeed, in education, there are many examples where investing a bit more effort leads to better retention. This seems relevant for companies and advertising when crafting messages. Can we leverage inconvenience benefits when aiming to create lasting memories or impressions?

Kawakami: In inconvenience benefit research, we define "eight types of benefits gained from inconvenience," one of which is " gaining a sense of agency." That is, making it personal. We believe this plays a crucial role in memory retention.

Eight Benefits Gained from Inconvenience

Matsui: I feel the current keyword " personalizing it " resonates with Smiles' business. What do you think, Nozaki?

Nozaki: There's the phrase "from things to experiences," but I believe what comes next is "context." It's very close to the idea of "making it personal." When users experience a product or service, how it fits within their own meaning and flow becomes a crucial factor influencing LTV (Life Time Value).

It's not just about quantitative functions; the entire situation at that moment—including time, space, atmosphere, and mood—forms a set. That unique context for the individual connects with the brand. In creating such a strong brand experience, I believe there's always something that can't be captured solely by rationality, even when considering inconvenience as a benefit.

Matsui: Indeed, products tied to personal memories or happy recollections stay with us forever, and the emotional attachment is different from other things. In that sense, I think Smiles has already implemented "unknown benefits that include inconvenience" into its business. Are there other examples where this is being applied in business?

Nozaki:Dispo, an American photo SNS app, has been a huge hit. Inspired by disposable cameras, photos taken with Dispo can't be viewed or shared until 9 AM the next morning.

By introducing an inconvenient feature into the convenience-driven world of SNS, it prompts users to imagine how to use it. People often want to create something new precisely because there are constraints. Thinking about it this way, rather than pursuing convenience or inconvenience to the extreme, coexisting with both might actually enhance value.

Kawakami: True. Apple products are incredibly convenient gadgets, yet when you open the box, there's no manual. You learn how to use them by actually using and figuring things out yourself. That very process of making it your own through use might be part of the brand experience.

Nozaki: The more efficiency is pursued and convenience is implemented in society, the more I think we see the value of benefits distinct from mere convenience. Digital transformation (DX) is being promoted everywhere now, but the further DX advances, the more we re-examine the value of the real world. DX is obviously necessary and should be implemented aggressively, but shouldn't we also consider creating the opposite value at the same time?

Matsui: Pursuing only rationality and efficiency doesn't guarantee success, does it?

Nozaki: Just looking back at my own life, I realize I don't move around that rationally or efficiently. This isn't just an issue for creators or scholars; everyone engages in highly irrational actions daily. I believe the essence of humanity, the essence of richness, lies dormant there. "Unknown benefits, including inconvenience" is by no means a new concept; it's something we've always enjoyed. I feel we've simply been averting our eyes from it.

Kawakami: That's an interesting perspective.

Nozaki: Throughout our lives, we've experienced countless benefits born from irrationality and inconvenience, yet we've closed our eyes to them because we lacked the ability to explain them. Even the toys we played with as children were fun precisely because they were inconvenient—they let us get creative and figure things out for ourselves. Nothing is more meaningless than a toy that's too convenient (laughs).

Matsui: That's so true (laughs). I want a car navigation system that doesn't just give directions, but also chats about random, meaningless things.

Kawakami: If it spoke in Kyoto dialect or the local language, driving would be even more fun. I think conveyor belt sushi is too convenient, so I think it'd be nice to have a place where you make your own sushi. Kids eating sushi made by their parents at the restaurant – that would be an unforgettable memory.

Matsui: My ideas just keep flowing, so I'll stop here (lol). But as everyone mentioned, the benefits born from inconvenience or irrationality seem like they could be applied across various industries.

Nozaki: I'd be thrilled to brainstorm ideas with all sorts of people.

Matsui: Including the activities of the collaborative research community starting in April, we'll continue challenging ourselves to implement "unknown benefits, including inconvenience benefits" into business. We welcome any industry, so if you're interested, please reach out!