Intuitive is What's Next

Think about any of your purchases in the last year. For me, that included a car, a bike, bike helmet, bike shoes, cell phone/PDA, and sundry other stuff. The amount of manuals that came with each of these things is overwhelming. And you know what? I don’t want to read a manual on my bike helmet or my bike shoes. I want it to be intuitive, so that I can just use these things, and not have to spend 30 minutes or more reading up on them first.

The IPod was the most simple. The documentation and manual were minimal. I think that it’s no accident that the Ipod is wildly popular. It’s simplicity is a big part of the appeal. Now, an IPod is a complex thing – it can download music, video, Podcasts, and books. It’s user interface is quite small. So the beauty lies in the fact that Apple succeeded in making a really complex thing really simple.

The same is true with Google. There is very little on Google’s home page (www.google.com). You don’t have to really know how to use it. You just type in what you’re looking for, and it searches millions of websites in seconds, and offers you results that are generally pretty spot on for what you were seeking. How refreshing.

By comparison, the Toyota Sienna I bought in May (and sold in September), was not very intuitive. It came with 5 manuals – weeks of reading for those who can’t sleep. The GPS system was not easy to use, though there are many that are. I want to get in a car and use it right away, not have to study it.

On-line manuals have some positives, in that you can search for key words in them. They’re not so great in that there is no incentive for the writers to be concise, as there is no printing cost involved.

I posit that those companies that will be most successful will be those who are adept at making products so intuitive and user friendly, that manuals will not be needed at all, or only really brief ones. And those companies who are able to tell you what you need to know in really succinct, logical ways, will be highly valued. I don’t really want a manual that comes in English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese. I want to be able to find what I’m looking for quickly and easily, and have it be explained to me in layman’s terms. Those companies will be rewarded with my dollars, and my loyalty.

What does this mean for your business? Consider these questions:
1. Is your product or service something that the buyer can easily understand and use right away?
2. If the buyer wants to know more about your product or service, is it simple to figure out how to do so?
3. Does it feel like a chore for the buyer to “get going” with your product or service? If so, how might you make it quick and easy?

My goal for my coaching business is to make it easy for clients to know what it is we offer and to get started right away, with minimum time and effort. I use a simple one page contract, and I think I’m going to simplify my website and client materials even further. In a world of increasing complexity, I want to offer a service that simply helps people achieve More Joy, Better Results. That's the goal for this blog as well. I look forward to your thoughts!