Nov 04 in Uncategorized
Written by: Heather Rast
I enjoyed lunch today (a big WOOT! for the dragon roll # C5, more please) with someone I’ll call Bob. While we started verbally exploring a few business-related topics, we (okay, me) then tangentically spiraled over to other related “this too” areas. Thoughts are swirling and I’m still connecting the bunny trails. But one core theme is central to all the ideas. The theme is…Value.
That’s It? That’s All There Is?
When, as a company, you consider the direction you’d like to go with your product or service (or even product/service planning via acquisition), what role does the end user–the consumer–play in the development or growth strategy? How do you know what to build, or offer, or whom to purchase? Is being able to claim “Yes, we [have/do/offer] that” your primary motivation? Is your strategy to tack on this thing that you [have/do/offer] onto another, bigger package of stuff and sell the Ultimate Combo? Something that might look snazzy to your customer (“We need to buy the Triple Defragmentor, and for only $xxx more the vendor will add on the Double Helix, which you know the marketing department is interested in. Might as well do this deal.”) but beneath the surface might not be very robust (can be hard to get past the surface sometimes). You can be sure your consumers will be the better testament to whether there was value in that “deal” or not.
You Want Me to Do What?
Okay, so you bought the Triple Defrag and got the Double Helix. Woot. It’s in place and looks shiny. What’s the process for the consumer to engage with or use the Double Helix, hmm? Is it overly structured, illogically labeled? How’s the interface? Does it offer Help text or examples? Does it require a serious time commitment from the consumer in order to get started?
I recently signed up for a Webinar (where of course you type info like email, title, etc.)one day, and when I logged onto the audio part of the Webinar the next day, a nice attendant asked me all the same information, plus more! Why not intelligently tie the two records (enrolled vs. actual attendees) together? Why make me do things twice? My time is more valuable than that.
Why Would I Bother?
So okay, you manage to have a handful of consumers still with the Double Helix onboarding or set-up process, scathed as they are from the clumsy and unintelligent interface. They’re relieved to finally be there, that page where the “Thank you! You have successfully created a profile in xxxDouble Helixxxxxx” message appears (it’s like validation for their doggedness). Now that they’re there, now what? What can they do? Where can that profile take them, show them (based on the profile data submitted)? Where’s the cool stuff they now have access to (or how are their lives simplified, or time saved, etc.)? What do they get for their hoop-jumping?
Show Me the Money
Consumers don’t have time to waste. They’re deploying every efficient, multi-tasked, re-purposed trick they learn or scam in order to pack more into every day. We bank online because it saves time and is convenient, and also brings within our domain of control (somewhat). We work via WiFi at the quick-lube joint. Etcetera. Darn tootin’ if we want to complete 3 pages of a form to create a profile that then can’t be used or accessed to save us time on our next site visits or transactions! It’s like false advertising–you claimed, I accepted, but alas, you fell short.
Make It Worth My While
Don’t “exclusive offer!” me a membership that doesn’t distinguish me in any way from other customers. Recognize that I have choices for brands and that the basis for any relationship is trust.
In a nutshell, make sure your offerings are on target with consumer needs and can facilitate transactions that offer true emotional and/or tangible value. Make yours positive experiences, created by observing and listening to human behavior. First.
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