My computer’s home page is set on Google.com. It’s my preferred search engine.
When I need more information or answers about a subject, I simply “Google it.”
The
November 2005 issue of Fast Company magazine ran an article titled
“The Beauty of Simplicity”. In a technical and complex business world driven by
speed and efficiency, simplicity is a sought after feature missing from most products.
The article by Linda Tischler featured my favorite search engine, Google.
Tischler writes, “making it simple is the next big thing.”
The article got me thinking about Google’s home page. It is a model of simplicity
that cloaks the gateway to almost infinite information sources. To Google’s credit,
the simplicity of the home page provides a calming effect for the users before
they become caught in the whirling universe of information in the search results.
The fight against too much information syndrome, too many choices on the menu,
and technological overwhelm are big problems for business today.
What
is your business offering your customers to make it simple to do business
with you?
Here are some items that may make a difference over the competition.
Live voice answering the telephone
Yesterday, I was having
a problem with my office phone line. The telephone company’s repair number was
answered by an automated system. The computer generated voice, a woman’s, told
me that “we were going to work together at getting the problem solved and that
the call may be recorded." What is there to record, I thought? My series of answers
as entered on my telephone keypad, or the electrons making up her computer voice?
Seven minutes elapsed before I could register my telephone line problem.
Flash-free websites
When I go to company websites to check out
products and services, I want to know if the company can solve my problem and
how much the solution will cost. Sites that load slowly and make you wait for
the end of a pointless flash animated introduction are complicating my life.
Free
live on site classes or teleclasses on how to use new products
If a product is technologically challenging, then make it easy for me to understand
how it works. Offer me on site instruction (low cost or free) so that I don’t
have to waste hours or days to learn how to get the benefits of what I just bought.
DVD’s with the simple basics to use products and services
The cost of producing a how-to DVD is minimal. It gives the customer an alternative
to black and white how-to manuals (have you ever assembled a propane gas grill?)
Presenting your business’s products and services in the simplest way
possible will help your customers make buying decisions, be happy with what they
bought and encourage them to tell others how easy it is to do business with you.
Ask your customers what you can do to make things simple.
Be
a catalyst for customer service by keeping it simple! My 8 simple strategies
for success include learning to be a catalyst for customer service. Want to
learn more? click
here
