Give Consumers Value - Don't Make Them Work For It

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

Decades ago, in the early days of the PC, Steve Jobs observed that “most people didn’t want to learn how to use a computer; they just wanted to use it”.

That was his underlying philosophy with the Mac (and all (of his) subsequent Apple products): how do you make the product so simple, so intuitive, that the customer can simply use it without a learning curve? And you have to admit, it’s worked beautifully.

Of course, his observation sounds obvious but it’s not one that enough organizations take heed of (still).

Customers don’t want to have to learn in order to realize value. They don’t want to have to make an effort to be able to get the results they already paid for. And we shouldn’t expect them to work for that impact either. That work is our job. 

But buy most technology today and, as consumers, we’re still expected to do the work. 

While this problem is improving in B2C contexts, it’s still evident in the B2B world, where the idea of technical complexity is ‘part and parcel’ i.e. as an indicator of the value one should be able to realize from the product. In other words, “simple to use” must mean it isn’t good enough, and “hard to use” means it is. 

To be clear, this is changing. We’re rapidly seeing the “consumerization” of B2B technology, as business users come to expect the same ease of use in their professional environments that they take for granted in their personal lives. 

And so it’s an important idea for us to bear in mind as product designers and marketers and developers. 

We need to focus on simplifying the user experience. 

We need to emphasize ease of use as the primary attribute. 

And, most importantly, we need to do the work to make sure that this is realized.