Intuition Is Not Intuitive.


"I know it will take me months to master maybe 40% of its functionality, so why would I put myself through that?"

A typical and unsurprising comment from some technology focus group research that I saw recently. But what's the solution? Intuitive interfaces for sure. But let's not forget what intuition is - it's defined as immediate cognition. The trouble is cognitive biases mean that cognition (and thus, I assume, intuition) can differ greatly between individuals.

Along with others, I've recently been testing the new xda Orbit 2 from O2. It's elegant, has great audio quality and made me want to use it, but that's where my problems started. I've finally got around to locating a helpful and extensive online pdf instruction manual (sadly not a website). But the crucial "out of the box" experience was, for me, not what it should have been and I understand that some more technically-astute users have also been "unintuitive" - in one case being unable to find a feature that was heavily touted on the website. It's a salient reminder for any company, not just O2.

Supplying a tiny "getting started" instruction booklet may seem like smart, unintimidating marketing but if it leaves a user floundering, it's been counter-productive. I'm a great fan of Apple and many would argue that their interfaces are the most intuitive around, but regardless of he truth of that I'm also very aware that they supply extensive help menus and support materials both in the box and online. It's crucial that you do so what ever your product/service.

The "instruction manual" is your marketing. It's crucial to those two great drivers of product loyalty and love - customer experience and usability. Rule 1 - get average "users" to write it and to do so from the viewpoint of a novice not someone who's been using your product/service for a long time (i.e. you). Indeed, I'd go so far as to argue that you should be thinking about the "instruction manual" while youre creating the product - doing so will stop you overcomplicating both things because if you can't pitch it, nobody will buy it.

The bottom line is this - nothing will turn off a prospective user more than being made to feel stupid or inadequate. People are inherently inquisitive, they like to explore and learn but you have to make it easy for them. Reward their effort with feelings of mastery and they will be hooked, make it difficult (especially at the outset) and they'll stick with what they already know or find a company that understands how they feel.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thinking about creating a blog (Part 2)...

If you are thinking about creating a blog for your organization, there is one thing I cannot stress enough: make sure those who will be contributing content have bought into your idea! I have created a couple of blogs for different organizations, and I must say that I have learned this the hard way. Don't get me wrong. I think that blogging is very effective if done right, but that is a really big IF. Many organizations launch blogs and don't do it right, and when the blog fails they blame it on the ineffectiveness of the technology. Readers of a blog don't want to get hit with your marketing messages! If you try a hard sell technique with every blog, of course your readers are going to start tuning out your blog. You need to offer your readers a reason to read your blog, and a way to do that is to offer exclusive content that they can't get anywhere else. This is the reason that while at Virginia Stage Company, I started to post video clips of rehearsal and "behin...
Read more

Marketing Awareness.

Modern marketers tend to get very excited by ideas of conversation and engagement with customers. Given that they are aware how many images and messages each of us receive every day, they have become less impressed by the more basic aim of generating awareness. This, I think, is why this pun-based campaign has received such criticism from within the advertising world. Some complain that the imitation of Morgan Freeman is a deceitful hijacking of the actor's gravitas while others just deem it trite, shouty advertising disguised as something else. But that is to overlook context. It's an ad for insurance. Insurance stubbornly remains a commodity business where price trumps service because we buy it before we need it. The engagement with the product/service occurs at a time of distress and not at a time of purchase. In a commodity business, awareness is key. You want your customer to have your name come to mind when they consider the purchase. It's brutally simple. A differen...
Read more

Thinking Inside The Box.

Image
A combination self-help and business book, Michael Port's Beyond Booked Solid focusses on scalability issues and how to expand a small enterprise. It is filled with pragmatic tools and techniques designed to grow a business via innovation and leveraged income, but the key message is that of developing a mind-set that works on your rather than in your business. To some extent that's just a reframing of the old adage of keeping one's eye on the big picture, but it's something that can't be repeated too often. Constantly reminding yourself and your colleagues of why you're in business (and specifically what customer needs you meet by doing something better than anyone else) is crucial to evaluating everything that you do day to day. If your marketing tactic du jour, your latest product development or your inter-departmental meeting isn't centred on that, they're not worth your time and resources.
Read more