How busy are you at this very moment?
My hope is you’re taking 2-3 minutes of time to read this because it provides you a great deal of value, but reality tells me there are five or six other things bouncing around in that head of yours begging for your attention.
I want you to take a moment and think about the busyness of society and how it’s leading to the business of society. People are more and more dependent on purchasing “done for you” solutions. Not everyone, but the 80/20 rule tells me 80% of people are looking for simplicity and speed.
Complexity and speed conversely don’t often collide in the same sentence. Therefore, when you’re attacking a problem or pursuing a business solution, one of the top three goals needs to be simplicity.
Answering these questions will help to determine if you have a simple solution:
- Is it really easy to buy?
- Is the offering displayed in an extremely simple and visual offering?
- Does the buyer understand exactly what they’re getting upon purchasing?
- Is the solution “done for me” upon arrival (or as close to completion as possible)? VERY IMPORTANT!
As you’re thinking about simple solutions, I believe it is vitally important to understand real-world scenarios put in front of our faces every day to support this point. I made the list below in order of monetary investment to give you an idea how easy you can make it for people to spend money.
- Combination Meals – why only order the sandwich when the fries and the drink are bundled together (also two of the highest margin products) and the decision is easy? Give me a #1 with cheese please!
- Dollar Shave Club – it wasn’t that I was NEVER going to buy razors again to shave my face or that I hated locating them in the store(likely Target). It’s the fact that as long as I’m subscribed, I no longer have to think about it again for only $3 a month. Monthly subscription sites and offerings are CRUSHING IT right now! (Birch Box, Dollar Shave Club, Truck Club, etc)
- Uber – Have you used Uber yet? Let me ask you why? For me the answers are: it is extremely easy to use, they pick me up anywhere, the cars (and drivers) are clean, and the service is well delivered. It wasn’t like NYC, or SF or Chicago needed more taxis.
- Home Construction – Have you built a home lately? The builders know exactly what they’re doing when the decision to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home requires picking: a floor plan, color options, cabinetry, flooring, from a: Good, Better, Best list.
If you’re looking for a bump in sales or exploring a new product offering. Please, please consider the simplicity of your offering and solution. Can anything be made any easier or delivered done for the consumer? I’ve always been a little of a design junkie, and this is where simple and well thought out design can deliver huge dividends.
Simple Sells.
ACTION ITEM: KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID (K.I.S.S Method)
