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Your customers want simplicity, not features
I was extremely amused by a story I saw today about the new Droid smart phone offered by Verizon. I always get mildly amused when I see the next "iPhone killer" but this one in particular got my attention because of the direct head-to-head challenge to the iPhone as seen in this teaser commercial.
Is the commercial cute and a little bit clever? Sure. Is it going to make people buy the Droid instead of the iPhone? I doubt it.
I don't understand why the Verizon, Motorola, and all the other players in the industry simply continue to remain oblivious. What they (and most companies, for that matter) don't get is that features do not sell products.
Now I realize that this is a generalization and that there are some cases where features do indeed make a difference but on the whole, it's not about features. It's about how your product enhances the life of your customer.
The problem is that most engineers design products for other engineers. Technology-driven people like features. They read manuals and compare features and get excited over technical specs. The rest of us don't care. The rest of us want something that's easy to use.
The Droid boasts lots of features that the iPhone doesn't have. Guess what? Nobody cares. Does my mother care that the Droid has a "real" keyboard? Nope... the iPhone's software keyboard seems to work just fine. Does my neighbor care that the Droid takes 5-megapixel photos? Nope... what's wrong with the iPhone's photos? They look just fine on Facebook. Does my co-worker care that the Droid runs widgets? Huh? What's a widget?
Guess what the iPhone does that the Droid doesn't? It enhances your life by being simple. The iPhone is pretty, shiny, colorful, and easy to use. Want to make a call? Press the big green button and you're only a few clicks away from any phone-related function. Want to check email? Press the big jelly-filled envelope. Want to get on Facebook? Look! There's a big bubbly icon for that!
Additionally, how many moving parts does the iPhone have that could potentially break? One: the big round "home" button. The rest of the phone is basically one smooth unit with no other moving parts. It's hard to break something that self-contained.
What most engineers and the companies that employ them fail to realize is that the vast majority of people do not care about a long list of fancy features. They want technology to make their lives simpler, easier, and more productive. They want to accomplish simple things and then they want the technology to get out of the way so they can get on with their lives.
In fact, people will often avoid buying a product if it appears too complicated. What's the best way to make a product look complicated? Show off a long list of features.
Whether it's a consumer product, a piece of software, or a website, people want simplicity. They want your product or service to make their lives easier and simpler. This is why "iPhone killers" continue to miss the mark.
Is the commercial cute and a little bit clever? Sure. Is it going to make people buy the Droid instead of the iPhone? I doubt it.
I don't understand why the Verizon, Motorola, and all the other players in the industry simply continue to remain oblivious. What they (and most companies, for that matter) don't get is that features do not sell products.
Now I realize that this is a generalization and that there are some cases where features do indeed make a difference but on the whole, it's not about features. It's about how your product enhances the life of your customer.
The problem is that most engineers design products for other engineers. Technology-driven people like features. They read manuals and compare features and get excited over technical specs. The rest of us don't care. The rest of us want something that's easy to use.
The Droid boasts lots of features that the iPhone doesn't have. Guess what? Nobody cares. Does my mother care that the Droid has a "real" keyboard? Nope... the iPhone's software keyboard seems to work just fine. Does my neighbor care that the Droid takes 5-megapixel photos? Nope... what's wrong with the iPhone's photos? They look just fine on Facebook. Does my co-worker care that the Droid runs widgets? Huh? What's a widget?
Guess what the iPhone does that the Droid doesn't? It enhances your life by being simple. The iPhone is pretty, shiny, colorful, and easy to use. Want to make a call? Press the big green button and you're only a few clicks away from any phone-related function. Want to check email? Press the big jelly-filled envelope. Want to get on Facebook? Look! There's a big bubbly icon for that!
Additionally, how many moving parts does the iPhone have that could potentially break? One: the big round "home" button. The rest of the phone is basically one smooth unit with no other moving parts. It's hard to break something that self-contained.
What most engineers and the companies that employ them fail to realize is that the vast majority of people do not care about a long list of fancy features. They want technology to make their lives simpler, easier, and more productive. They want to accomplish simple things and then they want the technology to get out of the way so they can get on with their lives.
In fact, people will often avoid buying a product if it appears too complicated. What's the best way to make a product look complicated? Show off a long list of features.
Whether it's a consumer product, a piece of software, or a website, people want simplicity. They want your product or service to make their lives easier and simpler. This is why "iPhone killers" continue to miss the mark.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Colin Clark on October 22, 2009 at 9:35am -
Michael,
Here's irony for you. Right after I initially read this post, I was out with my wife and she starts dissing her iPhone... "I can't believe you can't run multiple apps at once. I can't believe my phone doesn't take video (she has the 3g). I can't believe you can't play videos on facebook."
Honestly she made some good points. However, iPhone already has the market share. It's too late to crack the touch-screen smartphone market. I predict there will be no iPhone killer, the next innovation will be a category shifter, a game changer.
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Comment by Michael Reynolds on October 20, 2009 at 4:53pm -
Tom,
Thanks for your comments! In re-reading my post, I would have to agree with you that I may be judging the Android operating system unfairly since I am not familiar with it. I am basing it more on what I've seen in the past rather than what might be coming in the future.
Thanks for pointing that out and perhaps I will be proven wrong by this recent player. In any case, I still love my iPhone :)
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Comment by Tom Marsh on October 20, 2009 at 2:52pm -
What they (and most companies, for that matter) don't get is that features do not sell products.
Features ALONE may not sell a product, but the LACK of features certainly can prevent sales of a product. I am a case-in-point: Despite admiring the technology, I never bought an iPhone because there was no keyboard (my hands are enormous, so touch-screen keyboard isn't going to cut it) and it only worked on the (dramatically inferior coverage) AT&T network. I stuck to my guns and waited. It was worth it: I have a T-Mobile G1 now, and its pretty darn awesome.
Guess what the iPhone does that the Droid doesn't? It enhances your life by being simple. The iPhone is pretty, shiny, colorful, and easy to use. Want to make a call? Press the big green button and you're only a few clicks away from any phone-related function.
Um, that's how my Android phone works too. In fact, its actually two or three taps to either my address book, favorite contacts, or a dial-pad. Frankly, your comments about Android don't seem to be based on any actual use of the operating system, which is unfortunate--its really powerful and also idiot-simple to use.
Verizon's ads have always been about hitting you in the face--remember "Can you hear me now?" They were making fun of AT&T's lousy coverage in some corners of the land. If you want to see a "lifestyle" ad for Android, check out T-Mobile's myTouch ad--many celebrities "enhancing their lives" with Android, all to the tune of Cat Stevens...
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Comment by Aaron Douglas on October 19, 2009 at 4:10pm - It's no coincidence that the iPhone doesn't come with a user manual.
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Comment by PK Koduri on October 19, 2009 at 3:09pm -
I still think the Tactile keyboard is a must have feature for me at least. That is the only feature I really care about and a decent signal.
Additionally, how many moving parts does the iPhone have that could potentially break? One: the big round "home" button. The rest of the phone is basically one smooth unit with no other moving parts. It's hard to break something that self-contained.
The above is also a Iphone weakness. Yu break that one big piece of glass and you are done! The "Droid" phones are neat and they shouldn't have to sell themselves by putting the IPhone down but guess what the Apple folks started the war!
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