Apple released the original iPod in 2001. The first time I used it, the iPod seemed pretty simple. I could load and play my music. But when I was done, I could not figure out how to turn the iPod off. There was no Off button. Weren’t Apple products supposed to be so simple that I didn’t need a manual? But I pulled out the manual to learn that I had to press & hold the Play button to turn off the iPod. Press Play to turn off? Hmmm…that didn’t seem intuitive.
Let’s say that you are evaluating your company’s scheduling tool. You want to know what makes an ideal experience when scheduling a meeting. To do this, you meet with customers and ask a typical CX question, What makes a great experience when scheduling a meeting?
The problem is that you can wind up with silence. Your customers freeze up, struggling to recall specific examples of good and bad experiences. Instead they recite a laundry list of features. And the customers feel ineffectual and guilty, unable to give you directed answers.
Nothing in this world is free. And you are reminded of that fact every time you decide which features you’ll include in your service. Customers want more features at a lower price tag.
However, the more features you add, the more your service gets lost in the vortex of commoditization.
However, the more features you add, the more your service gets lost in the vortex of commoditization. This is a no-win game where you try to keep up with your competitors by including every feature they include. In the end, customers cannot differentiate between services that are loaded with the same unnecessary features.