Jan
27
Keep it simple, stupid. In difficult moments, I rty to condense things down to one or two salient points. Keep it simple. Yeah.
Keep it simple? Seems that not many manufacturers are able to remember this simple bit of advice. For instance, how many models of GPS devices a particular company makes (and I really like this company and their gadgets)? One report suggests there are 82 different Garmin GPS models. 82?!
Contrast it with…Apple. I know, I know. Call me a fan boy. I love what they do and how they market things. But you can’t deny that something in their approach is (still) working. Can you say, “$10 Billion” in revenues during 2008?
Here’s a money quote from a recent piece in CrunchGear that should remind you that your customer may not want as many choices as you think:
Consumers hate choices. They say they love them, but have you ever stood in front of a wall of plasmas and LCDs with a random person? I have and did for years at Circuit City. They get overwhelmed by the amount of options, but Apple has made it easy but producing top-notch products that are easily available.
There’s no doubt Jobs’ has been most effective streamlining the company’s product lineup. Less stuff equals less clutter equals less confusion.
I’ll suggest that in our world of communication, less is more. Work on making your products and messages simple, and you may find that you actually increase effectiveness and reach.
Application for those in media: There’s some wisdom in, “Keep it simple, stupid.” Maybe we don’t have to splinter our message. Maybe we don’t need to offer so many ways to reach us. Perhaps you really shouldn’t be spending so much time on that fancy Powerpoint with all the swirling graphics and such.
So, are you keeping it simple, or are you…?