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The
Easy Button
The
3 February 2006 edition of the Zeitgeist e-Zine
The convergence
of ideas continues as we decide for ourselves whether the Pennsylvania
Wilds’ Punxsutawney
Phil was right yesterday.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, seemingly random thoughts seem to be
coming at me in twos and three these past few months...and they all
seem to interlock like the pieces of an impossible 10,000-piece jigsaw
puzzle.
The next two? Mark Cuban and Vending Machine Pizza.
That’s right, from Lavonia MI comes WonderPizza,
the first company to marshal the technology to sell a made-to-order
pizza through an $18,0000 vending machine. When fully stocked, the unit
holds 102 pies in up to 3 styles and the customer gets to choose the
level of crust crispiness. Bake time (not microwave) is two minutes
and the suggested retail price is $5.
And, why not? Around the world, people are buying everything from
iPods to underwear from vending machines because
of the convenience factor. In Japan, there reportedly exists one vending
machine for every 20 citizens selling such seemingly bizarre items as
eggs, rice, toilet paper, fishing lures and bait, batteries and ice
cream.
And then there’s the quote I saw recently from entrepreneur
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas
Mavericks: “Make your product easier to buy than
your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them,
not you."
Like I said, “convergence.” We are all about convenience.
We seek the path of least resistance. Despite saying that we want something
new and different, we choose the same product over and over...because
it takes less effort.
We want that “Easy
Button.”
So why, then, do we make it so difficult for consumers to find what
they want on our websites? Why does the destinational signage in so
many of our communities stink? And why do we confuse the customer with
a dizzying array of choices.
In-n-Out
Burger has this whole choice overload thing figured out.
It’s either a hamburger, a cheeseburger or a double cheeseburger.
And fries. That’s it. And it works, as this west coast favorite
is reportedly eating McDonald’s lunch. In fact, its commitment
to simple (and fresh) has given rise to a “secret
menu” for those true aficionados. Which makes the
brand even more special.
Those who speed the choice and consumption of their product win. What
will you do next week to make your product or service easier?
Bill
Wanna comment on this or other topics. E-mail
Me!
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