are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fancWhat's the real formula for customer happiness? First, let's review what we know about customer unhappiness. We know that consumers expect our offerings to work exactly as advertised. Yet our products and services can introduce complex requirements -- even burdens -- of their own.

Those extra requirements can quickly morph into "customer hassles" -- the kinds of aggravations that make consumers feel mildly annoyed all the way to really angry or stupid. And unless they're very unhappy, customers often leave quietly, without telling us why. They simply vote with their wallets, taking their business elsewhere.

In contrast, to compete successfully today, we need to do just the opposite. We need to create "raving fans" -- people who can't stop telling their friends, family, and colleagues just how wonderful our products and services are. How should we go about doing this?

Without easy-to-use products and services, it's hard to attract raving fans. This article, the first in a series, takes a look at two of the factors -- simplicity and built-in guidance -- that contribute greatly to customer satisfaction.

Can We Go Down the Up Escalator?

You may have heard results from marketing surveys in which consumers are asking for simpler products with fewer features and shorter learning curves. Even if you haven't been aware this particular trend, ask yourself -- do I need more complicated appliances? Or even one more feature on my telephone?

A recent article in US News and World Report on taming technology bemoaned the fact that the same electronic gizmos we depend on daily are often the source of our frustrations. Gadgets are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fancy

noyed all the way to really angry or stupid. And unless they're very unhappy, customers often leave quietly, without telling us why. They simply vote with their wallets, taking their business elsewhere.

In contrast, to compete successfully today, we need to do just the opposite. We need to create "raving fans" -- people who can't stop telling their friends, family, and colleagues just how wonderful our products and services are. How should we go about doing this?

Without easy-to-use products and services, it's hard to attract raving fans. This article, the first in a series, takes a look at two of the factors -- simplicity and built-in guidance -- that contribute greatly to customer satisfaction.

Can We Go Down the Up Escalator?

You may have heard results from marketing surveys in which consumers are asking for simpler products with fewer features and shorter learning curves. Even if you haven't been aware this particular trend, ask yourself -- do I need more complicated appliances? Or even one more feature on my telephone?

A recent article in US News and World Report on taming technology bemoaned the fact that the same electronic gizmos we depend on daily are often the source of our frustrations. Gadgets are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fanc

ts and services are. How should we go about doing this?

Without easy-to-use products and services, it's hard to attract raving fans. This article, the first in a series, takes a look at two of the factors -- simplicity and built-in guidance -- that contribute greatly to customer satisfaction.

Can We Go Down the Up Escalator?

You may have heard results from marketing surveys in which consumers are asking for simpler products with fewer features and shorter learning curves. Even if you haven't been aware this particular trend, ask yourself -- do I need more complicated appliances? Or even one more feature on my telephone?

A recent article in US News and World Report on taming technology bemoaned the fact that the same electronic gizmos we depend on daily are often the source of our frustrations. Gadgets are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fanc

sking for simpler products with fewer features and shorter learning curves. Even if you haven't been aware this particular trend, ask yourself -- do I need more complicated appliances? Or even one more feature on my telephone?

A recent article in US News and World Report on taming technology bemoaned the fact that the same electronic gizmos we depend on daily are often the source of our frustrations. Gadgets are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fanc

are smaller and cost less, but they don't necessarily work the way we want them to. Why? They're much too complicated! Ironically, the more manufacturers feel compelled to add frilly, complex features, the more consumers feel compelled to buy them. The antidote, the article goes on to say, is returning to basics by striving for ease of use and dependability. Similarly, if we all avoid the temptation to heap on fancy features and functions in our offerings, we'll have a much better chance of keeping customers loyal, happy, and returning for more.

Example 1: Simplicity Lost

Enter a telling story about a hypothetical company called Word Style Leader (or WSL for short). WSL's troubles followed an all-too-familiar pattern. For nine years, it successfully made software that customers bought in droves. During that blissful time, WSL's products reflected simple, clean features and interfaces. WSL did not push frilly functionality, but instead offered steady, incremental improvements that were consistent in appearance and easy for customers to master.

But because of that success, WSL accelerated the pace of adding enhancements and options to its star product to stay ahead of the competition. One day, though, this strategy began to backfire. After a certain point, WSL's software had become too tricky -- too complex for the average consumer to use. Its latest Internet-savvy upgrade was whizzy; however, the interface was now jumbled with far too many confusing choices. Even existing customers couldn't recognize familiar tasks.

Business declined. Yet WSL stayed oblivious to the symptoms and their causes. Why was that? It didn't probe its own customer satisfaction, conduct marketing surveys, or study consumer trends.

Unfortunately, like many companies, WSL remained committed to a mistaken belief that perpetually adding deluxe features would increase customer happiness as well as revenue. Consequently, no one at WSL ever figured out the bottom-line truth: Its own customer preferences echoed the simpler tastes revealed by recent consumer stud