The recent Olympic opening ceremony was novel for the very fact that it honoured the past traditions of the 2000 year old Olympic Games without inserting any high tech themes into the ceremony. Witness the presence of oiled and “naked” wrestlers from ancient Greece representing the very beginning of the Games.Bells and whistles notwithstanding we often find our customers really want a back to basics approach as well and an ERP solution that simplifies complexity. For example our customers crave an engaging yet simple user experience (UX) with the status highlights on screen but without every detail visible.
Bare essentials
We want to prevent being caught up in feature accumulation and strip down to the bare essentials, much like those ancient Greek wrestlers.
The user intuitiveness and friendliness of the iPhone and Apple products for example has made them a household consumer name because of their ease of use in taking users directly from A-Z, without having to go through all the intervening processes to get there.
But it’s also about the optimal use of time. In this hectic and busy modern environment technology needs to further simplify complexity and intuitively fulfill the customers’ requirements in almost anticipatory fashion, to ensure they receive results as rapidly as possible.
A self-help UX is key
Modern customers no longer see a space between the business and the personal. As they increasingly merge together they want an all-encompassing UX experience. Of course, it is the seamless absorption of the latest technology in the user’s personal experience that encourages this groundswell towards adoption in the business context as well.
Whenever my niece and nephews visit they don’t want to be entertained by the TV like we often did as children. One of the first things they ask for is the Wi Fi password so they can access YouTube and communicate with their friends on social media, on their personal device and wherever they are in the house or property.
Technology has fundamentally changed how we do things. Google is now a verb for search in the Oxford dictionary. We Google everything under the sun to find quick, informative definitions. How often does someone ask for directions, a recipe, and a definition of an ailment or new trend? The response is always, “Just Google it!”
This is key for customer service as well. Simple and fast. Much like the speedy use of a Google search customers want to be able to self-help to achieve service and satisfaction. Right now.
