In the same spirit offered by Charles, I think it is important to be self-reflective and learn from our observations. I tend to get ahead of myself and loose people along the way. Thanks for reminding me that this blog exercise is about more than just me.
As producers, I think we forget this far too often. We get so damn enamored with the toys we’re building that we think that everyone else on the planet should understand the importance of what we’re trying to accomplish. Funny, isn’t it? Charles… I’ll work on it.
Cheryl reinforces this message with her post on designing with the customer in mind. The thing I loved about this was the fact that it touches on two of the areas that I’m most interested in: Crowdsourcing & Personalization. I really do believe that we can all have it our way… the challenge is in making sure that we can get it at prices we can afford.
Peter also does a great job in touching on this point. One method to personalize is to create an experience that is convenient. We are creatures of habit and appreciate the ability to return to the familiar. If the vendor makes that process convenient and enjoyable, we’re continue to patronize those establishments. Now, that is valuable.
It seems that Jared also appreciates personalization of his experience. Reputation systems (such as ratings engines) make it easy for users to discover new products and services. Look for people you know and see what they like. Look for products and sort by those which are most popular. Make my experience relevant by anticipating my needs based upon what I like. Nice. Fun. Easy. That is valuable also.
Now, Tami picks up where Jared failed to go: don’t ask me for information unless you plan on showing me the value. Right on. Aren’t we all just sick to death of the million question surveys that result in absolutely no value? Surveys suck. I say that with confidence even though I continue to go back to them as a discovery tool. We really need to get a better option on the market quickly.
I’m working with Eric on a way to do just that. You know… the key element which seems to be missing in most vendor approaches is reciprocity. The whole belief that if they are going to ask something of me (a customer) they had damned well better be respectful enough to show me the same damn courtesy. I’m sick and tired of “buying” into a solution only to find out that “for a mere ____ extra” I can get what I was thought was included in the purchase.
As Brian points out, the “let’s segment our customer base” process is leading to companies chopping up their customers like a mess of hamburger. That’s a nasty thought isn’t it? While nasty, I think it creates a fairly accurate depiction of what’s going on. When you take a living being.. .an experience, and chop it up that way….. it can’t and won’t survive. Further, if you leave it like that, it gets real ugly really fast.
Isn’t it time that we get real?
We are all part of this community… and the more we try to “Extract Value” before we create it…. the more zero sum game events take place.
