The Erosion of Compromises

Someone starts a vision with a vision, a dream, and a passion.

They want to provide quality healthcare to individuals. They want to put financial advice in the hands of young people moving into adulthood. They want to deliver news and opinions to the curious and entrepreneurial reader.

At what point do companies like these stop caring about users? How do these visionaries live with phone systems as daunting and frustrating as navigating across the Atlantic? How do these dreamers accept customer service policies that leave customers shouldering the burden and scrambling?

At some point, the people at the top of companies stop making innovations and start making excuses.

"We provide better service than some of our competitors."

"We're working as quickly as possible to upgrade our network."

"It's because potential customers are ignorant of our value."

Bull. It's because you've lost your way. You used to be passionate and focused on your dream. Now you're focused on your bottom-line, and you've lost your desire for meaning and perfection.

A simple charge

Make it easy for people to use your product or service. Shoulder every possible burden for your consumer. Let them talk to humans instead of machines. Make their interactions with you a pleasure instead of a burden.

Eventually, you just might end up with $40 billion on hand.

What, you want 10 ways? All right.

• Send them email updates instead of making them log in
• Have a human answer your phone line in less than four rings, guaranteed.
• Whenever someone complains, give them something free, and send a hand-written apology letter.
• Pay someone to be in charge of your user experience online. Someone good.
• Let people login to your site with their email address.
• Have your executives answer phone calls and emails personally, for two hours each week.
• Apologize, early and often. Your customers are right, and you're wrong.
• Actively engage in social media. Don't bother with an account if it's not personal or interactive.
• Let users choose a charity to donate 5% of their sale to.
• Give random customers something free. Every 500th customer gets a gift card. Something like that. Don't publicize it, just do it.

These are the things that make your dream a pleasure to use. And when you don't do them, eventually, people find something else that is a pleasure.