When I'm shopping for something, I want the inside scoop.
Nowhere is that more true than online.
I was talking to someone today who was shopping for a computer.
We visited a few websites and looked at a few things. I found
myself explaining little things:
- "My laptop here is 15" so this 13" laptop is about this
[motions with hands] big."
- "These are plastic: black or white. This one is aluminum, so
it'll look like this [points to silvery-colored area of laptop] -
but not fake, since this is just plastic and that is
aluminum."
A computer geek wants the specs of a computer. And that's easy
to deliver online.
But everyone (geek and non-geek) wants other information. And an
image is often just not enough. To be fair, this example was Apple
Laptops. As a geek, I had watched may keynotes, so I've seen these
computers from a variety of angles. I know what they look like.
I've seen the software demo-ed. I've visited computer stores and
ogled them and hefted them. I know what they feel like. I have the
inside scoop. But that's only because I subscribed to a ton of
information.
What about everyone else? Should they not get the inside scoop
easily?
Or, to put it another way, does Apple not want make their buying
decision easier simply by giving them the inside scoop?
I saw a great example of a product website giving the inside
scoop. It's for pens. Now, you could tell me the specs of the pen
(it's a fountain, it's ballpoint, it's gel, it comes in 8 zillion
colors, it's...) - or, you can give me the inside scoop.
Nice, right? That's what I want: the inside scoop of what this
pen will look/feel like. This is the inside scoop on real using of
the pen. Sample taken from JetPens.com.
This is why demos are so powerful. They are an inside scoop.
They are the "real deal."
I think Adobe has this problem with their products too. They
make software (nebulous) that helps you make software (nebulous^2).
How do you explain that? When they rolled out their new creative
suite (that's their software for graphic geeks), their mini-site
for creative suite has a bunch of videos of people explaining
how they use it and visuals of what they created. There are
products specs somewhere and technical requirements too, but the
focus is the what & how.
Not Just Products The more nebulous your
product or service, the trickier this gets. I would suggest that
this also gets more valuable. The less tangible your product, the
more you need a demo, sample, or some way of delivering the inside
scoop. Because I won't buy what I don't understand.
I was talking to a client recently about a particular feature on
his soon-to-be-released website: a feed of video interviews of the
people in the organization. A real behinds-the-scenes or "embedded
reporter" type video interview.
"You want the real scoop? Here it is: watch the videos."
Bam.
To the client's credit: they got the concept and wanted to do it
but there are some logistical challenges.
The more I think about how I operate and what I want, the more I
think that we need to deliver the inside scoop.
This is why consulting firms have case studies and explanations
of their process. (Hit Accenture's website today. On the main page:
"Inside Accenture.com" with a variety of things including blogs to
get "inside" Accenture.)
Ideas This is why I fight for how to
communicate ideas. Ideas are often the more intangible or all
products. You may have an idea that encompasses several process
changes and a new product and maybe needs a whole whack of
definition - it's a big fuzzy mess. And it's just waiting to get a
"no" because there is no inside scoop. An idea is often the most
nebulous thing out there. So it really needs the tangible inside
scoop when it is delivered.