In any competitive industry, there’s ever-pressing need to improve products and services, and we can get caught in the relentless pursuit of the added feature. But this is not always what the customer wants. I am not referring to the price-sensitive customer who is happy to get the minimum possible as long as she gets a good price. I am talking about the occasions when we fail to recognize that the customer may actually find it MORE valuable NOT to have some features.
The original Sony Walkman was just a tape player with no recording hardware and no speaker. This made it lightly and more portable and substituting the bulky speaker for stereo headphones, improved the audio quality dramatically.
The “Airplane” mode on your phone, shuts down the connectivity features of the device. This way it can double as a media player or an eBook reader while on a flight.
A Pickup Truck gets rid of the back seat and the trunk, making it possible to transport large items.
If you stop to think about it for a minute, there are countless of other examples, here are some:
– Low-carb “Bun-less Sandwiches”
– Sugar-free juice
– Low Sodium Soy Sauce
– The pro camera’s “Manual” mode
– Shorts and short-sleeved shirts
– Fingerless Gloves
– Single speed, hard tail bicycles
– Less padded “Barefoot Running Shoes”
And the list goes on.
What feature could you remove to make your product or service more valuable for your customer?