When it comes to running your business, the last thing you need is extra complexity. Whether you’re dealing with customers, tracking your accounting, or placing ads, every layer of complexity is another layer between you and success. Think back to the last time you were on a website and said to yourself “man, this thing needs to be a little more complicated to make me happy.” Has that ever happened?
That’s why simplicity is so essential. It’s not just making your job easier (no matter what you job might be); crucially, it’s also making the customers job easier. The fewer obstacles between you and a successful transaction, the better. That’s why I always say Keep It So Simple, or KISS (you might have heard a different version, but mine’s a lot nicer).
So how do you keep it so simple? You ensure that your business doesn’t offer an overwhelming array of disparate services and products. Get right to the point; offer powerful options that are simple to make use of, and don’t expose yourself to “mission creep” by adding irrelevant or unrelated options. Make sure that your communications are crisp and succinct. The easiest way to do that, of course, is to ensure that your topics are similarly simple – if you’ve got something that’s easy to explain, the explanations will naturally be simple.
That makes it easy for people to talk about your product or service, and that’s the most important form of marketing that anyone can get. Imagine trying to explain the fourth quadratic formula that governs your hyperdrive quantum regulator widgets – now imagine your customers trying to explain it to their friends. That’s a trail of communication that’s going to go cold quick. Now imagine explaining your pencil (eraser included). Everybody in the world can figure out how a pencil works with a 20 second demonstration. That makes it easy to talk about and easy to share – and, therefore, easy to sell.
So make it easy for your customer, and make it easy for yourself – keep it so simple!
