Warren Buffet wrote in his annual shareholder letter:
In good years and bad, Charlie and I simply focus on four goals:(1) Maintaining Berkshire’s Gibraltar-like financial position, which features huge amounts of excess liquidity, near-term obligations that are modest, and dozens of sources of earnings and cash;(2) Widening the “moats” around our operating businesses that give them durable competitive advantages;(3) Acquiring and developing new and varied streams of earnings;(4) Expanding and nurturing the cadre of outstanding operating managers who, over the years, have delivered Berkshire exceptional results.
I would modify and simplify as:
- maximize cash flow
- create barriers to entry and to exit
- grow sales
- acquire great talent
I just got the Kindle 2 eBook Reader from Amazon. I’m too cheap to buy it for myself, but I’m giving a bunch of them away as part of a business launch I’m doing. So figure I’d better get one and take it for a spin. My experience is a good reminder of how you should put yourself in your customers shoes to make sure you understand their experience.
I loved the out of box experience (OOBE) of the Kindle. A decade ago people used to write much about the OOBE of personal computers and home electronics, but unfortunately many seem to forget about this part of a buyer’s experience. If you care about design–and you should–the OOBE is important. The kindle comes in a sleek cardboard box. Cool text on the outside. Zip pull strip to open up. Very nice.
But the huge let down comes from the simple fact that there are no books pre-loaded to get you started. Well, there IS one book I found you can download for free. It’s a Harlequin Romance novel. Yuck.
Now if I can afford $400 for a Kindle I know I can afford $10 to download a book I actually want. But that’s not the point. It forces a jump cut in the user experience and adoption. I’m sure my experience isn’t unique…
I come home and find the brown box from Amazon. “My Kindle!” I open it up, see a cool box inside, open that one up. I see the Kindle, it’s so small and light! Hmmm, let me plug it in, wow it auto-starts, sets up by itself, and knows who I am, it already recommends books! Cool! OK, let me play with a book, learn how to turn pages, highlight things, I want it to read to me.
What the ?! No books on it. OK, I’ll download some freebies to play around. Huh? Nothing free but a romance novel? Guess I have to search through the lists and find a book I actually want. And go get my credit card. Where is my wallet? And, now the phone is ringing…the kids need dinner…someone at the door…I’ve got that report to finish…must pay bills…life intercedes…
I’ve had the Kindle for a week now and still haven’t gotten back to it to download a book. It’s just sitting on my shelf. Looks nice though.
The sad thing is there a plenty of authors and publishers that would LOVE to give away a book as a marketing tactic to reach a wider audience. In fact, Seth Godin, has repeatedly offered to do just that.
What’s the matter, Bezos? Afraid a free book will keep people from paying for books? Don’t want to cheapen the experience? That’s stupid. Get people hooked right away. Pick a great book for every major category (business, history, children’s, cooking, etc.) and load it up for free.
How can you optimize the new customer experience?
“To gain a friend, let him do you a favor.” — Ben Franklin
© Kevin Kruse. All Rights Reserved.