nobody cares unless you make them

We’re different. The coffee drinkers in this town just don't know it. Eventually they’ll realise it.

The owner of a 5-month-old café said this to me a few days ago. I’ll admit. I got a wee bit mad at him for saying it.

It is not our customers’ job or problem to understand how we’re different. It is our job to educate them.

And really, hoping they’re going to figure it out — on their own and in time for us to be profitable — is a lost cause. Who has time for that?

You may see this in Saas products too. Websites that read as if you already know why you need this new thing. Documentation pages that spend no time educating you on use cases, or why you should pay attention to this product.

The café owner can look at things through his customers’ eyes. He could see that they have many coffee options. Maybe they have little time or they just want a quiet place to read on a Sunday or they want a babyccino and a playground.

Same goes for software. Nobody cares how different or better we are unless we make them. And it’s gotta start from asking what people need and want AND how they see their current options.

No more waiting for people to “get it.”

Peter

(228 / 500)