Standing Out From The Crowd

With so much talk around Web Usability, it is easy to forget that Usability is a much broader concept and can be applied to almost everything.
 
By definition, Usability is the easy with which people can employ a tool or human made object to achieve a particular goal. 

Lately, this definition has expanded to include the effectiveness and efficiency with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment.

In other words, you are surrounded by usability examples.  Some as complex as the computer in front of you, some as simple as your coffee mug.  Everything around you can probably be measured for its usability. Most can still be improved.

Signal vs. Noise posted today a very interesting entry about Casino Usability.  Even considering all observed flaws to the posted information (check Hunter’s comment), the discussion itself already makes the point of how usability could and should be applied beyond the internet.

Every now and then, our worlds change to the point that nothing is ever the same again. It may be for the better. It may not be. But one thing is for sure, we all have to be prepared to adapt.
It seems the insurance market is witnessing one of these moments in the wake of California’s new auto rate rules that became effective last August.
 
As a Customer Experience professional, I watched the events unfold and observed curiously as insurance companies reacted. Of course, everyone’s first step was to fight the change, but after this mandatory - and let’s say inefficient - move, things started to get really interesting.
 
It was akin to a remake of an old Rocky movie. Most companies kept fighting only to be knocked to the ground again and again. What’s unfortunate is that nobody in the crowd was cheering for them, and every punch left a new scar on each company’s image.
 
Maybe the companies that continue this fight think they are going up against the government or the status quo. They don’t get it. In reality, they are exchanging punches with their own customers. Customers may know that every company protects its own interests, but that doesn’t mean they accept it, or that they won’t hold a grudge.
 
The right analogy for what’s happening is a road not a boxing match. Insurance companies should ride the changes out, not fight them. So far, only 8 have decided to ride the first wave: State Farm, Auto Club of Southern California, AAA of Northern California, Infinity Insurance, Wawanesa, Progressive, GEICO, and USAA. Together they are already providing $20 Million in auto rate reductions.
 
They are the first ones, but surely not the last. It is still early in the game. There is opportunity to turn what may seem like surrender into a competitive advantage. My advice is embrace the change. Take pride in it. Show your customers that you will jump at the chance to make their lives easier. Give them a reason to stay with you.
 
Great rewards come when change is viewed as an opportunity.
To the companies who aren’t on the bandwagon, I must say that the moment of truth has come and gone.

What will you do now?

**See original article at Vox website or download the PDF Version.

I always understood that it can be difficult to please a customer, but I never gave much thought about why. Seth Godin has some curious insights though on that matter in two of his recent blog entries: What People Want and The Thing About the Wind.

My two cents to companies: Listen very carefully to your customers and understand them as if you were in their shoes. Without that, you may be catering to your customers’ every whim without ever giving them what they really want.