As I watched my kids (ages 3 and 5) instinctively teach themselves how to navigate an iPad this past week, I began thinking about the concept of simplicity. True, when creating business applications, you obviously don’t need to cater the app to preschool kids. Yet, the marketing value of new users being able to open up a new technology or application and simply use it, without reading a 100 page instruction manual, should not be underestimated. This marketing value can be translated into a much shorter learning curve, which in turn could mean a quicker adoption rate of the new technology, even within a more mainstream, non-techie market.
The same concept rings true for many of the developments in the world of phones, including VoIP, phone apps, IVR, etc. Since people know how to use a simple telephone, the closer a new phone app’s design is to a simple telephone, the better.
On this note, I looked at the picture on the top left, and thought about how simple it is to dial a phone number on Google’s Desktop App. Check out TechCrunch’s video of the Google Voice’s Unreleased VoIP Desktop App, under the name Gizmo5 by Google:
Many blogs have picked up this video, encouraging Google to release this new app, but Marketing Pilgrim’s comment struck a chord with me. After stating that he uses a Google Voice number that routes automatically to his Skype account, Marketing Pilgrim sees this new desktop app as an opportunity to switch the whole call process over to Google Voice. He notes, “A lot more basic than Skype, but I only use the basic features of Skype anyway. I hope Google brings this to the public soon!” The concept of simplicity is one that Google needs to adhere to in all of its services, since Google’s free applications target a wider, more mainstream market than some of the more technical equivalents.
As you integrate new phone technologies into your marketing and advertising programs, think about how to use phones in the most natural way. Phones provide a great opportunity to take a most familiar device and offer a new spin. So, what’s the challenge? Remembering to keep it simple.
Related posts:
- Snom Expands its VoIP Phones for Open Source Systems
- Google Purchases Global IP Solutions: Where’s Video Conferencing Heading?
- OnSIP Recognized as a Top 2009 VoIP Advance
- Business VoIP Systems- How Should You Choose?
- Windstream Launches New VoIP Service
