For this discussion, you will first read the Forbes article, Amazon: The Most Convenient Store on the Planet by Shep Hyken (2018). This article addresses end user experiences in the age of what the author calls The Convenience Revolution. The idea of convenience has transformed dramatically over the past decade. Whether it be a carton of milk, a new sweater, or the latest digital gadget, a simple click of a button can deliver just about anything to your doorstep. As Hyken points out, customer experience and end user requirements have been elevated to not even a new standard, but a new expectation. User expectations involve quality, efficiency, and ease of use. This technological revolution of consumer practice has changed the nature of how organizations and systems operate.
For this discussion, address the following for your initial post:
How are forward-thinking businesses gaining an edge on their competitors?
Where do you see the point at which too much convenience will inevitably be detrimental to the end user’s experience?
In your responses to your peers, address the point at which too much convenience is detrimental. Do you agree or disagree with their opinions? Explain why. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2018/07/22/…
Peer 1:
Hey Class,
Forward thinking businesses are able to gain a competitive edge on competitors by being first in the race to provide a better quality good or service to consumers. The phrase “If your not first, your last” applies here indefinitely. Businesses who often end up stalling or failing, fail to see how changing to the times can be an effective business strategy. What is working now will work in the future right? We can look at Sears and Kodak as an example. Sears failed to follow the trend to an online store and Kodak tried sticking to their gun on film being a niche field in a digital age. Both companies failed to change their business strategies and ended up paying the price.
Too much convenience for an end user can get annoying. There is a chance a system is so dumbed down it can prevent the user from actually learning about the software or website. This can result in companies not being able to show everything they have to offer but what their target audience is looking for specifically. Amazon could have fallen into this trap by just allowing people to buy the same old stuff they always buy, looking at you home goods purchasing system. Amazon does a great job at keeping a broad list of items semi-related posted in channels and emails sent to their consumers to prevent this from happening.
Peer 2:
Hello class!
Forward-thinking businesses seem to face a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, if you push forward and try to develop a technology or UI that hasn’t been really done before (eBay for example), your company could become THE company for that use-case. On the other side, if you push forward in a wrong way or direction, like the the HD DVD’s, that fails and ultimately can severely harm the business. Its a gamble that businesses have to face. If they decide not to try to innovate or think ahead though, they can be giving up their position to their competitors. Gaining that customer base by being at the bleeding edge can solidify their positions in the industry.
Like anything though, too much of a good thing is a real possibility. For the more security conscious user, there are several times where that convenience has already crossed their comfortability threshold. Often times, companies and websites will try to learn about their users in order to market their products better to them, but many users may not be comfortable with a company having that much information on them. This could be a point where the convenience of targeted marketing and user experience is crossing the users comfortability threshold on what information the company has on them.
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