Keeping it "simple" keeps your customers coming back

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Doug Lescoe makes a strong case for making things easy in a short book titled "Will a Rival's Better Quality UI (User Interface) Suddenly Destroy Your Business?"

Lescoe is obviously a KISS fan.  No, not the rock band (that may be true, however), but the "Keep It Simple Stupid" acronym.  You see, Lescoe has finally validated my pent up frustration all these years.  It's not that I am stupid.  The issue is that User Interface (the screen on webpages that customers see) makes total sense to the people who create it.  This then goes to other like minded people for review - and all of sudden you could have a Havard Social Sciences experiment in "Group Think".

The book is a short, one-sitting read - but when your argument is as sensible and logical as "make it easy and they will come", there isn't a need for a long drawn out diatribe trying to impress the reader.  In fact, Lescoe practices what he preaches and "Keeps it Simple" through the entire read.  Don't get me wrong, the idea is powerful, but delivered in a way that is understandable.  It is backed up by 35 sources for his information - making Lescoe's argument even more convincing.

One example of a great insight.  Apple's original decision to make the first iPod to it hitting the market took a mere 8 months.  By the time the other 50 companies that made mp3 players figured out what hit them - Apple owned 65% of the market.  The others couldn't react.  The main difference?  Style and ease of use.

Don't believe me?  Well, everyone with a Zune mp3 player - please raise your hand.  I think I hear the crickets chirping.

And how much simpler can you get than Google search engine?  How does a webpage that features a logo, a search box, and the majority of the page is white background come to become a "verb"?  The answer - it's simple.  I don't have ads trying to take over my screen and I have to battle to find the "hidden close" button.  This is a great example of "less is more".

If you are a business owner, computer programmer, or student looking to break into the industry - this is a book that may be more valuable than many of your college courses.

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(This book review was part of a paid advertising package, 

which only moved the book up in line and does not have any impact on the review)