In my recent interview with Gary Vaynerchuk (New York Times Best-Selling author), I asked him: "What long term culture norms do you see technology and the emerging generations ultimately disrupting?" Gary responded with: "Anything that has inefficiencies in the value that it brings will be snuffed out…Inefficiencies are very vulnerable right now." Would you agree?
I sure agree.
As humans, our brains are wired to jump to conclusions and travel the path of least resistance to the solutions we want. If a task is too complicated, we get frustrated, Tweet how terrible the experience is and vow never to return.
I blame Apple for our new addiction to efficiency and simplicity. Our patience has never been shorter and our expectations have never been higher when it comes to the products and services we interact with. Thanks to technology and the web, the stakes have never been higher for brands to create no-brainer products and services.
With more paths (i.e. Internet and connectivity) and shortcut outlets (i.e. crowdsourcing), the path to least resistance is now more possible than ever before. Consumers have powers like never before to get quotes, check reviews, compare and run from inefficiencies.
Let me give you an example of the high cost (or in my case…low cost) of inefficiency.
Recently, I was in the market for an audio voiceover for a new project (exciting announcement coming soon!). I contacted the only audio guy I knew who was in one of my professional associations. Uber nice and talented dude. However, he ended up sending me a 414 word email AND attached a confusing $500 quote for a simple 1-2min voiceover.
Wow…FAIL! Everything (except his prompt email response) screamed inefficient; sifting thru 400+ words, the decoding of the pricing structure, the outlandish price and the request for a follow up call…who wants to talk on the phone these days? I thanked him for his time and quickly shifted my efforts to the crowdsourcing Internet communities. Within 5 minutes, I had booked a new audio guy thru Fiverr.com.
I pursued the path of least resistance with a guy I had never met because of his presence on an efficient platform (Fiverr.com), his pitch was an efficient 2 sentences long, he guaranteed an efficient turnaround time of 4 days and it only cost me an economical $5 via my efficient PayPal account. Yeah, you read that right, I saved $495 in 5 minutes online. And I couldn't be happier with the results.
Gary is spot on with his observation that inefficiencies will rapidly wither and die in the new economy. It's a beautiful thing for consumers as it places a new accountability on businesses to stay relevant and offer seamless and effortless customer experiences.
Snuff your inefficiencies or be snuffed.
Question: How have you recently traveled the path of least resistance?
