Did you know the average adult’s attention span is 8.25 seconds? Getting their attention is one thing, but keeping it is even harder. Complicating communications with too much jargon or too many steps for business processes are a couple of ways to lose your audience. Simplicity is an overlooked but critical golden rule of business. Why? Because simplicity = a key to results.
Keeping things simple sounds easy, but the process can get tricky. Humans have an affinity for overthinking, overexplaining, and overcomplicating. It can be tough when we’re in the thick of it and can’t see that we’re making things more complex than they need to be.
Let’s have a quick pop quiz. Which option below is easier to understand?
- Our company is creating solutions using multiple outside sources, including podiatrists and engineers, for people who can’t find shoes that fit for various reasons, leading to frustration while searching online or in person in stores for shoes that fit regardless of where they live in the world.
- We’re a global shoe manufacturer specializing in making shoes for hard-to-fit feet. Our podiatrist-approved, scientifically proven footwear is sold online and in major department stores worldwide.
If you answered B, then you’re correct. B provides the essential details while eliminating unnecessary information.
To capture and keep someone’s attention, whether it’s a customer or employee, it’s important to be concise. Most of us know what a kiss is, but do you know what KISS means? The KISS principle is an acronym for “keep it short and simple” or “keep it simple and straightforward.” This concept applies to:
- Automation (payroll, accounting, web design, etc.)
- Marketing/Communications
- Project Management
- Customer Service
- Business Planning
- Everything else
Anyone with a website or tech platform needs to pay extra attention to the KISS principle. If the user experience is challenging, especially for non-tech-savvy people, they likely won’t convert into customers or use your service. Generally, people don’t like reading instructions or sifting through several web pages to understand the product or solution offered.
Here are 4 steps to help you simplify complicated concepts, services, or products:
- Outline your goals
Keep the list short. Sift through the want-to-haves and the have-to-haves. These can include anything from removing outdated data systems to tightening communications to increase your customer base. The sweet spot is having fewer goals yielding more productivity, profit, and customer satisfaction.
- Identify obstacles
What are the top challenges that are holding your business back? Do you need to streamline internal processes? Hire more salespeople? Be unapologetic in defining your obstacles and firm in implementing solutions.
- Execute the strategy
This is where discipline, strength, and patience propel the results you’re looking for. Choose simple tools or strategies that address your and your company or customer’s pain points. The fewer the steps, the better.
- Ask for feedback
Ask trusted allies for input before measuring metrics like customer acquisition or employee satisfaction. They can identify blind spots that could save your organization headaches before implementing changes.
In Richard Branson’s words, “Complexity is your enemy – any fool can make something complicated. It’s hard to make something simple.” Leaving your employees and customers with clarity rather than scratching their heads in confusion is hard work, but then again, anything that propels success usually is.
Photo attribution: Kindel Media – Pexels
