Shower Me with Simple Instructions

I have been traveling on business to Europe this past week. Since I don’t speak French or Italian, I am often at the mercy of a sign or pictograph for information. As I was buck naked about to get into the shower, I was faced with my first challenge in the south of France- how do I turn this damn thing on? Why couldn’t they shower me with simple instructions?

Do you have to give instructions to your customers on how you use your product?

Apple famously doesn’t include instructions manuals with their products as they have worked so hard to build into the design, a clear and obvious approach to getting the job done. Touch the phone button to make a call. Touch the camera icon to take a picture. Go online for more instructions with pictures, videos and animation.

Two weeks ago, I had to help my wife format a digital recorder and a small media card. I had printed instructions that came with the Sony device. I followed each step carefully. I do have an advanced degree from a very good university so I am not a dope. Yet, it took one hour to figure out how to make this work.

Apparently, they left out an important step in the process that was as intuitive as how to bowl with kangaroos.

If they simply provided a URL with a short video on how to format, with step by step instructions, they would have improved my desire to own their products. I’m done with Sony. Too difficult. Sayonara.

Why Not Use Video?

My first instinct today is to explain something complex through video. If I can demonstrate how to use a device, a product or to explain a service, there is nothing easier to follow when I watch a person talking to me. Toys, furniture and other products that rely on being assembled are using YouTube as their guide to instructions.

How are you explaining how to use your products? Here are some ideas:

Can you set up a YouTube channel that allows you to have an easy path to reach and communicate with customers who need to watch you do something in order to understand how to do it themselves? Check out this tip on How to Remove Wine Stains, Coffee Stains and Food and Drink Stains with OxiClean
Consider using an animation or whiteboards to tell your story when the topic is complex and needs to be broken down. A step by step guide on a whiteboard is a great way to tell a story and to illustrate with metaphor complex matters. Watch this whiteboard created by my marketing team to illustrate why oxygen matters in wine making.
When I purchased the design template for this website, I found a video on YouTube that walked me through the features and functions of the software. It saved me countless hours by explaining and showing me how to set up the most basic elements. Some of it was intuitive as the design was very simple but for some needs, I could go to the video tape and get answers. I found several great videos, some from Divi and some from individuals.

Bathing Your Customers with Clear Instructions

If you run a pet grooming services why not videotape the entire process of working with your company. Don’t tell me, show me. An instructional video allows you to demonstrate why your service is worth more money. Maybe you give out instructions after a grooming on how to keep a pet’s fur from getting matted – or you demonstrate a special combing technique. Video is a great way to help me learn and to build trust with you.

If you are a specialty food business, why not set up a YouTube channel with a well-known chef showing how to use your product in various recipes. If you need someone to do this, check out this recipe developer. (my daughter) Create your own TV channel and instruct customers how many creative ways they can use your brand to make their meals more interesting and inviting. Leverage the power of video to share knowledge about your product and to build a personality for the brand.

If you are an accountant, why not demonstrate how your process works for new clients. Show me the ease of how you take the shoebox of receipts and turn it into a completed tax return. Make it educational but more importantly, entertaining. Explain something that can be intimidating so that I can easily understand the simple steps I need to take to get started.

If you are offering a new technology like pipe insulation that has special water sensors built in, put an instructional video together for installers so that they can see and observe how to get the job done. With smart phones at hands, someone can be on the job site and learn in a few minutes how to make sure that the sensors face up, or that the pipe has a specific orientation.

Clean and Refreshed

So it did take me 17 minutes to figure out how to turn on the shower in France. I’m embarrassed by this admission but it illustrated to me, why simple instructions are so important. The hotel I stayed at had a channel on the TV, they could have demonstrated in 30 seconds the secret twist and turn that the diagram didn’t explain. And, since I don’t speak French I could have learned by watching the TV.