Be an App
Article published on 05/13/2010
What I love most about iPhone and iPad apps is how they operate in the easiest and most intuitive way possible. In contrast to websites, which are usually overly complex and loaded with trivial information three or four navigation levels deep, apps offer clarity.
Businesses should behave more like apps.
These days, companies that want to thrive need to adapt to the principles of the new economy. The smart move is stripping down to the essentials. And apps provide a great template.
Apps are:
• Simple: Everything in an app is essential. You get what you need and nothing more. It’s a natural tendency to cram your business with “more”, but if that extra stuff isn’t directly helping your company, it’s probably harming it by making your message less clear. The intelligent restrictions of apps help you focus on what matters.
• Transparent: Too often, websites are weighed down by complex site maps and hidden information. Even with the best design and navigation, it’s a mess of excessive information. In contrast, everything in an app is upfront and honest; there are no secrets. Your clients and customers will trust you when they feel they can see and understand everything you do. This means more than casual Fridays. It means being naked all week.
• Intuitive: Apps don’t challenge you to figure them out; they are easy to understand. They adapt to the natural way the user processes information. Your business practices should be just as clear. Your actions should make sense (not just rigorous market-research sense, but common sense).
• Free: We expect a lot for free, and most apps cost little or nothing. How can your company give something away that will ultimately create more revenue? Maybe you can start a company blog and provide relevant content to your readers. Or start an employer garden and share the harvest with your customers. Or host an event and provide your guests with an evening of entertainment, drinks and networking opportunities. Giving something away establishes trust and will generate interest in the profitable side of your business.
If technology can be so made so easy and fun to use, think of the business potential of applying these principles to your day-to-day client and customer interactions. Suddenly it’s not so hard to connect with people.
It’s refreshing to realize that success doesn’t come from making your business complicated.
It comes from making it easy.
James McCrae is a creative strategist, culture addict and writer broadcasting from Minneapolis. 
