A recent Washington Post article featured marketers bemoaning customers that dial into call centers rather than reading owner manuals.
Marketers get no pity from these quarters. If customers aren't exhibiting the behavior marketers want, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Owner manuals are rarely user-friendly. They can be translated from a foreign language, or written by tech people, which can amount to the same thing. Diagrams are often obtuse, and apparently there is a law that says actual humans must never be pictured. (There is no other reason – including cost – why this customer-friendly step isn't taken. The money's going to be spent: the question is whether it will be on the up-front materials or incremental call center seats.)
Some industries are smartening up. Auto manufacturers have begun to provide easy-to-read pamphlets that address basic questions in addition to the federally mandated owner reference guides, according to the Post. And starter booklets are showing up in electronics packaging, reserving the more detailed instruction books for power users, or at least customers that have had a chance to get acclimated to the product.
Additionally, manuals represent a great opportunity for marketing. Keep the customer reading the larger books by peppering them with coupons, cartoons, tips, co-op deals, and – dare I say it – discounts on ancillary merchandise. It's not a cost: Done correctly, it's an investment against future sales.
Manual design should be initially written by tech people and given to marketing to polish. At its final stage, both the company president and a mail room clerk should be given a copy. If either has to struggle to read through it, tear it up and do it again.
This type of thinking puts manual design squarely in marketing's wheelhouse. It's basic CRM. Customers that get maximum use and satisfaction out of a product without having to consult anyone are going to be satisfied. Unfortunately, most marketers point to their current, densely written owner's guide and maintain that consumers wanting the best results from the product will suffer through it. It's the same rational that's applied to castor oil. Don't know about you, but I'd rather hold my belly and moan.
To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com.
