Why Your Customers' Complexity Is Your Problem

What does it mean to succeed in business? For most entrepreneurs, the answer is simple: making lots of money, which means you must have a large customer base that's buying your products or services. How can you meet these goals? While there maybe many suggestions, I found that “eating” customers’ complexity, is the best way to do it. This means you should do as much complex legwork as possible to give customers easy, pleasurable, and positive experiences with the products and services they purchase. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is simple, or it should be for your customers, and that's the goal. In a nutshell, it's up to you, your staff, and your business to deal with complex issues before they land on your customers' plates.

What Is Complexity?

Complexity is anything that can give your customers a headache, whether parsing out requirements of the new General Protection Data Regulations (GDPR) so they can conduct worldwide e-commerce or figuring out the nitty-gritty details of how to create and implement ads on social media that will get high conversion rates. Customer complexity involves details and methodology that are the actionable part of any big picture. Customer complexity applies whether your business is B2B or B2C. Consulting businesses impart a great deal of high-level information to new startups about what's needed to go into business. Retail businesses sell products which consumers must figure out how to use. In either case, brand new knowledge must be received, then assimilated. The customer must make sense of the product or service they have bought to be able to put it to use. You can make that process easy for the customer, or you can make it frustrating. Choose to make it easy.

Complexity and Customer Loyalty

Complexity is an inseparable part of doing business, and at some point, it must be streamlined. The question is where you, as an entrepreneur, should place it. If you place complexity on the front end, turning potential roadblocks into solutions before customers purchase your products or services, it makes more work for your business. If you place complexity on the back end, leaving it up to your customers to figure out for themselves, it makes more work for them. At first glance, it might seem better to offload complexity onto your customers so that your business can enjoy smoother sailing, but that kind of ethos will create an awful customer experience, and those customers probably won't come back. When you do what's necessary up front to lead into smooth customer experiences, your efforts become an inextricable part of your brand that attests to high quality and professionalism to which your customers will want to return, building customer loyalty. So take on the complexity yourself and don't burden your customers with it.

Testing and Innovation

Another benefit to taking on complexity yourself is that in finding solutions to impart to your customers, you're able to do troubleshooting which solves problems for everybody. When you test methods yourself, you can feel confident in offering them to your customers. When you work to solve problems before your products or services travel out into the world, it often results in major innovations which can take your business to the next level such as developing a new solution, a new game plan, or even a new invention. By passing complexity off to your customers, you wind up with annoyed customers, but when you tackle it yourself, you discover all kinds of new ways to improve, whether your products and services or your methodology. You wind up with happier customers and a growing business.

Takeaway

Keep the complexity on your end as much as you possibly can, and let your customers enjoy a smooth ride. It will benefit everyone, your business and your customers alike. You owe your customers your very best when it comes to your products or services, and your problem-solving skills are part of that puzzle. Your customers will not only appreciate your efforts but also come to depend on them.

What do you think about handling complexity on the business end to improve customer experience? Please share your thoughts in the comments.