Consumers of technology have a one-word message for manufacturers of cell phones, digital cameras and other gadgetry: simplify!
According to research conducted by Portigal Consulting, consumers are overwhelmed with "tech clutter" -- the chargers, cords and other peripherals that come with every cell phone and gadget purchase -- and want a simplified user experience.
Every household has the desk drawer stuffed with old cell phone chargers, unused webcams, mysterious remotes and other forgotten consumer electronics peripherals that no one wants or even knows how to dispose of. According to Portigal's research, consumers want manufacturers to do something about it.
"The failure of manufacturers to introduce new products that integrate with what people already own has become a huge source of irritation and frustration," says consumer expert Steve Portigal, whose firm, Portigal Consulting, studies customer behavior and gathers insights to help businesses design better products and improve user experiences.
"Companies have a real opportunity to surprise and delight their customers by responding to this call for simplicity in the design of new products," continued Portigal. "Reducing the bloat of unwanted and unused features is a good place to start, along with interoperability, universality and less complicated interfaces and instructions. If they can make it simple they can really win consumers over with new products."
According to Portigal, even tech savvy consumers are not interested in spending their time deciphering instructions and remembering what various buttons do. They want simplicity -- in other words, products that make it clear what they are for and how to use them.
"These problems should be obvious, yet manufacturers consistently fail to take them into account in their product development efforts," says Portigal. ""Ease of use' has become a buzz phrase commonly uttered in consumer electronics circles, but technology manufacturers have a different mindset than their customers. They seem to think people want an endless array of features, and they continue to market products based on that. We're finding that consumers would trade a lot of the excess functionality built into their digital cameras and cell phones for a less complicated and ultimately more rewarding user experience."
Portigal Consulting has studied the beliefs, behavior and usage habits of hundreds of consumers on behalf of leading tech companies such as Logitech, Sony, Belkin and Plantronics.
About Portigal Consulting
Portigal Consulting brings together user research, design and business strategy to help innovative companies discover and act on new insights about their customers and themselves. Founded in 2001, Portigal Consulting is based in Pacifica, CA, in close proximity to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
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