VOICE ENTREPRENEUR WITH BEN SMITH #34
<5 min listen by audio:
Why would you order pizza on Amazon Alexa in 7 steps?
Take a look at the instructions from Domino’s on how to order via the Amazon Alexa here:
- Purchase an Echo
- Set up a Domino’s “pizza profile”
- Download the Amazon Alexa App
- Enable Domino’s skill
- Link your account to your “pizza profile”
- Place your order through the Echo
- Track your order status through the app using Domino’s “pizza tracker”
HUH? Wait a minute…..what?
I may be the most hardcore of pizza technology enthusiasts, but even for me this is a pizza too far.
Technology sucks sometimes. And this is a prime example of technology sucking. Technology is supposed to make things easier, not more difficult. We’re supposed to be freed by new pizza technology, not enslaved.
You know what’s easier than pizza in seven steps with Alexa?
Try dialing Domino’s pizza phone number.
(If you want to get really fancy, you can say “Ok Google, dial Domino’s” or “Hey Siri, dial Domino’s”).
As a marketer and entrepreneur, when I see stuff like this Domino’s promo, it makes me cringe. I know it gives all of us in tech a bad name. It shows us techies as being out of touch with the rest of the country, at a time when that’s not a very good thing.
Overly complicated technology is also dangerous for marketers and entrepreneurs. We’re fooled over time into believing our own hype. We start to make plans and base decisions on the hype, and not on the actual utility and actual users.
I lived through hundreds of VR enthusiasts in 2016 believing that comedy clubs in VR were somehow less complicated and more funny than watching comedy clips on YouTube. Virtual Reality had the best intentions, but that was not enough. The technology had not done enough work to be simple.
The beauty in entrepreneuring and marketing work comes from our simplifying and refining a process. We strive to make things appear magic, and make them actually helpful. That is the actual work. That’s the whole chimichanga.
That’s it. I’m doubling down on simplicity for the next two weeks. Nothing complicated from me. If I put something out on Voice Entrepreneur that’s too complicated or has seven steps, please call me on it.
If you have questions, hit me up. I’m around, and here for you! As always, thanks for reading– Ben
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