'Faux Simplicity' vs. True Simplicity - Corporate Winners and Losers

NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- "True simplicity provides a dramatic, compelling competitive advantage for any organization," says Irene Etzkorn, Director of Simplification at Siegel+Gale. "As companies, political candidates, the publishers of 'Real Simple' magazine, and the creators of the new Time Warner ad campaign have found, the mere mention of the word 'simple' is a hook for purchasers.

"The thought of assembling a product sends shivers through most consumers who envision hours of frustration and a few pieces 'left over.' The promise of technology, investing, or health care made simple is alluring. For that reason, advertisers and marketers stock their copy with the words 'easy,' 'convenient,' 'quick,' and 'simplified.' Simplicity sells in politics, too -- one of John McCain's greatest appeals is his 'Straight Talk Express' campaign theme.

"However, companies who falsely proclaim simplicity create a jaded and cynical marketplace. 'Faux simplicity' undermines the valid efforts of others who work hard to achieve simplicity. And products, services and people that really deliver on the promise of clarity and simplicity are few and far between.

  "Fortunately, a precious few have gotten it right," says Ms. Etzkorn.

  Following is her list of winners and losers in the simplicity wars.

  WINNERS:

ING Direct: Unlike the impersonal, automated interactions that characterize most financial transactions, the experience at ING Direct is friendly, humane and highly efficient.

When they send a letter confirming a change to a PIN number, the letter sounds as though a person rather than a computer wrote it: "If it is correct, then all you have to do is have a great day."

The clear, reassuring tone inspires confidence. As Arkadi Kuhlmann, Chairman, President and CEO of ING Direct USA says, "Companies become extremely authentic when they become clear and the busier life gets, the more value there is in simplicity as a point of competitive differentiation." He has no sympathy for companies that perpetuate an atmosphere of complexity as a means of fostering confusion, attributing their motives to avarice. "Most companies focus on short-term shareholder value. Instead of maximizing the number of loyal customers and recognizing their long-term potential," Kuhlmann says, "companies 'nickel and dime' them." ING Direct, in contrast, has no fees. In his view, his competitors "waste their energy squeezing every last penny out of current customers and then have to find new ones."

Chubb Insurance and its "hassle-free" claims experience: Chubb Insurance, a high-end property/casualty insurer has also embraced and maintained simplicity -- a rarity in the insurance market. Its personal lines policy, Masterpiece(R), tells policyholders what is excluded and if something is not specifically excluded, it is covered. Written in plain English with customized content and an inviting page layout, the clarity of the policy sets a tone of openness and honesty.

And, simplicity often translates to speed. The revolutionary effect of Masterpiece (R) is evident in the numbers: 95% of policies and 97% of endorsements are out the door within 7 days in an industry that typically measures turnaround in weeks, not days. While this is pleasing to customers, it is even more astounding for agents who see the creaking wheels of Chubb's competitors.

Intuit's Simple Start software: Intuit recognized that its classic Quicken product -- itself designed for ease of use -- could be intimidating and too complex for new business owners, and so created Simple Start to serve that population's need for simpler, more basic business software. Extensive product testing led to software that, in its first year of launch, became the number one competitor to QuickBooks and sold more units than competitor Peachtree. Intuit's quest for simplicity shows in other products, too -- the Turbo Tax interface was rewritten so it reads in plain English rather than tax code-speak.

AARP Financial's life-cycle funds: In 2006, AARP Financial successfully launched a set of three life-cycle funds to simplify investing for its customers, many of whom found themselves overwhelmed by the thousands of mutual fund options available in the marketplace. The funds are explained in simple terms and inform the investor of his or her options in plain English. All three funds -- dubbed "conservative," "moderate," and "aggressive" according to amount of risk involved -- feature built-in safety nets such as automatic annual reallocation to keep portfolios balanced. By simplifying the investing process, AARP is targeting an underserved population which either isn't able to afford fee-based financial advisors or is turned off by the complexity and risk of the investment process in the first place.

Google: Google has in many ways set the standard for creating a simple, user-friendly experience. Its mission statement since 1998 has been "To organize the world's infrastructure and make it globally accessible." Despite this gargantuan mandate and the inherent complexity of the task itself, Google's home page has just fifteen items on it. And adding anything to that page requires not only an "audition" on Google's advanced search page, but also a run through Google's simplicity scoring process (one point per change in type style, size, or color -- the less points the better).