“Do You Have a Google Home?”
One of the difficulties in coming up with an innovative product is that there aren’t a lot of comparisons to use to help explain so people will understand. When I would pitch the Ubi a few years back, it would be “Siri for your home” or “like the Star Trek computer”… it was still difficult for people to fully grasp what it was that we were making.
However, now, I just ask if the person has a Google Home or Amazon Echo and say “yup… like that but two years before the Echo came out.” They know what I’m talking about. They nod… understanding what I’m talking about.
Sure, part of this story is to boast about being ahead of the curve. However, it also highlights the challenge of a new user interface. It’s hard to relate unless you’ve tried out something similar.
What are some ways to overcome this? The hard answer is that you need to give people the chance to try out the new interface and help them to share the experience with others. New VR headsets, hyper accurate headphones, amusement park rides, and computer hardware all face this challenge.
Borrowing from Seth Godin’s Ideavirus, one way to get the message to spread is to build in the spreadability into the experience. If it’s an amusement park ride, offer to post a photo for them for free on Instagram. If it’s VR, have an experience that’s built on sharing with others. And if it’s voice-based? Maybe the ability to leave voice memos and send them to friends.
