Infographics®

We agree with a recent time is money study by Accenture, but think their experts overlooked one important topic—effective and efficient product instructions.

Here’s a portion of what Accenture’s report had to say:

Businesses that thoughtfully examine and measure the time customers spend with them, and then either reduce the time costs or enhance the time value of their offerings, can gain an advantage that will continue when the economy recovers. For companies looking to win over today’s more frugal customers, a focus on the value of time comes not a moment too soon.

Time, as they say, is money.

And no more so than in today’s tough economic environment: Companies find themselves in a bind, unable to find new ways to meet the customer’s relentless demand for lower costs and higher value. Is there a way out?

Yes. Accenture research and experience suggests that marketers can quickly enhance their offerings to make them both less costly and more attractive if they focus on time—specifically, on respecting or improving the value of their customers’ time, across the entire marketing lifecycle.

Accenture’s research focused primarily on manufacturers’ timesaving innovations (like Viking Range Corporation who offers a high-speed convection oven that cooks a five-pound chicken in 28 minutes) and even the manner in which customers shopped for products (online versus self-service checkouts, etc.), yet they overlooked one aspect of the marketing lifecycle that has big time-draining potential. That is, what actually takes place after the purchase, i.e., the real “out-of-the-box” experience?

You’ve heard the horror stories. Nightmares related to assembly or installation projects, especially with flat-pack furniture or toys during the holidays. Manufacturers now have a reliable resource to help circumvent customers’ wasted time and frustration when it comes to RTA or DIY products. Infographics, the pioneer and leader in the development of innovative post-purchase product communications for consumer goods, has years of experience helping companies build better instruction manuals. Their innovative and proprietary process has proven that logically written and well-illustrated instructions make all the difference when it comes to avoiding potential customer frustration and dissatisfaction with a product or brand.

So what does this have to do with the time is money theory? Infographics believes that spending more time up front developing clear, concise and complete instructions leads to less time spent by the consumer during the assembly or installation process resulting in a more positive ownership experience. Additionally, Infographics believes that offering well-designed quick start, reference guides, and troubleshooting charts that include step-by-steps and visuals is another time accelerator for improving ownership experiences.

Wordless Instructions by Infographics

Infographics uses sequential drawings—not photographs—with as few words as possible, to produce easy-to-follow instructions. Each process is analyzed—frequently by assembling and disassembling products in the company's lab—to determine the consumers’ communication needs. Logical organization, better graphics and illustrations and less verbiage result in better understanding and less time required by consumers trying to read the instructions. 

Quick Reference Guide by Infographics

At Infographics we believe that a focus on the value of time when it comes to product instructions can provide a significant competitive advantage that more companies will need to recognize in order to keep pace in this “new normal” economy.