Google Glass: An invention that failed to live up to the hype.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Sure, features get all the attention. But it’s benefits that drive success.
The iPhone is a great example of a successful innovation, and the now-ubiquitous product lives on with new iterations every year.
Google Glass, on the other hand, is a great example of an invention that failed—meeting its maker less than two years after its launch. (Although not before bringing the world so-called “glassholes.”)
While both the iPhone and Google Glass rightfully boasted exciting new features, only one wound up delivering benefits that we actually cared about.
Today, the terms “innovation” and “invention” are often used interchangeably. But here’s the problem: They are not the same thing. The distinction is that while both represent something new, an innovation also solves a problem and creates value. In other words, in a world fixated on features, it’s benefits that actually drive customer action.
Granted, the difference between features and benefits can be confusing; in fact, sometimes it takes a while to become apparent. For instance, consider the original iPhone, released in 2007. At first glance, it seemed like a slick combination of existing features—a digital music player and a mobile phone—but certainly not something that would change our lives. Many people were even skeptical about some of the key design aspects, such as the touch-screen user interface. Perhaps most notably, that included Steve Ballmer, then the Microsoft CEO, who actually laughed at the iPhone, commenting at the time that it “doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard.”
Yet, despite the early naysayers, the iPhone became a smashing success. It was a portable problem-solver, providing customers with almost unlimited potential to make their lives easier and better. And, yes, while certain iPhone features came from existing products, the way it delivered benefits to customers has made it one of the world’s most significant innovations.
If your goal is to develop a product that, like the iPhone, drives real change and delivers real, problem-solving value for the customer, use these three key concepts to guide the way.
1. Lead with benefits, not features.
While features and benefits are related, they also bear significant differences, especially when it comes to driving customer behavior.
Features are the distinctive attributes of a product or service, and inevitably, they get all the attention. Benefits, in contrast, are the advantages a customer gains from that product or service. They are what solve a problem and make the customer’s life better in some way.
Fundamentally, value is created by benefits, not features. Most products have new features, but not all have compelling benefits. And without real benefits, there won’t be any meaningful adoption.
Take Google Glass, for example. In 2012, Google announced “Project Glass” with a concept video illustrating how augmented reality glasses would revolutionize our lives. Even Time chimed in, claiming Google Glass to be one of the “25 Best Inventions of the Year 2012.”
By any measure, Google Glass seemed poised to become a world-changing innovation—offering new features and capabilities that most people had never seen, let alone experienced, in their lifetime.
But, in the end, features and capabilities weren’t enough, and in 2015—not even two years after Google Glass hit the market—Google pulled the plug on its …….