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Why marketing should make the user manuals!
Why do so many companies treat potential users so much better than existing users? Think about it. The brochure is a thing of beauty, while the user manual is a thing of boredom. The brochure gets the big budget while the manual gets the big index. What if we stopped making the docs we give away for free SO much nicer than the ones the user paid for? What if instead of seducing potential users to buy, we seduced existing users to learn?
Let's take the whole damn ad/marketing budget and move it over to product manuals and support. Let's put our money where our users are. If we're in it for the short term, then sure--it makes sense to do everything to get a new user, while doing as little as possible once we've got them. But if we're really in it for the long haul--for customer retention and loyal users--then shouldn't we be using all that graphic design and pro writing talent for the people we care about the most? Our users?
Most of you know our philosophy here on Creating Passionate Users:
Truly passionate users will evangelize to others.
The better users get at something, the better (higher res) the user experience.
The better the user experience, the more likely they are to keep trying to get better.
Nobody is passionate about something they completely suck at.
Helping your users learn and (ultimately) kick ass is the best way to up the odds they'll become passionate.
Creating fabulous learning materials might be a far better use of the budget than creating fabulous ads and brochures. If traditional advertising and marketing is becoming less and less effective, why not move all that talent (designers, artists, copywriters, other "creatives") from before the sale to after the sale? We keep wondering why users won't RTFM, but just look at our FMs! Nice brochures are printed on that coated silky paper that begs to be touched, while the manual is printed on scratchy office-grade paper. Even just that one change--making the user manual as touchable as the marketing material would be a good start.
And if your company insists on having fancy, slick, colorful brochures... why not take the new fancy, slick, colorful product manuals and use THEM as your promotional material? As a potential customer, I'll find your attention to user learning a lot more convincing than your attention to new sales. Rather than using your brochure to show how much YOU kick ass, I'd much rather see no-marketing-spin hard evidence of how you're going to help ME kick ass.
If the best way to help create passionate users is by helping users learn and get better, then we should put our power to entice, motivate, and inspire someone to buy more, and use it to entice, motivate, and inspire someone to learn more. In the end, those passionate users will evangelize our product or service far more credibly and honestly than we can.
So, are you as sexy after the sale as you are before? Do you know anyone who is? (I know a few, including Electric Rain)
And stay tuned for Part Two of this post--probably tomorrow--where we'll look at how to get them to RTFM even without the big budget. And hey, I missed you guys. I was out sick for a while and then travelling for a few days. Thanks for keeping me in your feeds. ; )
Posted by Kathy on August 29, 2006 | Permalink
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Comments
Very true !
As a quite technically oriented guy I read manuals even today and I prefer shops where I can see them before the buy. (Conrad Electronic in germany offers this on their website). I do this because I want facts and the technical fineprint and I want to see the possibilities and limitations of the product.
But even for ton-technocal people the information would be useful - if it were enjoyable, as you say.
Posted by: Norbert Klamann | Aug 29, 2006 11:41:21 PM
Hi Kathy,
Hope you're feeling better!
That's an excellent question - and one that makes a lot of sense.
I'm not going to pretend that I've come up with a good reason for not using the same skills to create your user manuals - I haven't managed to come up with anything to say that it's anything other than a good idea.
But, I think I can take a guess as to why it doesn't currently happen:
It's hard.
And:
There are very few people who can do it.
In my experience the number of people who can pull together the necessary skills as a graphic designer, technical writer and technical product expert are diminishingly small.
Heck, it's hard enough to find someone who meets just one of those skills at a time, let alone all 3.
Which is unfortunate - because if more people couple learning material of that quality with the philosophy that your product is a "means" and not an "end", we'd all end up using (and producing) much better products as a result.
Posted by: omni | Aug 30, 2006 12:21:29 AM
Ummmm... why is this the first time I'm hearing this kind of philosophy?
Excellent excellent excellent advice.
Posted by: Glen C. | Aug 30, 2006 12:22:06 AM
My impression is that most marketing materials are not reader friendly and informative. It is very hard to get facts from markteting materials that help finding a reasonable decision.
Posted by: Christoph B. | Aug 30, 2006 1:58:51 AM
The discrepancy between the brochure and the manual is a sure sign that we care more for the sale than for the customer. Bad. Which is an apt description for the quality of after sales service almost universally. There are some exceptions, of course, but as a rule...
Posted by: Karyn Romeis | Aug 30, 2006 2:11:34 AM
Please don't let the marketing people anywhere near the manuals. Yes, the manuals should have a bit more effort lavished on them in terms of layout and design but if you let the marketing people anywhere near them you'll lose the technical information they are trying to convey.
Posted by: Phillip Fayers | Aug 30, 2006 2:19:55 AM
In my (limited) experience, manuals don't need to be "glossy" as much as they need to be written in simple, coherent language with simple, uncluttered illustrations.
And be cautious: manuals can become too glossy for their own good. (Think of the kind of "newbie instructions" that contain page after page of insanely grinning fashion models, holding their new products as if they were radiating ecstasy-beams.)
Alternately, some devices (such as the camera on your illustration) can come with a "walkthrough" function that instructs the user while he uses the device for the first time:
"Hi, I'm your talking CoffeeMaker. Press the blinking button on my base to start the introduction for new users..."
:)
Posted by: A.R.Yngve | Aug 30, 2006 2:44:26 AM
...or, more realistically, the marketing and tech writing staff (and web staff and product designers) should work closely together on both sides of the sale to ensure a seamless, pleasant, enticing customer experience from start to... well, we hope the relationship never ends! It helps to have someone in charge of Customer Experience whose job is very explicitly to ensure that the necessary cooperation takes place to create that, and that the results are consistently good wherever company touches customer.
Posted by: Deirdre' Straughan | Aug 30, 2006 2:54:20 AM
So marketing shouldn't make the manuals but should spend their money in that area rather than on brochures. Like the idea of doubling up and using the new documentation as part of the pitch instead of brochures too.
Posted by: Dan Creswell | Aug 30, 2006 3:32:28 AM
You are of course singing from my Geek Marketing 101 songsheet so I totally agree, but I am reminded of a potential reason for the complacency you describe. I feel a post coming on.
Posted by: John Dodds | Aug 30, 2006 3:52:04 AM
Too true. Customers who know how to use products are happy customers. I've often found that products that you can easily pickup and use are the ones you use most often.
Having said that, at least having a boring manual is better than no manual at all.
Posted by: Neon | Aug 30, 2006 6:10:46 AM
Kathy, there are a lot of great things in your post. Unfortunately corporations haven't truly figured out that customers don't care if the marketing dept and the pubs dept are under different VP's. In most organizations that I've seen, having pubs on time is just a checkbox in the product launch schedule. They're reviewed for accuracy, but little thought is put into the user's experience or the opportunity for ongoing branding. It's funny how marketing cares so much about persuading a customer to buy, but seems to drop the ball on actually caring for the customer.
Posted by: Nick Rice | Aug 30, 2006 7:19:08 AM
I'd argue this is actually a "meta" issue. Take for instance employers - in general, the only way employees can really move up is by changing jobs. A good friend of mine was telling me that his team has had lots of attrition and they're having a hard time filling openings yet raises are going to be capped - what message is that sending him? If you want to get what you're worth, leave.
While I have heard of a few people getting good sized "market" adjustments, in general once you're in the door you won't be seeing much in the way of corporate love. That said, employees work in similar ways, often presenting a very glossy marketing document with a crufty user manual... And I won't even get into the whole dating/marriage game ;) Great post Kathy, hope you're feeling better!
Posted by: Nate Schutta | Aug 30, 2006 7:19:54 AM
Kathy, you are making an excellent point. Marketing and communications should inform every single experience both within and outside an organization.
It is indeed very hard to get that the energy and funds expended to obtain customers should in fact be multiplied or at least maintained in keeping those customers. It is hard for many reasons. As marketer and communicator I have always made it my priority to learn the business I was in – whether that be technology, risk management, chemical manufacturing or non-profit medical services – as well as the functional pieces within that business (customer service, R&D, sales, etc.) It takes time and tremendous commitment.
The other consideration is that marketing is usually directly attached to sales; in my experience sales is rewarded on volume while marketing is compensated on holding pricing so there is a decent margin. This translates organizationally into tension where customer service is caught in between.
It is hard to implement because it means a blurring of the lines and collaboration rather than holding onto a territory. It involves a commitment to working together and being responsible for each other’s success where most organizations continue to reward individuals for checking the boxes.
It is more the model of the future, for survival and for excellence; what has started happening with open space, social networks and blogs. It requires changing our thinking as well as our behavior and that takes time. Time many would contend, some organizations are running out of.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | Aug 30, 2006 7:35:37 AM
On the surface, this looks attractive. But as a technical communicator, I can see soooo many ways this could turn out even worse than the "dry boring, etc. etc." stuff on the right.
Keep the actual goals of the user documentation in mind, and then use ideas from marketing materials to help achieve those goals more effectively.
Posted by: Milan Davidovic | Aug 30, 2006 7:36:02 AM
This is type of mindset is prevalent in one other major area...marriage. How many marriages do you know that fell apart because there wasn't "that spark" that was there when you first met. In the courting period, men do everything they can to get the girl, or in marketing terms, "make the sale." Once the marriage happens, there's nothing to pursue, nothing to work towards, and ultimately the consumer, or wife, loses interest.
You've brought up an excellent point here, it just goes to show how this mindset is not just in marketing, but in the core of the human soul unfortunately.
Posted by: Paul Podraza | Aug 30, 2006 7:41:03 AM
Stone Design - www.stone.design - does a great job in supporting their software and the software's users.
They offer free upgrades for life. Their users become their best advertising and the user base continually expands rather than feeding upon itself. Every user has the latest version - so Stone only has to support one version. It's easier and better for Stone and the users - fantastic!
Potential users trying out the product can easily use the user forums to receive support from happy users and the developer himself.
Of course, I'm a satisfied StoneWorks user. I'm getting more out of the software now than I was when I purchased it over five years ago.
Posted by: daddydoodaa | Aug 30, 2006 7:48:13 AM
I can't speak for other industries but from a camera perspective there is one that was left out as for why their manuals are so bland. In most cases Canon, Sony, and other manufacturers also release a field guide book that is sold seperately. If the manual was as useful as the field guide no one would buy the field guide which equals lost profits.
Posted by: brando | Aug 30, 2006 7:49:58 AM
Sorry, Stone Design's URL is www.stone.com.
Happy, but distracted, StoneWorks user....
Posted by: daddydoodaa | Aug 30, 2006 7:50:01 AM
Wow, you _completely_ missed the boat on this article, Kathy! I think Phillip Fayers comment is bang on - you're confusing the rather minor issue of aesthetics with the more important issue of audience.
Marketing targets a fundamentally different audience than user documentation. They deal with people that need to be persuaded, rather than simply informed, which is what user manuals are about. And persuasion requires fundamentally different material - it needs to be flashy and easy to digest in a very small amount of time. I.e. it needs to be great-eye candy that fits on one or two pages.
User documentation on the other hand is for people you've already convinced, and are willing to devote an extended amount of time learning about how to make the most of the product they've already purchased. Thus, the material needs to be rich in content.
By your logic, the marketing department should take over the customer support role, too, right? After all, Marketing can surely be more convincing as to why you should ignore the problems you're having and just use the 5 best features instead.
No, leave the documentation responsibilities to the people who understand how users need to learn. Sure, spend some time making the front and back cover look nicer, sprinkle a few nice pictures at the beginning of each chapter, and make sure the typography and layout are pleasing. But please don't mess around with any of the content. I've bought the product already, quit trying to sell the damn thing to me and just teach me how to really, really love it for what it does.
Posted by: Robert | Aug 30, 2006 8:03:36 AM
So, are you somehow coordinating with ProNet Advertising on posts? Eerie coincidence ...
Posted by: Morgan Goeller | Aug 30, 2006 8:16:51 AM
Excellent comments!
Deirdre', you have the most practical and potentially useful advice:
"The marketing and tech writing staff... should work closely together on both sides of the sale to ensure a seamless, pleasant, enticing customer experience from start to... well, we hope the relationship never ends!"
I think every company that makes a product ought to have that as a serious goal.
Neon: You're right -- a boring manual IS definitely better than no manual... although I've had some manuals that were nothing but an impenetrable waste of trees.
Nick: I think you've hit a big problem on the head: "having pubs on time is just a checkbox in the product launch schedule." I've been to so many big foofy "marketing launch team" meetings, but rarely (and by 'rarely' I mean 'never') have I been to a lavish a "product manual launch team" meeting.
Nate: Well done ; ) I think we call that, "false advertising" or... bait and switch? It is indeed a meta issue and applies to so many things.
Valeria: we need more marketers with your oreintation and who care about ALL sides of the business.
Milan: You made the REAL point: "use IDEAS from marketing materials to help achieve those goals more effectively."
Paul: See: "bait and switch." I agree!
daddydoodaa: thanks so much for the pointer to Stone... I'm going to spend some time exploring.
Robert: Ah, I completely disagree with you on this -- my point is that persuasion and learning do NOT require fundamentally different material, and that in fact the people we most need to bring into the mix of learning/training/documentation are those with the skills to persuade, entice, compell, etc.
I agree that user docs are indeed for people who are already convinced, but to assume that they're willing to devote an extended time to learning it is the one that hurts us. You did say the material needs to be "rich in content", and I agree... but presentation is a shockingly important part of what makes content rich. If it were just about the facts and information in the manual, then we wouldn't have RTFM as a mantra.
My point is that the manual SHOULD be as compelling to read as the glossy brochure. Does it also need to be technically useful and correct? Absolutely, but those two aren't mutually exclusive. The best of all words would be as Deirdre said -- where we combine the best of both talents.
And I'd also argue that most companies do NOT have documentation made the responsibility of "people who understand how users need to learn." Again, if that were true -- we wouldn't all be complaining so much about our manuals, and we wouldn't be moaning about our users who don't read the manual. They don't read the manual because the manual is usually technically correct but so brain-unfriendly as to be virtually unusable.
A dry, boring manual talks to the mind, not the brain -- but it's the brain that we need to please. We do a great job of this with advertising and brochures--where we appeal to both their emotions and their rational mind, but we just let all that excitement go in the manual, and the reader has a terrible time trying to stay focused and engaged.
I totally agree with you about "quit trying to sell the damn thing". We should not be trying to resell the product, but we SHOULD be trying to sell the user on why they should learn these things that will ultimately help them kick ass : )
I believe your wonderful line," teach me how to really, really love it for what it does" takes some of the same graphic design/writing loving care that we give to other more high profile projects.
Maybe the best solution is to just make the resources of the graphic design/copywriting talent available to the people who make the manuals, and let those in charge of user learning direct those folks to help create the best, most compelling user documentation that makes it both productive and engaging to read the manual.
Cheers
Posted by: Kathy Sierra | Aug 30, 2006 8:32:02 AM
Why?
Same reasons guys treat fiancees better than wives, companies recruits better than employees, cell phone companies switchers better than customers, 18-34 year olds better than over 55: getting is sexier than having.
We're easily bored creatures. We take existing conditions (people, places, things) for granted and glorify the acquisition of new things, not the faithful use of old things.
Basically, as a species, we suffer from ADD. In grad school I had a psychotherapy prof who used to wax eloquent about, "the addiction of the ego to 'more and more'; the call of the new"...truer words were never spoken.
Posted by: Tom Guarriello | Aug 30, 2006 8:40:12 AM
On the back of the instruction sheet for a new Rolodex(tm) monitor stand they had instructions for making a paper crane. The crane seems to be their mascot and is displayed on the box. A very surprising, but welcome, touch.
Posted by: GlennM | Aug 30, 2006 9:00:43 AM
What a great post! Well said. There is such an emphasis by marketers and sales executives to entice and motivate potential new customers, rather than focus on the captive mass and focusing on loyalty and retention. Treat your current customers the same or better, not worse. Turn them in to an effective viral marketing channel by engaging and helping them to become as passionate about your product as you are. You'll get the customers as a result.
Posted by: Rajan Sodhi | Aug 30, 2006 10:10:23 AM
Check out Blue Microphone's manuals. They're visually exciting and funny. And obviously memorable to at least one person...
Posted by: Andre Stechert | Aug 30, 2006 10:35:02 AM
Shoot. I should have pointed out that the Snowball manual (which is the one I'm familiar with) is the best example to look at.
Posted by: Andre Stechert | Aug 30, 2006 10:39:33 AM
Hi Kathy:
Your article and virtually all of your commentors seem to be missing one key factor of this puzzle. The fact that a brochure is the face of the company and the manual is the red-headed step-child is because of the Old School MBA management thinking that is occuring in today's business arena. Quarter results and MBOs are more important than the long term customer base.
The term that applies to all of this "Design Thinking". It shows even in the comments that this is lost on many people. Kathy is not saying that the manual has to be glossy and full of bikini-clad models. It needs to be designed. It needs more than a passing thought. It needs more than a tech writer that knows how to use Framemaker.
As long as the Product Managers of this world are Old School MBA thinkers instead of Design Thinkers, company's won't get it.
The closest to "getting it" seems to be Deirdre'. Everyone needs to play in the same sand box. But the babysitter still needs to be someone that thinks like a designer not an Business MBA Grad.
Posted by: jt | Aug 30, 2006 11:09:03 AM
I was going to respond with pessimism, but after thinking about it some more I realize that this would actually be an amazing idea if it were really implemented:
1. It puts marketing folks in the position where they can do the least possible damage: writing about features that already exist (or are at least planned for the near future).
2. It would force salespeople/marketers and engineers to actually talk to each other (horror of horrors!)
3. It might, as you say, end up producing end-user documentation that actually doesn't suck.
So let's do it! The only caveat, I think, is that this would really have to become the primary responsibility, or at least a major one, for the marketers in question. If it were taken too lightly, it could actually end up doing a lot more damage.
Posted by: Aaron G | Aug 30, 2006 11:56:36 AM
Manuals don't need marketing folk anywhere near them. Designers, sure, but not marketing. Manuals are supposed to be helpful, not full of lies, marketing people would totally fuck up a good user manual.
Posted by: Ramon | Aug 30, 2006 12:03:25 PM
wow, a lot of comments and I haven't read all of them so apologies if I'm repeating something...
instead of putting the budget anywhere, why not truly create passionate, engaged users by putting the manual on-line as a collaborative wiki page? you can fill out the basics (on/off; how to make the widget glow in the dark or how to record ferrets mating in the back garden) but the specifics, the details, the hacks can be filled in by users themselves.
yes you'd need to monitor the process, but by putting it in the consumers' hands, you're relinquishing control of the product, encouraging them to explore it's possibilities and then to evangelize it to their peers (who will view them as a more trusted source than any impersonal manual).
rolled out over the entire product line, companies could award incentive points redeemable against accessories or new products.
Ed
Posted by: Ed Lee | Aug 30, 2006 12:10:26 PM
Hi from Madrid (Spain),
I just wanted drop a line to say that your posts are really inspiring. Hmmm... not very original me... you know that already :)
I just found a podcast with one of your TALKS...
Do you have some others and I can LISTEN to ?
Thanks and keep up the good work,
Gabriel
Posted by: Gabriel | Aug 30, 2006 12:11:28 PM
Kathy,
I long since abandoned trying to read user manuals. They are boring, too technical and written by folks who think most of us care about technology, when in fact we just want to be able to use the product to meet our specific wants.
I think several of your readers have pointed to the answer: User manuals should be written from the users' point of view and kept as concise and as simple as possible. I believe most of us do not care and do not want to know anything about the technology.
As my cousin who is a VP of Software Development likes to say: "Keep the techies away from making design, marketing or sales decisions of any kind, and instead make everything for and about the users and their wants, not ours."
Posted by: Lewis Green | Aug 30, 2006 12:12:32 PM
1) Because when you xerox a shiny glossy brochure with lots of photos, it looks like crap and is frequently unreadable. Excessively fancy user manuals are a disaster.
2) Handing control of the manual off to marketing is not an appeal for "design", but an appeal to hand off the control to marketing. Doing this correctly intersects with marketing, agreeing with Deirdre here. Everything in marketing is political by nature, but the best manual is going to be apolitical. If it's important that VB is always stated "Microsoft Visual Basic®" or that the cover has to have the logo and the company colors, OK, but you betrayed yourself when you contrasted the big index with the big budget--the index is the most important single element to get right on a manual.
Manuals and brochures have fundamentally different goals, and should not be combined. No one wants to wade through the sales pitch when they just want to know how to open the battery hatch on their camera.
However: agreed that manuals should be available, as they ARE part of the sales pitch for educated consumers, but that is through no action by the marketing department, it's purely consumer-driven. Agree with the point itself, that customers after the sale need to be treated like before the sale. Agreed that manuals should be thoughtful and pleasant to the eyes. But please keep the actual content as black text on white background, or it's not going to be copiable.
Posted by: Erik | Aug 30, 2006 12:21:55 PM
Well, there certainly are a lot of assumptions flying around here about what technical writers can do. It certainly seems like those in marketing communications professions somehow fancy themselves as more professional, and just plain better than a "technical writer with FrameMaker." But let's face facts. Techical Writers should be:
1. Advocates for the user
2. Skilled enough to add useful design elements
3. Able to convey complex user information in an easy to read way
If they're not doing this, you don't have the correct Technical Writer in place.
My educational background is in tech writing, and I currently work in marketing communications. These jobs aren't as different as some of you are trying to make them.
Posted by: Keith Hoffman | Aug 30, 2006 12:58:36 PM
on the opposite side of keith here, I don't think a lot of people on here are giving the right credit to designers. I see your point Keith, there are definitely technical writers who can create great manuals, but the point is there aren't that many. However, I think the # of writers who are good designers are a lot less than designers who can work with good copy. This is something we are trained to do (those who have been trained right that is). It's something we do every day, why should user manuals be any different.
Great post Kathy, we have a client we absolutely MUST put this kind of debate in front of. I think this problem goes WAY beyond user manuals too. This principal can be applied in the use of the actual product, customer service/support, websites, etc.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Posted by: bryan | Aug 30, 2006 1:59:04 PM
I'm all for better written user manuals that are more attractively designed to enhance clarity and functionality and that project the desired brand and image. I don't favor glossy full-color publications that unnecessarily add to the overall costs passed on to me though.
Posted by: Jeffrey | Aug 30, 2006 2:10:21 PM
This post reminds me of my boyhood. Whenever my parents bought me a nintendo game I always looked forward to the posters, competitions and booklets that came with the game, almost as much as the game itself. This made me want to buy even more games in the future. I think nintendo, sony e.t.c have lost that now as they rush to cut costs. But still, we could learn a lot from toy companies.
Posted by: Igwe | Aug 30, 2006 2:22:00 PM
This is simply one of the greatest oversights made in marketing. And even worse are the manuals that have about 45 different languages packed into one booklet. The actual cost of translating the copy for each language is marginal.
I think the key reason is the reluctance to committ marketing spend post-product.
Posted by: Nic Mitham | Aug 30, 2006 2:40:13 PM
I guess the better way to figure out what your customer wants is to ask them. Would your customer want a fancy design full of information that is of no use to them? Or would your customer want to be able to find what they need quickly, and solve their problem without having to call support. Information design is part of that equation, but that doesn't mean it has to be on glossy paper with fancy pictures.
Give your customer a usable, clear, and concise manual, and they'll love you for it. We have clients rave about one of our software manuals and frankly, it's a very basic design. But the information lets them do exactly what they need to do, without having to call us.
Posted by: Keith Hoffman | Aug 30, 2006 2:46:53 PM
I kind of agree, the whole point is that regardless of weather you are a user or a new customer you should have all the information presented in a clear logical and attractive manner.
However, it would be market suicide to only concentrate on exiting users, becasue eventually the user base would diminish or at least not grow as quickly
Posted by: Richard Michie | Aug 30, 2006 2:51:37 PM
Does anybody mention cost here? Creating a 4-page marketing brochure in full color on glossy paper is cool...but who can afford to do that with, for example, a 100 page software manual? You still need the descriptive text and index, and, as you add graphics and white space, the number of pages grows. If your product sells for $100, who can afford to spent $xx a copy to print a pretty, full-color manual on glossy paper? And pay for the extra weight in shipping costs? I know that I always have to balance detailed information/attractiveness/time spent/number of pages/cost to duplicate/cost to ship.
Posted by: mary | Aug 30, 2006 3:32:51 PM
I see and understand your point, Kathy, and another great topic from you. However, I see things a little different. A few things come to mind here...
1. As already stated above many times, the goals are different. To me, isn't that the #1 thing to remember when meeting user needs? "What is the user trying to accomplish?" For a user manual, usually it is a specific question, which leads to an index, which leads to a specific set of instuctions on how to accomplish. Would it help if a design made the user manual into a good design? Maybe. Just don't lose sight of the goal.
2. This already happens with Quick Start Guides. Most quick start guides are more sexy than their user manual counterparts.
3. What if we did the opposite... what if tech writers wrote the brochureware? Hmmm... Google built quite a cash cow by not being evil and keeping things simple, something many don't seem interested in following. Amazon continues to grow despite not having a marketing budget or department. Traditional marketing is not the answer to everything, and I say that having product marketing in my day-to-day responsibilities :)
4. What I didn't see mentioned is each customer touchpoint, whether it's through a user manual, a call center, or the product itself, is an opportunity to reinforce the brand and product experience. From that perspective, I wholeheartedly agree that user manuals can use a dose of marketing.
Posted by: James V. Reagan | Aug 30, 2006 3:45:40 PM
I think that this article makes a very valid point, but are taking it to an unnecessary extreme.
Users are more important than prospects, since it is much easier to get repeat business from people who already know who you are. They already bought into your branding, and "get" what you are all about. Companies would be foolish to slight their users and ignore this ready-built audience.
The thing is that most of the customers probably only found you in the first place because of your fancy advertising. And contrary to what the article says, a product's quality is never determined by the glossiness of its manual.
The product itself is what gets repeat business.
Posted by: Mike | Aug 30, 2006 4:08:14 PM
The sad fact is that many marketers could care less about what they've sold, as long as they've sold lots of it.
Posted by: Ceron | Aug 30, 2006 5:39:56 PM
Keith Hoffman,
I agree with you that Marcomm and tech writing aren't far apart. My point when making the "tech writer with framemaker comment, was that Tech Writers should manage the content/copy NOT design and layout. Designers should manage the layout direction, and Marketing should stay as far away from it as possible....except to ensure the correct copyrights, etc. are being managed.
Posted by: jt | Aug 30, 2006 5:48:30 PM
There have been a number of comments that seem to have a similar theme: either "users don't want that" (ie. that's not what the manuals are for), or "it wouldn't work"
Isn't this the whole basis of the industry of creating after market "howto" books?
While there may be some argument about how effective these books typically are, their presence should be a good indicator that some users _do_ want them - and that there is every reason to think that it can be made to work.
I might be an odd one out here but I know that when I'm trying to achieve some particular goal with a product - if I reach for the manual, the last thing that I'm after is "simple". My soul motivation is "will it tell me how to do the thing that I want to do?"
Which ultimately gets back to the design of the product. If there was a clear vision about the end goals that this product was going to help to achieve, then any supporting manuals and material should be designed to help the user achieve those goals.
Most of the manuals that I've read in the past have done a passable job of dealing with the stuff that you have probably already guessed how to use anyway - but completely fail to address (or even worse, pay only lip service to) the more difficult things that you want to achieve when you make your way up the learning curve.
It's like there's an invisible gravity feed centered around the "suck zone"; the further away from the centre you get the harder the product and the supporting material make it to go further.
Of course, I'm sure that the Headrush team have a vested interest in this area - are we about to hear the begining of a sideline into "user manual consultancy" from the good folk at Headrush? ;-)
Posted by: omni | Aug 30, 2006 6:02:50 PM
Brilliant post.
Posted by: Alex Krupp | Aug 30, 2006 8:52:14 PM
This is something Apple excels at. After you bring your new mac or iPod home, it's quite a joy to open up the packaging.
Posted by: Dan | Aug 30, 2006 9:18:18 PM
In this article, what I like most is the idea. Why not to make your Manual as attractive as your advertisement?
I am a technical writer. I have to confess that I am the one who makes boring manual.
The reason is simple. Cost! The manual is one of the cost in products budget.
The Product Manager will ask you to produce a more cheaper manual for cost down just like what they have done to the product!
However, I think what Kathy said is not to make a manual looks like a brochure but to make a manual more user-friendly.
A user-friendly Manual is the one we need to work on. But How?
User-friendly is equal to Usability
And it should be
1. Easy to use
2. Easy to learn
3. Make a user satisfied
The first two is easy, but the third one is hard...
Maybe Kathy and others can help me?
Posted by: kfjien | Aug 30, 2006 9:37:49 PM
I can't speak for manuals in general, but in relation to nikon, I think you are selling them short.
The printed manual is only one aspect of their immediate aftermarket support. Check out digitutor for some of their additional support. It's better than any manual and is direct support for D200 users. They have similar material avalable for other products as well:
http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d200/index.shtml
These days, a printed manual is only one way that companies can service their customers. The internet and everything it offers provides a much better medium and I am glad that Nikon have invested money in providing digitutor.
Posted by: Peter | Aug 30, 2006 9:47:41 PM
There is one point that I have not seen addressed here—that of how users actually USE manuals. Most manuals are not designed to be read (at least, not in a linear, cover-to-cover fashion), and for good reason, because most of the time, users don't read them that way.
A good manual should enable the user to find exactly what they need as quickly as possible, explain it as simply and in as few words as necessary, and let them get on with more important things.
Posted by: Martin Polley | Aug 30, 2006 11:32:33 PM
Risk Risk Risk....
Posted by: Eric | Aug 30, 2006 11:36:54 PM
Now let me see. Should Marketing people create the manuals as well as the brochures?
Would this be the same Marketing people who regularly promise more, sometimes much more, than a company's products can realistically deliver? According to one survey in the UK, 80% of customers do not expect that what Marketing has promised them is what they will experience. And 80% of them are still disappointed when they don't!
No, I am not so sure that trusting the creation of accurate, honest, helpful manuals should be within the domain of marketing.
But what about bringing customers in to help write the manuals. After all, they are the ones who are going to have to read the manuals. They are the ones who really know how to use the products. And they are the ones who know what outcomes they are looking to achieve through using the products. Ergo, it follows that they should be involved in writing the manuals to.
Ask yourself: Who are you going to believe? Marketing, or other customers just like you?
Graham Hill
Independent marketing consultant and reluctant manual reader.
Posted by: Graham Hill | Aug 31, 2006 2:45:45 AM
Thanks for the kudos, folks - much appreciated, especially as my approach was rather less appreciated when I tried (for years) to implement it at my previous job.
As I saw it, everything we learned from customers (and elsewhere) should be fed back into the website (for fast, stop-gap solutions), product design and documentation, and support / service procedures. My own small team of online commandoes tried to do this, but met resistance from other groups within the company, most of them highly territorial and uninterested in cooperating with each other, even where that would have been far better for the customer.
My current job carries the title "Director of Customer Experience" - which, in a very small startup, is less impressive than it sounds, but I hope it's the foundation for doing things right (i.e., MY WAY!) this time around, and getting the correct corporate culture in place from the very beginning. Wish me luck!
Posted by: Deirdre' Straughan | Aug 31, 2006 3:13:29 AM
Console video games used this philosophy for years before they discovered the market for strategy guides.
Posted by: Doug Feldmann | Aug 31, 2006 7:29:09 AM
Getting engineering people to review documents is hard enough. Marketing-- not thinking so. Companies would probably get the most bang for their buck by having their Marketing group making their image libraries available to the doc people and also ponying up for their doc people to take a class or two in visual design and also instructional design.
The usual complaint about the hopelessness/uselessness of manuals usually comes about from the doc writer bias-- actually pride in anal-retentiveness-- to shove everything into some location in the manual. But providing gateways into that information through organization that anticipates likely questions then visual design (even simple things like the strategic use of sub-headings and bolding) that subtly guides the reader and the tracking of their eye mentally get lopped into spending too much time on "making it pretty," i.e., "you sure do have a lot of extra time on your hands...."
Posted by: gregg | Aug 31, 2006 8:32:20 AM
I have to say i have never really thought about why the user manuals are dreary.
As a customer, you need good documentation to understand the tool that I am buying. I am all for forcing the companies to produce better manuals that is if not anything else, good looking.
Posted by: Balaji M | Aug 31, 2006 9:40:35 AM
It's funny because whenever I call a company and they say press 1 for sales and press 2 for customer service. I guarantee it always takes less time when you go through sales.
Posted by: frum | Aug 31, 2006 12:15:06 PM
I agree. As an example, how many times have you purchased a new software package (e.g. Dreamweaver or Photoshop) and instead of using the inch thick dry as a bone manual or Classroom in a Book that came with it, gone out and purchased a Scott Kelby or New Riders book and used that to learn the package. Perhaps they could include one of those books instead and have a technical manual as a PDF on the CD.
Posted by: Anthony | Aug 31, 2006 12:38:43 PM
Kathy, this same subject has been on my mind too - it's funny how you can sum up the problem so well - i took a little different path on the same subject:
http://newpersuasion.typepad.com/new_persuasion/2006/08/mini_in_a_commi.html
thanks, nellie
Posted by: nellie lide | Aug 31, 2006 2:04:39 PM
I'm normally a mommyblogger, but I play a help-manual writer on TV. I'm currently struggling through online help, and it ain't easy. We're doing our best to sort through how to make the information look yummier, because research has shown that type that looks easy to read IS easy to read.
I've written technical manuals before, and boy do I wish I knew then what I know now.
Posted by: dorothy | Aug 31, 2006 3:09:37 PM
Hi Kathy. As always, great observation. Why do the manuals look like a last-second addition to the box? Why are they printed on something that's slightly higher grade than toilet paper? Because most manufacturers (a) figure you've already bought the product, so you're already trapped and (b) every manufacturer is trying to save a nickel here and there. I just spent the last few minutes looking around my house for a product I own with a killer manual. I can't find any. The closest I can come on this is my original Apple Macintosh. I remember buying it in 1984 and feeling very impressed by the high-gloss paper they used on the docs; they were certainly part of an overall highly effective and attractive package. I'm a pack rat, so they're probably still somewhere down in my basement. That was the first and last Apple product I ever bought. Does Apple still spend lavishly on their docs?...
Posted by: Joe Wikert | Aug 31, 2006 5:46:12 PM
You are right on the money.
I've questioned myself often the same. I've had several experiences as an existing, long-term user, who felt left aside, mistreated and just plain screwed, when big companies (don't want to put name here) were giving better treatment, special offers to new custommers, while people like me who were there from almost the beginning had no consideration. Sign up now and have three months free, or half the price for the whole year... crap I've been paying full price for the last 6 years!!!
Oh, you already bought our product, so don't bother us with stupid questions.
I dropped the first company and since then have been an advocate of how bad the company is to whomever would ask me.
I still feel sour, and hurt and just plain bad :(
Posted by: escorial | Aug 31, 2006 6:12:10 PM
The main problem with user docs is the time factor. I've been contracting for quite a while now, and most times I walk into a situation where there are 5 products going out in 3 months, and the company has piles of info in varying states of completeness. Plus the fact that all the docs are written by different people, and look and sound nothing alike.
So, all a writer can do is a quick and dirty pass to get the docs completed and out the door.
There is just too much resistance (even in positions where I've been a full-time writer) to giving the tech writers the ability to jazz up the user docs. It's hard enough getting the right tools for manipulating graphics and photos, let alone the time to be integrated early enough into a project to realistically affect the outcome of the final product. Most of the time, documentation falls in the last 2 months of the schedule, and the mentality is to just crank it out and be done with it.
Posted by: charlierb | Sep 1, 2006 12:53:14 PM
Well said.
Posted by: Lance Fisher | Sep 2, 2006 12:30:15 PM
Here's a question. Why do we have to PAY for car manuals? I recently bought a used car and it came w/o the manual (a prize on used vehicles).
I checked the manufacturer's website to see that I can buy one for $10. Just this morning I couldn't find the manual for my Netgear router, but lo and behold, it was a free PDF on Netgear's site.
Auto manufacturer's don't charge you to get a copy of their brochures, but do if you want a manual to use their product?
Seeing as how the auto dealerships are getting more Starbucky with having perks in their waiting areas, how about addressing this no brainer?
Posted by: Eric | Sep 3, 2006 7:20:27 PM
There is/was a discussion about this post over at the TECHWR-L Mailing List (Techwriters discussing everything which touches their profession).
Go to the archives and look in August and September for the title of Kathys post:
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/archives/archives.html
Posted by: Jens | Sep 5, 2006 1:15:09 AM
When I began writing software manuals 15 years ago, I started out simultaneously handling the first line of support, and quickly realized that documentation and support were "post-sales" sales - if a customer doesn't like what you provide after the sale, they won't likely be back, and their word of mouth advertising will be bad.
Now. Customers aren't necessarily looking for eye candy in a user's manual; at least not to the degree of a brochure.
Color, well used, is desireable and graphically informative. More valuable to the user, though, are reference-friendly electronic manuals such as PDF help files with internal links(as mentioned by Anthony and Eric), or online help (as mentioned by Dorothy). When done right, these are easier to use and more intuitive than paging through a print manual.
If more tech writers understood this, documentation content might become better, and if more marketing execs understood this, "state of the art documentation" might become a selling point.
Posted by: Kurt Brungraber | Sep 8, 2006 9:02:34 AM
INteresting that you should use Nikon as the example for this topic. I actually purchased the D200 after reading a friends *user manual* - not the marketing material, which I collected only because the sales person pushed it in my hands (it went in the recycle bin the second I got home - unopened)
I know I am probably a freak that I like usable easy to read information that gets to the point over untrsutworthy over designed drival... but I have to say that for my Nikons use manual told me everything I needed to know to make the purchase decision, AND it rocks (simple design and all) in terms of learning to use the camera. I often pull it out and re-read sections when I am bored in order to "remind" me of the features I dont use so often.
Posted by: Kevin | Sep 13, 2006 6:03:37 AM
I think the statement that everyone is mis-reading is this one "Let's take the whole damn ad/marketing budget and move it over to product manuals and support."
The BUDGET, not the people!
Ohh what I, as a technical writer, could do with the marketing budget. I pride myself in being able to write technical documentation, AND have it look good to the user. Sure it's not as glossy or photo heavy as the marketing stuff but that's because I don't have the time/resource/money.
I DO like this approach though.
Posted by: Gordon | Sep 14, 2006 8:31:56 AM
Lomo Cameras do an incredible job of this.
Their store displays (at least in Tsutaya stores here in Japan) are half examples of cool photos taken with their cameras, and half incredibly cool manuals full of colorful illustrations and great photos.
When I've left the technique/inspiration book that came with my Supersampler on my desk, people have looked through it and asked where I bought it. It looks that good.
And not to get all fanboy on ya, but their whole website is just killer user-food: www.lomography.com
Posted by: Saleem | Sep 21, 2006 12:02:26 AM
"Manuals don't need marketing folk anywhere near them. Designers, sure, but not marketing. Manuals are supposed to be helpful, not full of lies".
Wow. if your maketing folk have to lie to sell your product you probably have a terrible product.
I was reminded of this post after we purchased an infrared thermometer for our daughter. The device is really simple to use, just put it in your ear and press the button and one second later you have the results.
The manual however is totally incomprehensible. It is obviously written by a technically correct and highly accurate and detailed engineer, then translated into english by someone who does not have a complete grasp of the language. The result is hilarious and sad at the same time. I am convinced the device has many more features than I can decipher from the text, but I cannot be bothered.
Kathy is right. The brochures, posters, stickers, flyers, ads, etc are glossy, beautiful productions. The manuals do nothing to *sell* me the features of the device I have just purchased. They are boring, grey, dull, highly detailed and excruciatingly correct. Why are they not enjoyable to read? Why isn't it exciting the learn about your new toy?
Posted by: Andrew | Nov 20, 2006 5:17:28 AM
This article is spot on. Tom Peters wrote about the same thing in his book about design. It is als discussed on many sales and marketing websites. Sales and Marketing Help ( http://www.salesandmarketinghelp.com ) has similar content under their section on developing brochures. According to Peters, the designers should be involved in every area of a business, especially technical manuals and company documents.
Posted by: Joe Bottone | Nov 24, 2006 9:08:38 AM
A nice post for sure.
In an ideal world we'd spend just as much on the brochure as we do on the manual.
I've worked in-house for a large charity and they thankfully had the sense to run all the organisational documents through me so that the staff are treated just as well as the customer.
There should be a trackback on the way soon enough.
Ciao.
Posted by: David Airey | Dec 12, 2006 2:58:43 AM
enjoi
Posted by: srihari c s | Jun 1, 2007 12:33:11 AM
