I remember learning the law of energy conservation at school — the total energy in a system remains constant, it’s just transferred from one place to another. Well, the same is true when there's a customer and service provider.

If some writing is easy to read, for example, it’s not because it tumbled out onto the keyboard that way. It's because the author slaved over every word — hence Blaise Pascal’s witty remark, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”

When user interfaces have an intuitive obviousness to them, you can bet they didn't start life that way. Rather, those creating them had the discipline, diligence and bloodymindedness to keep refining them.

It’s also true in the broader realm of CX. When processes can be completed quickly, easily and reliably; when there are thoughtful details that convey care and attention; it’s because there was care and attention.

Achieving effortlessness demands great effort from the provider — there's no way around it. So what should we do?

Start earlier. Narrow the scope. Approach the task systematically, and keep going. Ask yourself: "Is it as easy as it can be? If not, why not?"

When you're satisfied — having spent all that effort — you can bet your customers will appreciate spending none.

See this post on LinkedIn