New, Easy Open Cap!

Some product improvements are just bad business.

If you've ever opened a jar of Hellman's mayonnaise, you might have had to struggle through the shrink-wrapped tamper-evidence seal. I usually have to grab a knife out of a nearby drawer to slice open the plastic. Some products use a perforated vertical strip to make it easier. Others use a hard plastic tear-strip that pulls right to left. The Hellman's jar I opened today had a better experience.

There was a big sticker on top exclaiming New, Easy Open Cap! ...something I didn't notice as I grabbed it off the shelf. There was no plastic shrink-wrap and no tear-strip. All I had to do was spin the cap open just like I do normally and listen for the snapping sound as it opened for the first time. Better? Sure. But do I really care? No.

Although I regularly felt the inconvenience of the tamper-evidence seal, it NEVER occurred to me that I should switch brands to make it easier to open. Or that I should use less mayo. ...which leads me to the point. Hellman's no doubt went through focus groups, re-engineering, changes to the manufacturing process, and lots of other costs to make this simple change. If it doesn't cause someone to buy who wouldn't have already bought, then all of that cost was unjustified.

I see the same type of moves in technology product sales. Vendors spend time and money building and delivering features that won't influence sales. I know that a group of useless features could be bundled into some category like "innovative" that makes people buy, but that misses the point.

My point is simple. Prioritize the road map based on what will deliver real value to buyers. And don't waste money on improving the tamper-evidence seal – even if the new seal is considered super cool by everyone in the industry. Increased value for customers is the only clear indicator of money well spent.