Turn a Feature Flop Into A User Benefit

I’ve just recently purchased a Kindle and have to say that I have been loving it.  It’s a totally different experience from a book, but it has its place — namely next to my bedside.

One fault of the Kindle, that I quickly tuned into, was that it didn’t have matching page numbers to the real book.  This makes it really hard to reference for other readers in a review or a book club.

Another feature fault is that you can’t skip from chapter to chapter.  So if you’re one of those people that likes to read the end of the book first — you can’t.  At least I haven’t figured out how yet.

Kindle Has an Update

I just received notice that Kindle is sending us a software update (via WIFI) and that this update will indeed include page numbers that you can reference.  But when I read the description of the update I just about fell off my chair.  CHECK THIS OUT —

Real Page Numbers
Many titles in the Kindle Store now include real page numbers, making it easy to reference and cite passages and read alongside someone reading the print book in a book club or class. Page numbers will also be available on our free “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” Kindle apps in the coming months. As with all of Kindle’s features, we want you to lose yourself in the author’s words, so page numbers and locations are only displayed when you press the Menu button.

Did you see that last sentence?   “We want you to get lost in the author’s words! ” Isn’t that just the most beautiful, kind and virtuous description you’ve ever heard?  I get it — and it is really a terrific thought.  But THE FIRST thing I noticed with the Kindle was that the page numbers were these strange digital reference points.   It wasn’t a deal breaker, but it certainly meant I couldn’t reference a page in my reviews because I didn’t know what page it was.  It was a missing feature.

Turn Lemons Into Lemonade

This is a lesson to all of us who have product to sell and features and benefits to create.  ANY feature or lack of a feature can become a benefit.  You just have to look at it from a creative perspective.

Have you got a feature flop that you can turn into a terrific benefit?  Share it here!