How convenient is technology after all?

“I’m heading to Australia next week. I wonder how the weather is going to be like next week!” I said to one of my friends and as I spoke he Googled up about my question and showed me the response. Google anticipated rain for the upcoming week. I packed the right clothing and I must say that it rained for a couple of days. Now, you can say that this is a perfect example of technology offering convenience. But as we are continuously driven by this pretext, what we fail to notice is that we belong to that generation where technology slowly seeped in to our lives. We are that bunch of population, who could gradually understand technology and adapt to it. Needless to say about the younger generation, who are born with the gift of swiping right and left, we are the perfect transition from our parents’ generation to the generation Y.

As we constantly feel grateful for the gift of technology, have we failed to notice its actual purpose? Does it completely help our previous generation get the convenience they could just see from afar? Is it really mattering where it is supposed to? Instagram, Facebook, YouTube are at the crux of tech revolutions, agreed. But is technology for the common man that’s about it?

In the Indian market, where technology is playing a crucial role in shaping our lifestyle and economy, how’s it helping our elders into using them for a specific purpose? To find out the answers to it, just think of an instance when your parents or an elderly acquaintance shared with you an app or a feature that you didn’t know of. Can you? Very rarely, right? The problem lies there.

For instance, banking and online transactions benefits that every elder must know are complex for them to understand. The very purpose of online transactions is to avoid people from stepping into a bank for basic purposes. And if it’s not serving where it is supposed to, how can technology have a massive reach here? It’s only after a long struggle that our previous generation is using WhatsApp, learning how to create groups, upload photos and videos and share things online.

To answer all this, we’ve to think from the branding, usability, and positioning perspectives. Consumer-centric is the key, agreed, but which class of consumer is the question. Today, it’s our elders who are more excited about the introduction of new apps and features than us. So, if you’re an app developer or a brand owner into technology-driven products and services, you need to cater your requirements to the potential previous Generation W users. Develop your product or service keeping in mind their levels of understanding and usability. If they don’t find it hard to use, trust me, we and our younger generations, too.

There’re a lot of convenient apps and services coming into the market, if you cannot cater to the ones who need it, your brand or business is positioned wrongly. When it’s positioned wrongly, you’re losing out on the most loyal customers. So, if you’re in the phase of creating a new brand or a business, keep this class of consumers in mind. As a product developer, you’d be proud of your creation. But only when a fresh pair of eyes look into it that you realize the flaws! To position your brands, get assistance from the experienced pros and get started with making an impact. Good luck!