In Time magazine’s review of the decade it followed up on the software pirates who threatened to undermine the publishing industry by creating file-sharing software. One bullet point was particularly interesting – the way to compete with free on the internet was to make something easy. This is partly why the pirates did not win. Free is not enough.

Today, Google has launched its bookstore online. On the front page is a great list of benefits of its web reader:

• Unlimited storage of ebooks
• 2-page reading mode
• Search within book
• Adjust text size, typeface, line space, justification
• Free samples of books
• Information about book
• Worry-free archive

The last bullet is particularly compelling as so many people worry about shopping on the internet or storing stuff on the internet.

In his book Linchpin, Seth Godin writes about Marissa Mayer, who works for Google. Her job is to make interfaces work. She makes sure that the start page has the smallest number of words on it as this makes Google easier to use.

What has this to do with your shop? Think about the seven benefits you offer shoppers. List them. How do they compare with Google’s?

Think about Marissa Mayer’s job. Who does it in your business? Who solves the shoppers’ problems before they know that they are going to be problems? More on this in my next blog.