I’ve been a Vinyl, Me Please customer since January 2015. Back then things were pretty basic. For roughly $25/month they would send you a “Record of the Month”, along with a custom art print and cocktail recipe. It was cool, and helped to expand my musical palate quite a bit.

But sometime over the over the past year or so they kicked things into high gear. VMP now offers a “Classics” track (my favorite!) and a “Hip Hop” track in addition to their “Essentials” track (the original “Record of the Month”). But what’s even more apparent now is how Vinyl Me, Please has grown into a role model of how to provide value to music lovers in the digital era. The thought and care that went into this month’s “Essentials” release proves it once again.

I noticed yet another example yesterday. The Vinyl Me, Please store now shows the “nutrition content” of each record they sell:

Ask any vinyl collector and they will tell you how much this small detail improves the shopping experience. This is all the information we usually have to hunt for on product pages and do multiple Google searches about — but presented in a consistent, easy-to-read format. It’s such a relief and a breath of fresh air.

I’ve seen quite a few attempts to define “product thinking” lately. This example, to me, sums it up perfectly. “Product thinking” means gaining a deep understanding of what users need and what kind of friction they experience, and then providing a product solution that makes that friction go away in a delightful way.