Oh, if only Choosing were that easy!
Double chocolate Frappuccino? Caramel Macchiato? Chai Latte? Orange-mango-banana vivanno blend? Hot? Cold? Creamy? Skinny? Is more choice better? Possibly not, says Columbia Business Professor Sheena Iyengar. “Sometimes choice isn’t enough, and sometimes choice is too much.”
“Choice overload” does not always work in your favor. Keep in mind the ‘power of seven, plus or minus two’ (thanks to Princeton Professor George Miller). Seven appears to be the magic number our brain can handle. Many studies have confirmed that once we try to compare more than seven objects, we start to make mistakes. This applies to taste, smell, sight . . . and making choices.
Fewer choices result in 10x more sales.
Consider the “jam study,” discussed in Iyegnar’s book, The Art of Choosing. At Draeger’s, an upscale supermarket in Menlo Park, California, Iyengar set up a tasting booth showcasing different flavors of jam. Customers bought 10 times more jam when they selected from a sampling of only six, compared with a choice of 24. How many choices do you give your customers?
Fewer choices, faster decisions.
Iyengar’s study shows that a person’s willingness to engage in a business deal such as purchase a product , take out a loan or enroll in a savings plan – actually decreases when the final decision requires making a choice based on a larger list of options. In fact, fewer choices means more and quicker decisions. So what’s a reasonable number of options? Consider your customer and then decide. Younger customers can typically process more options. Boomers often prefer to see a clear winner. Give them what they want.
Culture and the Pepsi Challenge.
Is there really a difference? When Ieyengar led a study in Moscow and asked MBA students to choose one from an assortment of seven different soda cans, she got little response. Rather than debate the merits of Coke, Pepsi and different variations of flavors, fizz and taste, the Moscow students replied, “What does it matter? It’s all one choice – soda.” Although many European students recognized the ads and knew the jingles, they saw their choice as one between soda and not soda. Culture plays an important part in the ability to see differences and appreciate choices. When asked what choice means to him, a professional from an ex-communist country replied, “fear.”
So Many choices . . .
Choice comes with benefits, but too much choice, sometimes comes with feelings of overwhelm. Harness your options. Save your energy for important choices, and more important, help your customers with theirs.
