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The Problem
Caveat Emptor! There are too many options for today's buyer. Just look at the complexity of options that confront you every morning at your favorite coffee shop. The first choice: coffee, latte, espresso, hot chocolate, cider, fruit smoothie. Ummm, latte please. You have inadvertently opened Pandora's box. Hot or cold, milk or soy, fat or low fat, vanilla or hazelnut, foam or no foam, single or double shot, are questions that lead to that stalemate in your brain. En route your unconscious mind perfectly pictured that shot of espresso swimming in hot, frothy skim milk. Now, after the barrage of questions, you are one-by-one going through the checklist presented and answering yes or no. The conscious brain has taken over. Luckily, the conscious brain is a champ when presented many options for such trivial purchases by eliminating the options in a quick and orderly fashion. The total time from start to finish was less than thirty seconds.
The Reason
Do our conscious brains work similar magic with complex, important purchases? The answer, according to recent research, appears to be no. In lab and field experiments conducted by psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis, and later reported in Science magazine, the results revealed that the conscious brain is adept at choosing the correct option when few choices are involved. The conscious, or thinking, brain can often short circuit if presented with too many options. For the experiment groups were told to choose their favorite car after hearing both good and bad features about all cars (four cars in total). The best car, which should be chosen as the favorite car, had three times more positive statements than the worst car. Think of it as comparing a new Cadillac to a 30 year old Ford Pinto. The choice for the favorite car should be obvious and for those in the group that were given 4 features and 4 minutes to think about the cars, it was obvious with almost 60% choosing the best car.
As soon as the features were increased from 4 to 12, however, a little over 20% chose the best car. Simply put, when there are few variables we can think through the options to find the best answer. When there are many options we are paralyzed by the amount and complexity of the information and do not always make the best decision. As a matter of fact, the unconscious brain does a better job of making the right choice in a complex problem than when we deliberately think about it. We tend to simply over analyze when confronted with too many choices. Maybe this is where the term needing to "sleep on it" originates.
Untangled Mobility
Now that the benefits between the unconscious and conscious mind have
been established, how can this impact your relationship with your
customers? Keep the number of options to a minimum or your customer's
decision to purchase may be paralyzed with indecision. After returning
to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs realized the problem of choice. The preceding years of management turmoil had created a highly segmented
and confusing product matrix. Jobs subsequently reduced the number of
product offerings into two product categories – a pro and consumer
line. This made it easy for customers going to the online Apple store
to find the computer that would fit their needs. After selecting
between pro and consumer, the customer could select between "good",
"better", and "best" configurations. By having just three options to
choose between, along with a refreshed design aesthetic, Apple
eventually soared back to success. Finding this balance point for just
enough choice minimizes the barriers for your customers to make a purchasing decision.
Think back to your last, complex purchases that now provide value to the bottom line such as your last press or software upgrade. Did you go with your snap, first instinct? Or did you mull and agonize over the decision? Use those experiences to create a better environment for your customer. Ultimately, the best solution might be to use your conscious to selectively filter out the noise and then use your unconscious, "gut" feeling to make a decision from the information that matters.
Further Reading
Ap Dijksterhuis (2006), On Making the Right Choice: The Deliveration-Without-Attention Effect, Science
