Spoiled for Choice

People are prone to embracing choice, and why not? It is intuitional to think that the greater the choice a person has, the greater their happiness. But are we truly satisfied with having a plethora of options?

There are psychological factors associated with choice that have a negative effect on both consumers and advertisers. If these dynamics are addressed, it should be possible to increase sales and satisfaction levels.

Although consumers demand choice, is it beneficial for advertisers to provide it? Not necessarily. A study set in a real-life context of sampling demonstrated that the more choices people are given, the less likely they are to make a purchase. Two tables were set up, one with 30 jams and the other with six. The shoppers were offered a sample and a discount coupon for their next purchase of jam. Of those who had more choice, only 3% actually bought jam, yet of the consumers with less choice, 30% purchased jam.

Having a choice can also increase the dissatisfaction with a purchase. People feel negative emotions when having chosen from a large selection of products, because they worry they have made a poor decision, which harbours cognitive dissonance. The newer theories in psychology, such as Behavioural Decision Theory, claim that people do not really have preferences. Instead, consumers create their preferences after the event in order to appear rational; and to ease the dissonance of the possibility of having made the wrong choice.

Having an excess of options makes it increasingly difficult for the consumer to make each choice through logic and rationality; there is only so much the human brain can process. Assessing choice takes time and energy and consumers claim these two resources as increasingly important yet deteriorating from their lives. In addition to this, brand and product choices are usually prone to advertiser influence and the average person will be exposed to over 16,000 messages a day. The mind cannot process all of these messages equally, so it is vital for advertisers to stand out.

In this world of consumerism, it is unlikely that advertisers will stop providing choice – there will always be a lead brand with multiple product lines and variants as well as numerous competitors. So companies need to assess how best to connect with their consumers and cut through the choice on offer.

A good strategy for achieving this cut-through is to target your product lines to niche audiences. If you can engage a concentrated, focused and listening group with your single solution, you will eliminate the element of choice. If your product lives up to its promises, competing messages will be deterred. This will ultimately encourage your consumer to seek out, repurchase and recommend your product and brand.

Check out Seth Godin’s tips for artificially limiting your choices: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/04/the-paralysis-of-unlimited-opportunity.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail