When Choice Goes Too Far
Have you ever been to the purse department in the Macy’s in New York? Sweet jeebus – it goes on forever. On my first trip to the Big Apple I walked in the door thinking I was going to buy myself a New York purse, only to stagger out, empty handed, vowing to never try that again. My brain felt like it had been through a blender as images of Coach, Kate Spade, and Louis Vuitton bags spun around my head.
A few years later I saw the exact same experience at an agency where I worked. A coworker was very proud of the fact that he’d come up with 75 concepts to present to a client (who needed a three-ad campaign). He was convinced this prolific display would blow the client away and endear our agency to her forever.
And of course, just the opposite happened. The client started out excited, then got confused, then got border-line angry. After seeing a few concepts she was having a hard time telling them apart. I can’t remember exactly what happened at the end of that meeting, but I do know we didn’t work for that client again beyond that first contract.
When it comes to choice, less really is more. And now, Sheena Iyengar, a social psychologist and management professor at Columbia University Business School, and Mark Lepper, a psychology professor at Stanford University, have proven it.
To quote the article from this website (www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/toomany.aspx): In a 2000 paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP, Vol. 79, No. 6), the team showed that when shoppers are given the option of choosing among smaller and larger assortments of jam, they show more interest in the larger assortment. But when it comes time to pick just one, they’re 10 times more likely to make a purchase if they choose among six rather than among 24 flavors of jam.
This is definitely something to keep in mind next time a client presentation comes up. Going in with a variety of possibilities may feel like a great place to start the conversation, but it’s really overwhelming for the client. Not to mention a clear indication that you aren’t doing your job. As communication professionals, we owe it to the clients to offer a solid recommendation that is backed up with a strategic rationale. Taking a buck-shot “something’s got to stick” approach is either pure laziness, or proof that you can’t think strategically.
And given a choice, clients prefer the professionals who make it easy for them to choose.
Thanks Margaret. I was just working on a THIRD set of headlines (for three’s sake) and woke up to the fact that 1 strong set is all they need.
Great conversation Margaret — In one of our international project a few years ago, we experienced something similar. I was doing leadership and organizational work with the health care system in Russia and Siberia. I was there for part of the work and then hosted several Doctors and Nurses in Canada for educational visits. One Doctor spoke fairly good English and when we walked through a Mall, he watched his colleagues trying on clothes and then came to me and said in English with a thick Russian accent — “Too Much Choice Causes Stress”
So very true. Thanks for saying it out loud. You only need to see a client’s eyes glaze over once to know what you’ve done to them and to all your hard work. Too much doesn’t do anyone any good.
Keep writing – I love this stuff.
Indeed..keep writing. Too much choice is not good for a client. Agencies tend to like it…to a point..as well.