BC Business
Affluence creates so many choices, he said, that it’s almost impossible to make a “right” decision.
One result of too much choice is the rise of the person who will help you make that choice. Because we have too many options that take up all our time and energy, we let someone else do it for us.
Think the personal shopper, or other “expert” who will help you sift through your options. Think of the whole new group of people who have emerged to help businesses “survive” the current economic crisis. Think of the flock of financial advisers advancing a Tower of Babel of options about what to do with your money today.
I hope the new world created by the recession will mitigate this too vast array of choices. But I doubt if it will kill it. More likely it will just move the choices more downmarket. The message will become more about “value” than being the greatest and best and most admired.
In reaction, many people today will simply opt for the lowest-cost choice. It might not be the best one, but frugality is an easy decision-making framework and absolves us of having to think too hard. Unfortunately, it also creates a spiral down to what can often be the worst possible choice.
Businesses had better be cognizant of this new hatred among customers for decision making. So here are some tips for living in this new world of choice:
— Add a layer at the bottom end. Strip your offering to the basics, so it can be cheap, and more important, simple.
— Bundle everything into three choices. Any more than that and you start to confuse people to the point where they don’t bother.
— Provide straight information – drop the marketing speak about such things as “value option” – that guides people to making a suitable choice.
— Most of all, acknowledge that the choice won’t be “perfect”.