Greater Choice Fewer Sales

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The truth is, customers in the market for a product or service aren’t always clear about the problem they’re looking to solve and the variety of ways potential solutions can solve it. That means creating awareness around our solutions is critical when it comes to winning the attention of our buyers. But equally important is the ability to shape our customer’s journey, needs, and requirements so that they intersect with our solution.



You might think that the incredible choice in solutions croatia telegram data and product variations that exists in today’s market, combined with the widespread availability of research, insights, and reviews, has made it easier for buyers to pick the best solutions for them. But you would be wrong.

In 2000, a series of behavioral science experiments were conducted by Columbia and Stanford University researchers to investigate the impact of choice on decision-making. In one experiment the researchers set up a display of gourmet jams in an upscale supermarket. All the jams were made by the same manufacturer, and customers were allowed to sample them as they walked by. To examine the impact of choice the researchers varied the number of jam flavors available to the customers. In one case, six varieties were available. In another, a whopping twenty-four varieties were presented.



The results: of the customers who were exposed to the twenty-four-variety display, only 3 percent went on to make a purchase. When the choice was limited to only six, that number increased tenfold, to 30 percent!

In another example, Procter & Gamble found that when they reduced the number of versions of their popular Head & Shoulders shampoo from twenty-six to fifteen, sales increased by 10 percent. While conventional wisdom might lead us to believe more choice is better, too much choice can often confuse customers. This causes them to disengage from their evaluation process, resulting in the dreaded “no decision” with which modern sellers are all too familiar.



Top Sellers Move From Reactive to Prescriptive
Research from Gartner has shown the same to be true. When the burden of choice is imposed on customers, who are left to approach providers with questions and challenges (in other words, reactive selling), they report a decrease in the ease with which their purchasing decisions are made. They also express far greater regret for their purchases, wondering if they made the right choice, or if another solution would have been a better fit.