There are other times though when we become overwhelmed with information and there are too many choices. We become more efficient by reducing the distractions and inputs in our environment. When we are in a parking lot and turn off the radio as we look for a spot – as if the radio would confuse us too much.
The lesson for me is that there comes a time when there is too much information and the messaging gets lost. I had an experience this past week that reminded me of this fact. Hungry and exhausted as I am recovering from a chest cold that seemingly half the country has, I went to my local Asian Box looking for a quick meal.
I would think that a restaurant would want their customer to have an easy time ordering. In many ways it’s the key to the success of many a fast food chain like In-N-Out – they have burgers, fries, and shakes. That’s it. Limited menu – easy to order fast production. Asian Box is the exact opposite of this. They have a “make your own” plan, pick the rice, pick the protein choose from a bevy of veggies, and sauces. And they have a selection of house combinations.
Maybe it was because I’m still in a bit of a mental fog from this sickness, or maybe since I was hungry my brain was operating slowly, or maybe because the menu is too complex I couldn’t figure out what to order so I just defaulted to a Chicken Curry without reading what was really in it since there were a dozen different things that go into this meal. So was I happy with this meal? Meh. It was okay – made to the specifications of the company I’m sure. Was it really what I wanted? No.
I couldn’t figure out what I really wanted because there were too many choices. I know, I know, there are starving people in the world, but the reality is this – too many choices make it hard for the buyer to decide and they will default to either NO choice, or you have to give them something easy to choose.
For the empowered entrepreneur the answer must always be to ease the buyer into a smooth choice. If there are too many options, the consumer will shut down, and the sale will be lost. It is better to have a single, clear, message than to have too many possibilities for turning the buyer off.
A confused mind chooses nothing. To increase your sales rate, make your message cleaner and tighter with fewer options. Like Henry Ford said, “They can have any color they want – so long as it’s black.” – He sold a lot of Model Ts that way….