Overwhelming Choice

Creating a better brand experience doesn’t mean giving the customer every experience.

We’re constantly being presented with an overwhelming amount of choice. From having to choose between several varieties of toothpaste at the supermarket to figuring out which model of car and it’s add-ons to buy.

We’ve become information rich and time poor. Constantly presented with unnecessary roadblocks towards making a buying decision. Being pulled in too many directions without a clear path on which direction is the right one.

And our brains aren’t designed to digest all this information at once. As such, we’re constantly looking for ways to organize the information we’re given. Trying to make it more accessible and useful for us. When bombarded with too many options, we’re not able to do that, at least not quickly and efficiently.

Google recognized this when they launched their search engine. They saw an opportunity to make something that was simple and streamlined. Promising users the ability to access information quickly. This approach has enabled Google to grow into one of the largest companies in the world.

So why aren’t more companies focused on giving customers a more streamlined experience?

Because that would mean taking away options. And if options are taken away, it means a competitor might have something that company doesn’t. Which leads to the conclusions, if we don’t offer it, our customers will look elsewhere. This makes the prospect of not having something seem like a bad idea, even when less would be better.

Unfortunately, this lane of thinking leads one comprehensive service to look a lot like another comprehensive service, leading towards little differentiation between competitors.

Introducing options for options sake is counterproductive when trying to create meaningful differentiation for your brand.

When there’s less options, it creates opportunity to make the options available the best they can be. Opportunities that make every interaction more meaningful. By creating meaningful interactions, we’re able to create more meaningful experiences. Experiences that add value for our customers and remove confusion.

In a sea of cluttered brands, being clear and simple creates opportunity for differentiation. Giving them something of substance and value than an overwhelming sea of choice.