Sell More Stuff: Recipe For Madness
IttyBiz is live, if not on location. Today we’re going to talk about choices. Well, I’m going to talk about choices. You can talk about whatever the hell you like.
During the family drama that shall remain nameless and detailless and that is still in a full-fledged frenzy, I found myself in the gift shop of a major Canadian tourist attraction. (Sorry. That was a lie. I found myself in ONE OF THE GIFT SHOPS of a major Canadian tourist attraction. As in, there are more than one. For the same attraction.)
The gift shop in which I found myself was focused almost entirely on sweets. Candy, candy floss, fudge, pick ‘n’ mix, gobstoppers and jawbreakers, that sort of thing. If my nine-year-old were to die, this would be his heaven.
There’s a new kind of candy floating around in places like this called Pucker Powder. (Aside: I can’t tell you how much it kills me not to call it Puker Powder. You know what? Fuck it, I’m calling it Puker Powder. It’s my blog and I can call it what I want.)
Puker Powder is a powder made of a mixture of sugar and that sour stuff they put on candy. But instead of it covering candy, sour gummy style, it is the candy. Powder in a tube. I’ve seen similar stuff to this before, but it was always prefabricated — pay your five bucks, get your tube o’ powder.
Puker Powder is different. Puker Powder puts the power in the hands of the buyer. You get to pick your powder. Hell, you can pick your powders. You can have a whole bunch of different flavours of powders in one tube. Totally customized, the choice is yours.
How does this happen, you ask? If you’re at all like me, you’d hope that there was a powder representative standing by to funnel your powder into your tube, and that powder representative would bear a striking resemblance to an Oompa Loompa. Tragically, that’s not so. It’s actually set up in a soda fountain style roundabout, with different powder dispensers labeled with their flavours in a big circle.
You could have green apple. You could have white apple. (While we’re on the subject, what the fuck is white apple?) Blue raspberry. (Ditto.) Root beer. Sweet banana. (Unlike those pesky sour bananas we’ve all come to hate.) Watermelon. Etc. There were about twenty flavours in total.
It was a Puker Powder lover’s dream come true.
Now, I don’t want to be the bad guy here and ruin this little Puker Powder Utopia, but I am not a Puker Powder lover. In fact, I’ve never tried Puker Powder. I’ve been dragged into a gift shop and this seems like a good a way to get a sugar high as any other.
There were three of us. Three people with empty 18-inch tubes. And twenty flavours, none of which any of us have ever tried.
Take a moment and imagine how long it took us to fill our little tubes with powder.
We were tired and our feet hurt and we were overwhelmed and had been eating some combination of junk food and hospital food for the better part of a fortnight.
By the time our little tubes (seeming to get less little with each passing minute) were a third of the way through I was threatening to cry “Avast!” and stab the nearest non-Oompa Loompa in the ear. Puker Powder? I’ll give you fucking Puker Powder where it hurts.
There’s a lesson here, people.
Do you remember that old saying, “Too much choice is a recipe for madness”?
Too much choice is actually a recipe for me hurling my candy down in disgust and dragging my kids off to get an overpriced Snickers from the vending machine.
If you must give me every flavour of Puker Powder known to humankind — and that isn’t a BAD idea, because there might be legions of Puker Powder fans breathless at the thought of mixing their own pukey and powdery cocktail — give the non-fans a generic option.
Give me a chocolate and banana one, premade so I can get the fuck out of there in time for Happy Hour. Give me an “assorted” or a “variety” or a “Neapolitan” so you can charge me an exorbitant sum of money and let me get back to swilling a Coors Lite behind the wheel of my rental car.
Next Post: Sell More Stuff: Legitimizing Scarcity
Why is the corollary: if I know *exactly* what I want, the more choices there are, the less likely my choice is available?
[Hospital food. Never a good thing, even when you're eating it to see your friend-the-resident in her only spare five minutes that week.]
Traditional direct marketing has known this for a long time. Ask consumers to make a choice and your response rate will almost always be lower than it will be if you focus on a single offer.
There are two simple reason for this. First, they are busy / distracted, as you eloquently described, and they have already invested time to engage to the degree they have so please don’t make it hard. Which brings us to the second closely related obstacle. The purchase decision process needs to be simple and efficient. Giving them a choice introduces another decision in addition to should I or should I not buy. Now they have to make two decisions which is more than twice the work than one. Should I buy or not, then should I buy this thing or this other thing or not, etc.
Welcome back and I hope everything works out.
That’s why we love you … because you’re a classy dame drinking Coors light in a rental car.
Wait, you’re drinking Coors light? I need to get you to Portland so we can do something about that. Never mind.
Back to the point. It’s the classic “don’t make me think!” that’s true in oh, everything (marketing, web design, usability, etc). The fewer decisions the better, and the choice should always be a no-brainer.
Though easier said than implemented.
Love, support, anything you need … all that stuff flying over the internets in your general direction. Good to have you back …
Ah, how we’ve missed you, chica.
“During the family drama … I found myself in the gift shop of a major Canadian tourist attraction. ”
Could have been worse. Could have been in that sex shop of yours.
This is exactly why I almost dread buying a new TV. Dozens of TVs, all almost exactly the same, except for tiny differences, and WHICH ARE THE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES? WHAT IF I CHOOSE THE WRONG ONE?
Stupid #^%$ super box stores. I wish there was a smaller store that just carried the good stuff so I wouldn’t have to weed through all the crap.
Glad to have you back! (Your return will inspire me to start updating my own blog, even though I didn’t go anywhere.)
So glad to see you back! And I hope everything is OK (or as OK as possible) with the nameless family drama! (((hugs)))
Thank you for posting this, though! I’m in the process of re-developing my site and shopping cart to WordPress. In the process, I’m re-vamping my service listings. You hit it right on the nose that with the current setup, I probably have way too many individual choices.
Thank you for the reminder (in perfect timing, too!) that I just need to create a few “Neapolitan” type combo’s and call it a day.
Glad to see you back. I was getting concerned, although I know you can manage everything that come your way.
Blessings,
Welcome back, queen crankypants. We missed you.
At least we all know that when it comes to truly amazing blogs that have the chutzpa to tell it like it is, there really is only one choice! Welcome back- you were missed!
Agreed: choice is bad. Especially in sweet shops.
Ideally, there would be One Sweet To Rule Them All. I picture it as a glorious half-breed of gobstopper and chocolate bar, with multiple layers in diminishing shells of flavour. If you didn’t like the pink pear in layer 17, you could always give it to a friend to suck until strawberry surprise* came around.
Logistics of pleasing everyone aside, it’d probably sell millions, if only because there wasn’t another option. What to call it? Perhaps…
The Omnistopper
*The surprise is that it’s actually apricot.
Naomi,
Very glad to hear your tired and kvetchy voice. Wishing you all peace and hugs.
Yes, too much choice is a bugger at any time, and more so when time-patience-interest are limited, which would always be the case for me in a candy store. Make it easy for me or I’ll give up for certain. I’ve seen a lot of restaurant menus like that lately—make me want to howl and run for all the choices. If I wanted to read a novel I’d have brought a little John Irving with me, for goodness’ sake.
If my NYO died, heaven would be an art store. Candy at least is cheaper.
Regards,
Kelly
The most effective choice number is three or five. That’s it. That’s my opinion. And when you’re dealing with toddlers, the number is two.
Never ask someone, “What do you want?” Ask someone, “Would you like chocolate or vanilla?” (Vanilla). See? Sale. *Ka-ching!*
Good to have you back, Chiquita.
See, that’s the thing: years of seeing business models where people offer everything under the sun has led people to believe that that’s what works.
Now, when people start their own ittyBiz, they go and try to offer fifteen varieties of the same damned thing - without any sort of disclaimers or helpers to get their potential buyers through.
I went into a fast food joint the other day. Their menu consisted of chicken fingers, a chicken sandwich (consisting of the same chicken fingers), fries, coleslaw, and toast. They had the normal fare of drinks, but as food goes, that’s all they had. They gave four combination options and sent you on your way.
I loved it. I go there when I’m craving chicken fingers and I know I can go there and get good chicken fingers when I’m tired and don’t want to wade through a McMenu and 18 different options.
You’d think I’d take the examples of models like this that works and structure my own stuff that way. But why do that when I can offer everything under the sun?
I don’t get it. I *always* want choice. A tome-size menu? Heck, I speed read jes’ fine, thanks.
Just don’t make it hard for me to zero in. (Said tome has to be easy to hold, intelligently structured, well-written, with great typography.)
Unfortunately, I offer my services as if everybody was like me. And I’m starting to suspect nearly *nobody* is.
A quick glance at my accounts should’ve been enough of a clue…
Welcome back.
Not too many major companies get this. After all, how many freakin’ possible varieties of toothpaste do I need from one single company?
But here’s one that does get it: Apple. They have, like, what, ten products all told? If even?
What was that skit on SNL? The scotch tape shop? They sold nothing but scotch tape.
Do we wanted limited choices, or just one decision at a time? What is our quota of decisions in a day? I ‘d like to see some metrics on that.
1. What you say makes sense.
2. I love your site, you give away enough useful information to write several books. This tells me you know what you’re talking about and that you actually care about people- this is rare. I will be buying your SEO book as soon as I get paid this week.
3. You cuss like a sailor, well worse than the 3 sailors and multiple servicemen and women that I know:) but I love your content and will be coming back for more.
4. I hope your family drama works out for the best. Where health is concerned, we feel so powerless - I’ll throw up some prayers on your behalf.
Dale
oops. Welcome back Naomi. I was smiling and sending you virtual hugs, but forgot to type that in.
You’re back and I can stop worrying. Not that the crisis is necessarily over, as you said, but it’s a good sign that you can write again!
I get totally overwhelmed by tons of choices in a drugstore or wherever. I suck at making decisions because I have a fear of regret (making the wrong choice) and of missing out on something even better. I HATE it when after a half hour I finally choose the hazelnut-flavoured gelato and I don’t like it.
At the same time, I’m the kid who would be try to gain a peek behind James, going, um, what else is there besides chocolate and vanilla? I’m the kid who has to try every new kind of gum. Even chocolate mint. (Ugh.) Yet God forbid you give me several new flavours at once to choose from. I’d have to buy them all.
Messed up, I know.
Yay, I missed you!
Totally agree with what you say. When we do design concepts for clients, we try not to give them more than 1 and if they really want more than 1, we do 2 or 3 at the very most. If they see too many, they start getting everything frankensteined and the designs get diluted.
I remember when I was a kid, my mom would let me pick out my own cereal. I would stay there half an hour while she did the rest of the shopping.
Um, Coors Light? Ewww! LOL
So…offer enough that you either cover the major markets, and possibly the occasional dilletante, without offering so much that your store is a warehouse for the vendor. Which I’m sure is harder than it looks.
It’s good to see you’re back and surviving, if just somewhat.
I’m trying to market to people that want to make the decisions and get their unique, but I should to find a way to delicately handle the ones that really just want to point and buy. (You’ll take it and you’ll like it. Yeah…)
Just bumped into your blog–it’s real spiffy.
This post is golden–your description of all the powdery flavors really made me want to puke-r . . . I completely understand the concept that quantity is not always quality–it’s something I run into trying to explain very often in the Design world–loved this classic example.
This reminds me of Microsoft, who has assigned 300$ million for a new marketing campaign for Windows Vista. Maybe they should really just cut down on the number of versions (which has already been criticized A LOT in the press).
A few months ago I needed a Windows for my new second PC (yes, my home office looks awesome now!) and I thought to myself “why not go with Vista?” I mean, I was using XP since 2002 and I trust MS more or less (yes, I said it! I TRUST MS on OS- and Office-software!). So I went to the next store with my dad and I already knew which version to pick (Home Premium for anyone interested), but my dad was totally confused. “Don’t you want to build a home business? So why don’t take the business version?” Best question ever. He said, that all that choice was too much, he would have picked XP Home, primarily because he is familiar with it and also because it is easily labeled “Home”. Vista has “Home Basic” and “Home Premium” and he said he would feel like he would lose out on something if he picked the wrong version.
“So dad, just pick ‘Vista Ultimate’ and you have your perfect OS, you don’t lose out on anything.” “Too expensive. Give me XP Home.”
BTW, I ended up with buying Vista which is now laying in my desk and buying another copy of XP. Horrible experience.
Oh, and good to see you’re back, Naomi. I was really missing your posts already. Hope everything went alright, wish you the best of luck. ;)
Out of my four kids I have one that is a Libra through and through and couldn’t make a choice if his life depended on it as a kid. That scene would have paralyzed him. He would have sat there all day trying to decide until my very impatient Aries nature wanted to throw the kit and kaboodle out a window. I learned never , ever to give him more then two choices and then to always stack the deck if I was in a hurry. terrible I know, but still…
The thing is…I found it worked with the rest of them better as well. I think it is a rare peson who wants to go through all of that. But then, they probably can all be found with their noses pressed up to the glass at Baskin & Robbins 31 Flavors. I wouldn’t take my kids there. I don’t have the patience.
Heheh.
I was taught me the same lesson, but not with Puker Powder, but ladies shoes. I was told, never give a lady more than two choices if you are selling her shoes. If she asks for one pair, always bring on that she might like better, but never 3 or 4. She will get overwhelmed and leave empty-handed.
Of the two, she’ll most likely buy 1, the one she liked, the one you brought, or both if you are lucky.
Welcome back! The internet isn’t the same without you here making me spit soda on my laptop screen.
Hope the family drama is resolved quickly and painlessly….
[...] kick lately in case you haven’t noticed. (The other day’s comeback post was about offering too many choices as part of your marketing strategy.) Today, I’m on [...]
[...] I really wished I hadn’t read this post on Itty Biz before I went on vacation: Sell More Stuff - A Recipe For Madness. [...]
One thing I hate about the US is the overwhelming variety of choices you’re given when you order a meal. 25 varieties of salad dressing, 15 varieties of sauces, 5 ways to cook eggs, and on and on it goes.
Barry Schwartz wrote a book called “The Paradox of Choice” where he addressed this overwhelming feeling of helplessness when faced with too many choices. In addition to the book, he gave a TED talk on this subject (20 min video is available here: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html), and there’s a potted version here: http://changethis.com/13.ParadoxOfChoice