Consumer Behavior: Research Shows that Offering Too Many Product Features May Reduce Sales.
According to an article on the Kellogg School of Management website called “The Downside of Deliberating,” the more a consumer has to think about their purchase decision, the less predictable their decision. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Consider the following experiment: Two groups of college students are instructed to taste identical jellybeans and rate the flavors. Participants in one group are told to record their initial reactions. Those in the second group are told to think hard before rating the flavors and then to explain their choices in writing.
Forty minutes later, the experiment is repeated to see which group is likeliest to change their preferences. It makes sense that the students who put the most thought into their decisions will stand pat, right? Instead, Loran F. Nordgren, an assistant professor of Management and Organizations, and Ap Dijksterhuis, a professor at Radbound University in the Netherlands, found just the opposite. Turns out, too much analysis leads to inconsistent decisions.
Why does this happen? The authors argue that deliberation distracts consumers from the most relevant information at hand. They say that someone asked to scrutinize jellybean flavors might prefer chocolate one time and lemon the next. “Deliberation introduces noise into the decision-making process,” Nordgren says. “Thinking too much somehow brings us away from our true preferences.”
How can you apply these learnings to your next marketing campaign? Here are some suggestions:
1. Don’t assume adding more features will attract more customers. If the features are clouding their decision to buy, then you risk losing to your competitors. On the other hand, if competitors offer a feature that you don’t have, you may lose a few who take time to consider the other brand’s product.
2. To keep your current customers, emphasize the features customers know they can trust. You want them to continue to make a quick decision and buy your product, without bothering to consider the competition’s product.
3. To persuade new customers to consider your product, emphasize the features that are different. Cause them to stop and think next time they make a purchase decision. As you learn what features typically attracts new customers, emphasize those as the features they can trust.
The bottom line: Know why your customers buy from you and emphasize those product features.