{"id":603,"date":"2013-05-31T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/limiting-the-consumers-choices\/"},"modified":"2013-05-31T13:12:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-31T18:12:39","slug":"limiting-the-consumers-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exchangedefender.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/limiting-the-consumers-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"Limiting the Consumer’s Choices"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tumblr_m5bg90WdNz1qch8qto1_500\"<\/a>Social psychologist and Columbia University Business School professor, Dr. Sheena Iyengar, is an expert in choice. By that, I mean she has dedicated her life to understanding the patterns of human decision-making and revealing its contradictions. After leading a 15-year study on the subject, she authored a book on the topic titled, \u201cThe Art of Choosing.\u201d In her book, she talks about how psychological, biological, and cultural behaviors steer us in making decisions of choice. \u201cWe\u2019re born with the desire, but we don\u2019t really know how to choose,\u201d wrote Dr. Iyengar. From her numerous studies, Dr. Iyengar concluded that when given too many option, we are ten times more likely to take action when choice is limited. Anyone who\u2019s ever been to a convenient store for a candy bar will tell you that! I have left stores because the assortment of items was so large, I didn\u2019t know which selection to make. <\/p>\n

Have you every been out to a restaurant, looked at the menu, been so confused by all the offerings, and responded, \u201cI\u2019ll just<\/u><\/i><\/b> have\u2026?\u201d To most people, that statement would indicate that you made a choice you were happy with. However, the word \u201cjust\u201d in this case, subconsciously indicates that: <\/p>\n

\n

1. You are not 100% happy with your selection, and\/or; <\/p>\n

2. You don\u2019t care about your selection. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now let\u2019s bring this subject into your business. Most of you claim to be Managed Service Providers; and as such, you probably have different levels of \u201cpackages\u201d you provide to potential clients. After reviewing them all, do you find your clients stating, \u201cI will just<\/u><\/i><\/b> call you when we have problem\u2026?\u201d This could be due to a few things. One of reasons they chose not to enter into an agreement with you could simply be price. Another reason could be the potential Managed Service client is confused by choices you are offering\u2014and not willing to make a mistake, decides not to purchase at all. In her book, Dr. Iyengar described the magic number\u2014seven\u2014at which more turns into less. This is based on a previous study that showed that our senses can easily distinguish five to nine objects of perception. Now, I am not recommending that your have five to seven different offering for potential clients to choose from. I am saying that if you are offering a lot of different services, combine them into packages that don\u2019t exceed five to nine different offerings. I found that the magic number of Managed Services packages should be around two to four offers. This gives an adequate number to choose from\u2014while not overloading the potential client. <\/p>\n

This information should not only be considered for Managed Services offerings, but in everything you sell\u2014from hardware and software. If you business still sell computers to it\u2019s clientele, offer two to four different types. Then categorize them accordingly: Home use, business use, gamers, etc. It is easy to argue that limiting the choices of your clients will cause low sales numbers. However, overloading them with choices will cause the same effect. Finding a balance of offerings will still allow you to suggestion choices while keeping you clients corralled just enough so they don\u2019t feel overburden in making a decision. <\/p>\n

Michael D. Alligood
Partner Sales & Support, ExchangeDefender & Shockey Monkey
michael@ownwebnow.com<\/a>
(877) 546-0316 x707<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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