Simplicity Is Key For Creating ‘Sticky’ Customers

 

In the Information Age, what’s the one thing we can’t supply enough of to our potential customers as they search our products and services on the Web?

It’s information, of course! And the more info we can put in front of a decision-maker, the thinking goes, the better our chances of converting shopper to buyer. After all, window film is a technologically advanced product that must only be selected and installed per exacting specifications. Isn’t every consumer going to want as much information on the product as he can get, in order to make the decision to buy?

 

The answer, in the majority of cases, is a resounding no. A Harvard Business Review article looked at a survey of over 7,000 consumers, conducted by Corporate Executive Board to learn the kinds and quantities of online information it takes to make consumers “sticky” – i.e., apt to buy a product or service, return and buy it again, and recommend it to others. The finding: consumers favor decision simplicity over any other factor, when it comes to choosing to purchase window film or any other product seen on a website.

 

Read the article for an in-depth look at the study; in the meantime, take a look at your website – and all of your marketing tools – with these questions in mind:

 

• How simple is it for an uninitiated customer to navigate the information presented to her? Help your customer get to the finish line: a sale. Don’t worry excessively about impressing her with flashy technical data, details about your company history, or other facts which you’re proud to know and share, but which serve little purpose in a buying decision.
• Is the information straightforward and verifiably accurate? Is it intentionally or blatantly untruthful or ambiguous? Your customer needs to trust that the information you convey is worthy. Lose trust, and lose the customer.
• Once the information necessary to purchase has been gathered and its veracity confirmed, is it simple for your customer to weigh her options? This is where it’s easy to overwhelm consumers with too much data about too many choices. Make it as simple as possible for folks to buy a solution to a need – that’s how you’ve earned their attention to begin with. You have solutions for sale, and the widget (window film, in this case) is just a tool that helps to solve the need.