Sell with Simplicity

What’s the most important thing you can offer potential customers to move them from being interested to actually purchasing your product? A new study described in the Harvard Business Review suggests that it’s simplicity.

Decision Simplicity Index
The study showed that the “decision simplicity index,” a measure of ease of accessing the information needed to make a decision, was highly predictive of sales success:

They identify three major factors that simplify consumer decisions:

    Navigation – Ease of gathering information
    Trust – How believable the information is
    Comparison – Ease of weighing options

Easy Navigation
While every site can benefit from obvious paths to desired information, the best sites will attempt to determine consumer intent from information like search terms used by the visitor. If the consumer can be steered directly to information relevant to their stage of the decision process (e.g., initial product research or final product selection), they will be more likely to stay engaged with the site.

Trustworthy Information
Oddly, perhaps, the information consumers find most trustworthy isn’t impressive research or detailed product data. Rather, it’s commentary from other consumers in the form of reviews, descriptions of intended use, etc. If your site lacks this type of content, it may seem less trustworthy even if the brand itself is respected.

Weighing Options
Choices take a toll on our brains. As I described in More Choices, Fewer Sales, and Mega-Branding: The Purple Oreo Problem, offering consumers more choices can reduce actually reduce sales. Sometimes, of course, many products are necessary to serve specific needs and market segments. The solution, according to the authors, is to provide an easy way to compare products and quickly find the one that is most appropriate.

For years, we’ve heard about KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. This study shows that advice is still highly relevant in appealing to the digitally aware consumer.

Source: http://www.forbes.com