your clients need less choice, not more

 In 1948, McDonald's closed for "alterations" and reopened with a reduced menu of nine items: hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and a slice of pie.

When they reopened, their sales skyrocketed.

"Great story, Sandy, but how does this apply to me?"

Because you, my one-woman wellness warrior friend, are selling too many different hamburgers online products.

If it's more than one, it's too many. Imagine a woman landing on your online studio seeking yin yoga classes in anticipation of a stressful holiday season.

On your page, she is greeted with a grid of 9 different products: The Yin Yoga Membership, a 6-Class Pass, a 12-Class Pass, Meditation for Beginners, a 7-Day Somatic Course, Ayurvedic 101, Breathing Techniques for the Holidays, Post-Natal Yoga, and How to Run a Marathon Faster.

As she reads through the choices, her certainty of what she wants wanes. She scans the titles of each product and now she’s not sure what she really needs. Instead of making a decision and buying, she opens a new Google tab and searches for a Christmas pavlova recipe.

What a McDonald's customer pre-1949 and this woman experienced is what's known in psychology as the paradox of choice.

Barry Schwartz, an American psychologist, describes it this way: "More choice requires increased time and effort and can lead to anxiety, regret, excessively high expectations, and self-blame if the choices don’t work out. When the number of available options is small, these costs are negligible, but the costs grow with the number of options. Eventually, each new option makes us feel worse off than we did before."

More choice means more mental effort, and if we do make a choice, we can feel unsatisfied with our choice (Maybe I should have bought the other one?)

Understanding the paradox of choice can make your sales skyrocket. We're all faced with thousands of choices daily, so make it easy for your clients. I know, I know, you want to have something for everyone but how's that working out? Is everything selling?

Reduce the number of products you sell. Set up your online business with 1 or 2 (or maaaaybe 3 in certain cases) strong and clear products. More sales happen when you offer less.

Take a look at your page of products.

Does it read like a McDonald's menu in 1948? Maybe it's time to close for "alterations" and pare down your offerings.