The popular book bearing this name written by Barry Schwartz starts with this assertion:
We assume that more choices means better options and greater satisfactions…
and goes on to “prove” that the opposite is the case. The fewer choices makes life more simple, and by extension of his logic, happier life.
After watching the charming presentation of Mr. Schwartz at TED, I only can wish him to test his assumptions and research findings in environment of Soviet Union, where I grew up. Since I don’t know Barry personally, it is hard for me to judge if his believes are result of intellectual laziness, politically motivated dishonesty, or just a financial interest in marketing provocative book.
I do not debate the point that too many products and choices lead to confusion and confusion leads to unhappiness. I would like to suppose that what the book sites as too many choices, in fact amounts to very few ones. That most choices we are facing are not choices at all, but the same stuff in different packaging to create an illusion of choice. The examples are many and range from tires manufactured by the same company from the same materials on the same production lines under different brand names and sold for different prices, to political parties that pursue the same policies but differentiate by ideological rhetoric.
The reason they do this is very simple – the cost of real choice is much higher than the cost of fooling us into believing that we have something to choose from. The investment into innovation and creativity is much riskier than the cost of packaging and “flag waving”. That is why you get “new and improved” labels on the same products every few months, and go to voting polls to elect the same “Change” and “Hope” every few years. As my friend and mentor used to say – “Shit is the same, just flies are changing”.
So what to do? Well, that is a beauty of choice:
a. Join Barry and decide to get confused with with “too many choices”. Stop the angst of decision making and simplify your life by rejecting evil consumption. Let me know if that makes you happier.
b. Don’t get mesmerized by empty labels and promises. Educated, intelligent consumer (and citizen) has very clear vision of what they want and what they will not tolerate. It does require investment in time, but it gets easier with plentiful access to unrestricted information (that does not include useless package labels legislated to educate you), therefore you will choose not to consume as much, but be happier with what you choose to consume.
c. Grab the first piece of crap you can afford and be happy with your choice.
d…. There are million of fabulous choices I can sell you for a fantastic, everyday price, that absolutely guarantee to make you happy.
Let’s keep them honest and accountable, btw that include the book and blog writers.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)
5. Build “Eco-system” for Adoption Management. Most CRM initiatives are launched to change way of doing business in organization – if they don’t, the economics of such an initiative should be questioned. However concerns about adoption challenges often shift the focus to functions and features from processes and economics.
In the old days there was the “suggestion box”. You can still find them in some stores and businesses, where customers can offer suggestions, point out problems and make requests. I have seen first hand the responses to these suggestions from store managers. They range from “Yeah, right!” as it drops into the waste basket, to sincere concern resulting in a plan of action to resolve the issue or improve service.
Guess which businesses are more successful? Today there are a myriad of ways for customers to share their frustrations with products and services. There are blogs, forums, review sites, communities, tweets and so on.
Companies who care to keep customer loyalty would do well to keep an eye on these and have an easy way to contact the company. Many times I have called for support only to get sent and back and forth from one useless “representative” to another, folks who have no real knowledge or power to deal with the issues.
Nothing takes the shine off a recent purchase like finding out that once a problem arises you are on your own. Not spending the time and money to resolve customer issues is extremely costly. Goodwill is a critical factor in making purchases and when we don’t see any coming our way we are not only going to stop buying their products, we will likely tell a number of people, who tell more people, the ripple of bad will eventually becomes a wide and deep river. Most of us understand that lemons happen, defects happen, etc. When the company “owns” their part of the goodwill contract and does everything in their power to resolve it, I become more likely to be impressed with their commitment to make it right, than to focus l on the original problem. How about you?
Years ago, I worked in a fine Italian Restaurant in San Francisco. An older, single woman with blue hair and a thick Southern drawl ordered the Mixed Greens with Gorgonzola which she pronounced “Gore Gone zula” When I returned with her salad, she looked frightened, I asked what was wrong. She asked what the moldy cheese was doin’ on her salad? I explained that it was the “Gore Gone zula” and if she liked I would be happy to get her a salad without it “Could you?” She sighed in relief and a little embarrassment. I assured her it was no problem and commended her for trying something she was not familiar with. I then explained to her the different items on the menu in detail, for her for future reference and to make sure she would be happy with her second course.
She came back the next day for lunch with 4 other blue haired Southern Belles in tow and told me they were supposed to have gone somewhere else, but had found the service there too “snooty”. They asked for my table. I gave them a crash course on Northern Italian Cuisine, (made sure no one got any “Gore Gone Zula”). They had a great time, asked me to take a picture with all of them and had a memorable experience.
It all started when she ordered something she thought she wanted, that turned out to be something else. I did not do anything wrong, it was really her mistake. But, like the old saying goes “Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy” or in this case, do you want your customer to be happy? It was well worth the cost of tossing the “gore gone zula” salad and spending some extra time to help her and her subsequent guests the next day to explain the menu to make sure they were happy with their meal.
Many of you have heard of Dell Hell. Dell, once the darling of the industry, had so many unhappy customers who created such a roar on the internet, that it’s fall from grace could only be stopped by heroic measures.
Dell weathered the storm because Michael Dell has been personally involved in Dell’s efforts to listen to its customers. One of those moves was to create a dedicated corporate blogger. Dell tapped Lionel Menchaca, an employee of 14 years. Menchaca, as blogger Jarvis, himself, said on The Buzz Machine, speaks to people "honestly and directly" (April 3, 2007). In blogs, Jarvis related, Menchaca "admitted the company’s problems. But he also answered back … . He immediately earned the respect of me and many other bloggers. According to Jarvis, Manchaca gave the company "a human voice." In return, Jarvis said, Manchaca gave customer respect and "got respect in return. It works." For his part, Menchaca credits Bob Pearson, Dell’s vice president of Corporate Communications, for changing how the company adapts to the world of the Internet.
Customer Service: The New Marketing? In a troubled economy such as we are currently experiencing, those who survive will be the ones who are proactive, who are not just waiting for the calls to come in to customer or tech support, but are “out there” wherever their customers hang out on the internet- looking, listening, hearing and acting on what they find.
So when you reach out to that kvetching blogger you found online, you’re engaged in customer service as well as PR, market research, marketing, sales, and product development. You are reinventing your company—and, if you get there before your competitors, your industry. That is why you shouldn’t relegate this vital task to one department or some interns or consultants. You should reorganize the company around this new relationship with your customer, finally putting that customer at the center of everything you do because—thanks to the Web—you can. If you don’t, well, someone will you say you "suck."
So what have we learned here? If you are a consumer, take advantage of the multitude of venues to share your opinions, experiences, complaints and suggestions. If you are a provider of products or services, keep your eyes and ears peeled for what your customers are saying about you. The likelihood is, that the more you do this, the more positive posts will outweigh the negative ones.
A blog about experiences, curiosity and the never-ending search for ways to do better things better