Shortcut Giving Too Much Information

TITK (Those In The Know) realize TMI stands for Too Much Information. No surprise, then, that the current issue of Harvard Business Review chose to title their “Research Watch” item “How Online Retailers Can Avoid TMI” to report an intriguing finding: Researchers at Belmont University in Tennessee discovered that ecommerce customers are happier with receipts that include a simple line drawing of the product purchased rather than a high-resolution photo of the item. On average, those getting the line drawings were more likely both to recommend the retailer and to purchase from the retailer again.
     Why might this be? The researchers say it’s because the line drawings print out more handsomely on the customer’s home printer. I’m wondering if that’s the most important reason, though. Most home printers are quite capable of rendering a photo nicely. Moreover, a high percentage of ecommerce customers decide to save toner and a tree twig by not printing out the receipt.
     I think that, instead, the reason has to do with the amount of information a customer wants after making a purchase. According to researchers at Stanford University, University of Utah, and University of Iowa, customers usually want specifications pre-purchase, but after making the purchase, they're usually seeking simple reassurance, not elaborate details.
     Don’t flood out customers with what they’d prefer not to know. Share information selectively. If the intent is to mislead or betray, that’s sinful. But in fact, presenting information selectively usually assists the consumer. Researchers at University of Twente in the Netherlands, University of Indiana, and University of Cincinnati set out to confuse study participants by adding to the sales pitch technical jargon, unfamiliar words, illogical product groupings, and dollar prices restated as cents. The result was that the participants chose items more quickly and with more certainty than would be in their best interests.
     That’s not to say quick decisions are generally bad. Actually, the opposite is true when you keep yourself from giving too much information. Business-to-business shoppers might do a comprehensive objective weighted analysis of each product by feature. But the vast majority of shoppers will end up making a purchase as much on intuitive emotion as on the basis of scientific analysis.
     The proper answer to a customer’s question might require a detailed explanation involving some complexity. However, always be looking for ways to legitimately keep unnecessary information from your customers, whether in ecommerce or in-store.

Click below for more:
Take Occam’s Razor to Your Shoppers
Selectively Keep Information from Your Customers
Compare Features to Ease Overload
Ask Shoppers for Reasons to Buy