A632.2.3RB_Sheena Iyengar: How to Make Choosing Easier

Sheena Iyengar states, “Be choosy about choosing” and she is right. According to her research we as consumers should be and often like to make decisions when there are fewer options available; I agree with her. I am the consumer that loves to see many different opinions available but when I need to purchase something I want products narrowed down to the top 5 – 10 best of the best. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed when I have too many options because I am the consumer that needs to look, touch and understand each item and why they are different or the same, which the better price and how will I use this item when I get home. Therefore when there are fewer options it takes me less time to make my decision.

4 Techniques to Better Decision-Making

1. Cut = less equals more 
2. Categorize = more categories fewer choices
3. Concretize  = make it vivid 
4. Condition = for competing

 I live by the saying, “less is more.” Some people I know think that having 500 options for salad dressing is A. great and B. normal; I do not. When I go to the grocery store I would like to grab a head of lettuce, sometimes Romaine sometimes Baby Spinach and then shoot down the salad dressing and get something light and tasty and get out of the store (I like my trips to be even faster when I have just gotten off work and I want to eat and relax). I think that my less is more mindset comes from the fact that I am super organized and scheduled and I don’t set aside enough time to do grocery shopping so when I go in the store I want to get in and out with good deals, no hassles and minimal decisions. It baffles me that people think it’s great to have an astronomical amount of opinions; it just makes me more complicated and less happy. When my grandmother was growing up they didn’t have this many decisions or options and they all did just fine. When in our history did it become the normal to overcomplicate the way we make decisions?

From an organizational standpoint when employees have less to opinions to decide on they tend to make the better decision. I work for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and we have a 403B retirement plan. The organization gives you two opinions which help’s the consumer (the employee) to pick the plan/company that works best for them. Organizations should focus on fewer hassles for employees, too many opinions can fog judgment and employees will begin to second guess their decisions and in turn will lose self confidence.

I prefaced in the previous thought that I am organized and that probably is an understatement but at least I know my levels of anal-ness. Categories make me very happy and help me to make better decisions. When someone has come in and taken then guess work out of the equation is GREAT! These types of situations allow me to examine the product instead of having to run around a store to get the items, put them in categories and then make the decision. I like to keep things simple so I will provide a simple example. I like to eat healthy and ever since I lost 80lbs I try to manage both my food intake and exercise on a daily basis. With that in mind there are a few items I like to get in the organic section, one of which is granola bars (company called Raw – I know how original). Instead of having to go the granola section and turn boxes over to see if the ingredients are organic, most stores now have organic sections which makes my decision making process easier. Here is my process, I go the organic food section, identify the 5 different types of granola, turn them over to review the nutritional facts, pick the best opinion and leave. What would have taken me 20 minutes now has taken me 10 which is a 50% savings in time and those types of victories make me an incredibly happy consumer. Categories make thinking less complicated and buying more comfortable. In order to reach consumers, retailers need to think like consumers and mimic simple processes.

How do you categorize the workplace? There are so many different tools to help organizations make a layout of how people think and decide. We currently are redoing our ERAU WW website and we have utilized some of that software to think how people categorize opinions. I think these types research studies help to see how people think. In order to manage consumers you need to know how they think; you have to know your user in order to assist them. Organizations cannot sit behind desks and think they will know how or what their consumers wants or is thinking.

Making decisions is difficult but when there are short cuts to help make those decisions easier makes me, “happy happy happy.”