RUMSEY OF SANDBANKS

More Choice Less Sales?

Too many options can a ually lead to less cu omer satisfa ion

Whether you are browsing on Amazon or visiting an out of town superstore the range of goods available has grown exponentially with large supermarkets now carrying up to 90,000 SKUs (shop keeping units). This is great if you are looking for a very specific item but there is often so much choice across even basic products that the shopper can be paralysed by indecision.

Discounters like Aldi and Lidl have been tapping into shoppers seeking better value but many analysts also believe that the limited range that they stock is actually making shoppers happier as they don’t have to pick between 12 types of tinfoil so just get on with their shopping and their lives.

There’s been a similar trend in the restaurant industry with large venture backed chains producing a concise menu and many higher end restaurants producing a short daily menu with just a few options for each course. There’s even a trend for special menu nights where everybody eats the same which allows the kitchen to focus on sourcing the best ingredients and preparing each dish correctly.

Regular readers will know that I always like to see theories like this backed up with a bit of science and I was prompted to think about this by an experiment on selling jam to supermarket customers. The researchers set up a stall o ering shoppers the chance to taste a range of jams then gave them a discount coupon to redeem if they went on to buy some. At first they were o ered 6 popular flavours to try, then on alternate days they were o ered the company’s entire range of 32 flavours including unusual gourmet options. The results were absolutely unequivocal- the customers o ered the limited choice of 6 flavours ended up buying three times the amount of jam, curating the choice produced more sales. So why is it that as a retailer or service provider of any type the temptation to add more choice is almost overwhelming? The researchers in this experiment postulate that the problem is that the choice e ect is a silent one- if somebody comes in to your shop or sends an enquiry to your business asking for an item that you don’t have then you feel the pain of the lost sale. When you lose business due to customers being overwhelmed with choice the loss

is not registered so there’s no pain and no incentive to take action even though the loss may be much greater. Fortunately these principles tie in with the way we set up the website and promote our holiday properties. There are a few choices which are set in stone- number of guests and dog or not but after that you may express a preference for a sea view, 2 parking spaces or 2 bathrooms but it’s not absolutely critical and another positive EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAY HOME OWNER factor may cancel it out. The big di erence IN SANDBANKS & SURROUNDING AREAS Shopfront on the Peninsula | between us and a retailer is that we can only sell each product once per week. If you Sophisticated Digital Marketing

Cleaning, Linen & Changeovers o er lots of options like bed size, number of | Maintenance & Renovations | Concierge Services bathrooms, view, balcony etc then choose 24 Hour Emergency Callout | No Restrictions on Owner Bookings a specific week, the danger is that you’ll end up with a nil result or nearly no choice Let us take care of all the work so you can enjoy your holiday home and take advantage and a few of those will send your customer of the significant tax benefits of running it as a furnished holiday let business. o to another website. As Steve Jobs famously said ‘If I’d asked accountants what they wanted they would have said calculators with bigger buttons!’ Customers need guiding and they will actually be happier if you show confidence and deliver a great product. Simon Tolson owns Rumsey of Sandbanks, SERVICED LETS FROM RUMSEY OF SANDBANKS a holiday letting agency. The perfect solution for temporary accommodation from a weekend to 5 months Contact Simon on 01202 707357.No minimum period rentals | Broadband and maintenance included simon@rumseyofsandbanks.co.ukRegular cleaning and linen change services available | Fully furnished and equipped www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk Rumsey of Sandbanks will tailor the experience to suit your exact needs so you can get on with the rest of your life and we can turn an awkward stop gap into a great and memorable experience.

EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAY HOME OWNER www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk IN SANDBANKS & SURROUNDING AREAS 01202 707357 www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk | 01202 707357 office@rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk