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- 😳 What a marketing experiment! (results)
😳 What a marketing experiment! (results)
Check this out…
In 2000, one of the most fascinating marketing studies was done.
It was called the Jam Experiment. Two psychologists set up a stand at an upscale grocery store and offered different varieties of jam.
On one day, they put 24 choices of jam on a table. These 24 options attracted over 60% of the people that walked by. And, on average, each shopper sampled 2 flavors.
Of those shoppers that stopped at the table, 3% ended up purchasing a bottle of jam.
On another day, they put 6 choices of jam on the table. These 6 options attracted just 40% of the people that walked by. And, on average, each shopper sampled 2 flavors.
Of those shoppers that stopped at the table, over 30% end up purchasing a bottle of jam!
Let that sink in.
What Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper discovered from their Jam Experiment was that, when presented with too many options, people have a hard time making a decision.
In fact, when presented with too many options, people generally feel worse after they buy. It also leads to a worse user experience (source).
And its not just with buying things. We can even see it career decisions and dating. The grass seems to always be greener somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this paradox of choice has left most people unhappy with the decisions they make (even if they’re inherently good decisions).
So, how does this apply to marketing?
The best marketers understand human psychology. But that’s not it. They also understand sociology and cultural trends that drive human desire.
With the knowledge that too many options can actually be bad, we must simplify as marketers. Simplify our CTAs options, simplify our number of skews, simplify our messaging, etc. Less is more.
For example, WhirlPool simplified one of their email marketing campaigns:
The result? A single, focused CTA increased clicks by over 42%! (Source)
As we enter into Q1 of 2024, I invite you to think more about how you can help eliminate the paradox of choice for your customers.
The truth is, people often want to be led. But they don’t know what they want to be led to. Lead people with fewer options. It will lead to more clarity and satisfaction post decision making.
With that, let's get into what we have in store this week (lots of good stuff):
Marketing news from the past week
How to write a product strategy
Google’s top ranking factors [Semrush study]
Building a brand as a B2B startup
11 ways to use AI in ecommerce
Ad from the past
Website of the week
Cool marketing jobs
And much more
🗞 In the news
🚀 All things growth & product
Growing to $20M ARR in five years, Loom’s billion-dollar GTM playbook, a crash course in B2B marketing, how to write a product strategy.
💭 Guess the riddle
What was wrong with the marketer’s kitchen equipment?
Answer is at the bottom of this email
✍️ Copy & branding
How to instantly become a better writer, why $0 is better than ‘free’, and why branding is so important for B2B startups.
⚙️ SEO & content marketing
Google ranking factors according to Semrush, what AI-generated content does to your SEO efforts, and a guide to creating great content marketing.
DTC brands to keep at eye on in 2024, an ecommerce SEO case study, 11 ways to use AI in ecommerce, and five tips to maximize your TikTok strategy.
🦖 Interesting stuff
The Most Valuable Paradoxes of Marketing:
— Brian Bourque (@bbourque)
11:15 AM • Mar 23, 2022
📣 Ad from the past
A Honda Civic ad from 1982
💻 Website of the week
🏝 Cool marketing jobs
Okay, that's it for now 💙. See you next Tuesday!
What did you think of this newsletter? |
“A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” — Steven Pressfield
Riddle answer: They had a leaky funnel.