In a famous academic study researchers set up two displays of jams in a grocery store. One display had 24 varieties of jam and the other display had only 6 varieties of jam. During the study, the academics (presumably in white lab coats behind a one way mirror with clipboards) observed how many consumers stopped to sample the jams and how many consumers actually bought the jam at each display. The results…
...the display with 24 varieties of jams caught the attention of ~60% of the store’s shoppers , but only 3% actually purchased the jam. The display with 6 varieties of jams caught attention of ~40% of the store’s shoppers, but a whopping 30% went on to purchase the jam.
The shorthand for this phenomenon is choice overload: more choice , contrary to conventional wisdom, is not necessarily better. Too many choices may cause consumers to feel overwhelmed and abandon making a purchase. Think about the digital camera buying decision (size, color, megapixels, memory, uggh!) for a close to home example.
At Filene we are guilty of providing too much choice when it comes to research and innovation…sorry, but we are constantly distracted by the next big, shiny idea! To overcome our transgressions we’ve made some bold choices to make our research and innovation more applicable for your credit union, NOW.
We landed on two critical credit union needs: new markets and new products. For each need we’ve priortized our research, dedicated resources and developed affordable implementation services.
- New Markets: Brent Dixon will lead a project to make credit unions more relevant to young adults. If you want to ‘Rent-a- Brent’ for a few months to make your credit union more young adult-friendly, email him today
- New Products: Matt Davis is in the words of one credit union league executive “dynamic, resourceful and cheap”. If you need Matt’s help to make an i3 idea shine in your credit union on a realistic budget, email him today.
The critical choice for credit unions is clear: do they hunker down and wait out the storm, or do they do something to grow? Think about this next time you feel overloaded and overwhelmed.
Comments
3
sounds like a malcolm, yes?
Link to this comment
Jeanne -
If you’re referring to ”...In The Middle,” then yes, there are many similarities between Filene and that family dynamic.
Link to this comment
malcolm gladwell, I thought. There’s a great youtube of his lecture on pasta sauces re: varieties. i confused jam and pasta sauces – that’s weird. :)
Link to this comment