Summary
I learned from Starbucks' CEO that having fewer choices can be a good thing. Simplifying options helps customers decide faster, which means they can be in and out of the store in less than 4 minutes. This is good because it makes lines move faster.
Studies show that when people have too many choices, they get confused and end up buying less. For example, a study by Columbia and Stanford found that showing 24 options of jam led to fewer sales than showing only 6 options. The key lesson is: less is more.
When you have a business or are making decisions, try to limit the number of choices you offer. Having fewer options can actually help increase sales and make things run more smoothly. Aim for just a few well-chosen options instead of overwhelming people with too many.
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How To Take Action
I would suggest starting by simplifying choices in whatever you are doing, whether in business or personal growth. For a small business, trim down your product or service offerings to the most popular or essential ones. This helps customers make decisions faster and feel less overwhelmed. For instance, if you own a bakery, instead of showcasing 20 types of cookies, focus on the 5 best-sellers.
A good way to implement this idea in business is to observe customer buying habits and feedback to identify what sells most. Then, highlight those and consider placing lesser-performing items on hold. This can also streamline operations and reduce costs.
For entrepreneurs, when pitching a product or service, focus on a few key benefits rather than a long list of features. This will make your pitch clearer and more compelling.
If you are interested in personal growth, try limiting choices in your daily life. For example, plan meals with fewer ingredients, or stick to one or two colors in your wardrobe to save time deciding what to wear.
Overall, aim for simplicity by focusing on quality over quantity. This can lead to increased satisfaction and efficiency, just like how the simplified menu led to quicker lines and more sales at Starbucks. Remember, the goal is not to eliminate options, but to keep them just right—less is truly more.
Full Transcript
the Starbucks CEO just is something that's going to piss you off but it's going to make him more money what he ended up doing is simplifying the menu in other words you have less options now when you go to Starbucks why he wants you to be in and out in less than 4 minutes so that way the lines move faster and here's the interesting study on why he did this it's not just because he wants the line to move faster back in 2000 Columbia and Stanford did a study together read a supermarket they showed consumers 24 Jabs they put them on a table the next day they also showed jams at the supermarket but instead of 24 they only showed six options guess which one generated more sales it was actually when they reduce options and only showed six jams versus 24 when you show people too many options they can't decide what they want and you actually generate less revenue and your convergence go down versus if you gave people less options moral of the story less is more you don't want to have zero options but you also don't want to have 20 or 30 options just provide a few options and you'll see your conversions go up
