It seems minimalism has become more popular post-COVID-19 pandemic as consumers now crave less choice and simpler experiences despite companies offering more options, promotions, and price fluctuations than ever, according to The University of Western Australia (UWA).
UWA’s latest article, published in the International Journal of Management, explored the concept of cognitive simplicity to evaluate how it affects the value customers get from their interactions with companies. It found that decreasing customers’ mental load across the retail journey creates value for them and companies.
Dr Richard Gruner (pictured) and Professor Geoff Soutar from UWA’s Business School, stated that consumers are mentally fatigued from the increasing number of choices they have to make every day. Therefore, companies must avoid adding to this complexity.
“We found consumers are willing to pay more for, and are more likely to cherish, brands they perceive as simple,” Dr Gruner said. “What matters more than an in-your-face presence is simplifying customers’ lives and solving their problems.”
Many businesses think the more choices, the better. However, the UWA article found that most buyers who did not follow through on an intended purchase backed out because there were overwhelmed by information and choice.
“Consumers tend to reward companies that drive down their mental load, and many brands, including Aldi, Netflix, and Google, owe some of their success to their ability to simplify consumers’ experiences,” Dr Gruner said.
“At the core, these brands make things easy and convenient for the end-user through strategic and intentional decisions about product, promotion, price, and distribution tactics.
“These brands consider the entire customer journey throughout their organisation and are in turn often rewarded with strong performance and loyal customers.”
Dr Gruner identified four interrelated steps to deliver the smooth, simple experience that customers demand.
Dr Gruner advised organisations to determine which areas would benefit most from simplification, depending on its unique context and circumstances.
“Our research suggests that simplicity has many facets. It entails rethinking both product development and sales and marketing efforts with a ‘less is more’ mindset, reducing complexity in product portfolios, price discounts, ad campaigns, and more,” he said, as reported by the Harvard Business Review.
Once the organisation has identified their top-priority areas, leaders must communicate them across the business, Dr Gruner said.
“This means adding language emphasizing the importance of simplicity to your organization’s value proposition, list of corporate values, or guiding principles — and then making sure that people on the ground are actually connecting with and acting on those words,” he added.
“Focusing on the product is important, but it’s equally important not to lose sight of the entire customer experience. That means designing your sales and marketing efforts to make it as easy as possible to find, purchase, and start using your product,” Dr Gruner said.
“Prioritizing simplicity in the customer experience doesn’t mean you can completely eliminate complexity internally. On the contrary, the process of winnowing down your product to its most simple form can often be incredibly complex,” Dr Gruner said.
In certain situations, customers prefer a simple product that does one thing well. However, others might want to customise their settings and features, according to Dr Gruner.
“For example, if you’re talking to a new and inexperienced customer, taking a high-level, simplified approach in your marketing communications can be effective. But if you’re working with a more experienced customer, such an approach could come off as condescending or unhelpful,” Dr Gruner said.
