Recently I’ve been thinking about simplifying my company’s product offerings into just a few bundles from an a la carte set of choices. Coincidentally I was reminded of this TED Talk by psychologist Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice. Essentially he says that we marketers have provided consumers with too many choices which in turn has actually reduced their satisfaction with what they buy. I tend to agree and note that now 9 years after Schwartz gave his talk many marketers are bundling together recommended suites to make the buying process easier/better.
Similarly Mr. Schwartz talks about how we’ve raised the bar on expectations so high now that people can’t enjoy what they buy even if it’s really good. While watching that portion of the talk [min 13-15] I couldn’t help but think of this great comedy routine by Louis CK about cell phones and air travel which makes Schwartz’s point perfectly. Note, turn down the audio since he uses some colorful language.