Minimalization Optimization…Say What??
I am reading an insightful book titled Spiritual Minimalism, authored by Light Watkins. The theme of the book is around “embracing the freedom of choicelessness whenever possible.”
There’s a quote early on in the book where Watkins states:
“The fewer options I have, the more freedom I have to make decisions, and the more present I become.”
I read the quote a few more times and began to realize that there is major power behind these words.
As some of you know, I love to run. I was in my closet a few days ago trying to decide which pair of running shoes to wear on my morning run and the quote reappeared in my thoughts. I was thinking that I have too many running shoes. The reason I was thinking that is because of the number of choices I have, it was making it very difficult to make a decision! What if I only had 2 pairs of running shoes? Or better yet, just one? How much easier that decision would have been for me that morning!
MINIMIZATION FLOW
Let’s apply this to our industry now, the business of data analytics and improving people’s lives. Here is how you can help your Director of Optimization and Analytics add more value to the company and at the same time enable customers to have a memorable shopping experience on your site.
The visitors that come to your site are just like you and me. We are those people. We are busy. We are parents. We have so many other obligations pulling us in numerous directions every single day. What we really need is simplification. We need web sites that make it easy for us to make a shopping decision. Plain and simple.
As an example, below is the search results page on Amazon’s site after I typed in “mens running shoes.” I think by now, most of us are familiar with Amazon’s site, so we know where to go. However, what about a new visitor? How many choices are on this page? Don’t forget to scroll down (that’s another choice!). And what happens when you are put into an A/B test on this page and your Cheese is moved? How easy would it be for you to continue shopping?
MENS RUNNING SHOES - AMAZON
Simplicity and minimalization are directly tied to consumer psychology. A site experience that overwhelms a shopper is not good for business. Not only are the chances high that they will not purchase a product, there’s also a good chance that they tell others about their experience, because as we all know bad news travels much faster than good news.
Now, pick any page on your site where customers are expected to make some type of buying decision. It could be searching for a product, reviewing ratings, comparing products, adding to cart, etc. Look at your web site page. I don’t mean just stare at it on your computer screen. Zoom all the way out. Get a feel for the page. Look at Mobile pages as well on your phone. How does this page make you feel? Overwhelmed? Excited? Confused? Your visitors are also experiencing those feelings, because remember they are just like you and me.
Here's a quick example, and a relatively easy A/B test to run on your site. I am a returning customer and based upon my browsing behavior and past purchases, you know that my favorite oil paint color is titanium. So, when I arrive at the site again to refill my paint supplies and hit the product page, why not just show me just one color – titanium white – and hide the rest with a drop down feature? Titanium white would be the default color shown, because it is my favorite.
This….
Instead of this…
I have essentially one option for color in the first example above, if that is my favorite color. How easy and simple. I have at least 32 options in the second example, and that does not include scrolling down the page further! See the difference?
Now, let’s go back to his quote:
“The fewer options I have, the more freedom I have to make decisions, and the more present I become.”
How many options does your online customer have on the page you are reviewing? Consider them all, including but not limited to:
Site navigation
Search bars
Scroll bars
CTAs
Attribute filters
Color swatches
Pop ups
Marketing banners
What other options can your Optimization team come up with here?
I do want to call out one specific metric, which is Time on Page/Site. The metric Time on Site is akin to the part of the quote that talks about staying present. We’ve always assumed that more Time on Site is a good thing for business. Let’s test that assumption.
Sure, if you have a really busy page with lots of banners, ads, content thrown everywhere, then Time on Site may increase. But is it quality time on site?
If the page(s) is simplified, I am more present to what I am doing, and less distracted by all of the options discussed above. I may spend a bit less time on the page because I can focus better on the content and think through my decision more clearly and easily.
💡 Optimization Idea – Run a Time on Page A/B test with your new simplified page 💡
As I have mentioned in previous articles, test ideation is one of the keys to a finely tuned Optimization program. Without a consistent and high-quality backlog of ideas, most programs will either fail or not reach their potential.
In that light, here’s what I want you to charge your Director of Optimization with this month. Review the table below with the team. Have them complete the table below and add columns or delete columns as needed for your specific site.
As we wrap up, here are a few questions that will help your Director of Optimization facilitate a brain-storming session around minimalism. Allow each team member to share openly without judgement or sarcasm from the group. That’s when the really juicy Optimization ideas start appearing!!
❓What does minimalization mean to you? Not just in business, but in other areas of your life?
❓What does a simplified site look like? A simplified page?
❓If you are a customer on your site, what would you recommend removing?
❓How many decision points does a customer have on each of your page types?
HIGH LEVEL TAKE AWAYS
1️⃣ Simplicity and minimalization are directly linked to your customer’s buying psychology
2️⃣ Review your key site pages using the table in this article
3️⃣ Remember that more “Time on Site” could also mean “Harder to find stuff”
Last tip – Devote 30 minutes a week to review another site’s pages and identify opportunities to minimalize
As always, I hope that you were able to take away an idea or two that you can share with your Director of Optimization and his or her team.
Happy Testing!!!
Jason
