• by Tom Hespos , October 11, 2005

We've heard the phrase "the consumer is in control" so many times that we're sick of it. It's one of those ideas that gets mentioned so often that it tends to lose its meaning. So what does it really mean anymore?

One of the ways consumer control manifests itself among kids, teens and young adults is that personalization becomes a key value driver for products as diverse as mobile devices, consumer electronics and even automobiles. While two teens might have the same mobile phone, each might customize his or her individual version, so that the two devices no longer resemble one another. They might have different ringtones and wallpaper, or flashing lights or faceplates that make the phones completely different in appearance. In other words, two young people might buy the same base product, but the add-ons and personalization features that they choose are part of what young consumers identify with.

You also see this trend in practice when looking at the value proposition behind Toyota's Scion, a car brand that allows younger drivers to buy low-priced vehicles and have them customized right out of the box. It's sort of like wrapping up the value propositions of the car manufacturer and the aftermarket parts manufacturer into one.

The fact that consumers--especially young ones--often expect a significant number of personalization options leaves marketers with a significant conundrum. We know that consumers say they love choice (and they do), but we also know that when given too much choice, customers tend to get confused or overwhelmed and back out of a sales process.

When you're talking about selling on the Web, this problem tends to show up in the execution of your information architecture strategy. You present all your options to the consumer and--surprise, surprise--your conversion rates take a pronounced nose-dive. You see lots of people making it part-way through the process and then abandoning their shopping carts.

The key to solving this problem is to collect only what you truly need to satisfy and deliver the order, while simultaneously informing consumers about their personalization options. By way of example, to sell a mobile phone online you need a consumer's basic information, carrier and plan selection, and credit card number. You don't need to know what ringtones they would prefer at the time of order, but you do need to let them know that their phone can be customized with a nearly limitless selection of ringtones, wallpapers and what have you.

In other words, personalization is certainly nice, but it should not stand in the way of completing an order.

Thankfully, on the Web, we have ways of presenting things in non-linear ways so that consumers who want to delve further into personalization options at the time of sale can do so, while those who want to simplify the process and move forward with a purchase quickly can also be satisfied.

Good examples of this in action can be seen at the e-commerce Web sites of computer manufacturers, which themselves are the products of many years of tweaking. Notice that when you select a machine for purchase, you often review the options just before hitting the "buy" button. This allows the folks to whom personalization is important to go ahead and pick their video cards, optical drives and case lights, while simultaneously addressing the casual buyer who simply wants the machine to come with the most popular options.

The most important takeaway from all of this is that choice is good, especially on the modern consumer landscape where personalization choices are often worn like a badge of pride. But too much choice can be bad, particularly when you give consumers too many options when they're on their way toward making a purchase. Thankfully, we have interactive media available to us that can take much of the complexity out of the process for consumers and place it with marketers, where it belongs.