Nope, not quite so. It turns out that the more options you have the more negative emotion you experience. Brands are especially notorious in this regard. It is far more likely for a brand to introduce a new sub-brand than for it to kill one that deserves to forced into extinction. When killing is not an option, you would think merging is, yet, brands insist on separating their products and services. It is that thing we humans have about holding on to stuff – even stuff we no longer need – and thinking that the more we have the better.
Think of how difficult is usually is to buy a phone. You have to think about the brand, the price, model, features etc. You have to make comparisons and analysis and reviews. You find yourself asking the seller “if it were you, which one is the best phone to get?” And at that point you would think you are asking for expert opinion, only that you would be mistaken, because that is just a manifestation of your confusion and frustration.
When you pay for the devices, you will be excited because it is new. Three days later, you would be wondering whether you made the right choice because there are some things that are not working the way you had imagined they would work. So now, despite having more options than you could use, you are plagued with dissatisfaction. It is made worse if it turns out that you indeed made a bad choice. You will feel stupid and blame it on yourself. How could you spend your hard earned money on such a substandard thing/service yet there so many others to choose from?!
Also read: Does your wallet make you happy?
Negative emotion.
Your brain then associates the emotions you are going through with the brand you are interacting with, reducing the chances of your association with it ever again. Brand experience is in as small things as how customers feel before and after they buying your products/services.
Less is more. Give people few good options, give them less headache. Help your customers make better choices, easy. When you specialise on doing just one thing, people tend to think that you are good at it. Look at brands like Ford, General Electric, Nikon, Sony etc. We trust them because we know what they deal in. When LG ventured into the business of making phones hoping that they would turn a profit, they fell short. Just because you make leather bags doesn’t mean you can make leather shoes. And just because you make nice coffee doesn’t mean you can brew a good beer.
