Perfection is achieved not when the

Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1939

When did marketers start assuming that the way to stand out amidst loud and flashy advertising methods was to be even louder and flashier? We’re faced with increasing evidence, statistics, and research findings indicating that consumers are tired of being bombarded with extraneous information, which distracts rather than assists them in their buying decisions.

According to research done by CEB, the most effective way to reach consumers isn’t through elaborate and complex websites, ads or sales copy, but rather through simplifying the decision making process: in other words, presenting exactly what consumers need to know, while leaving out the rest. In fact, they found that companies who simplified and streamlined the decision making process for their customers were 86% more likely to make a sale.

The key to modern marketing? Simplicity.

simplify-decisions
Image courtesy of CEB

Increasingly, marketers are finding that offering more – more copy, more complexity, more information – isn’t working like it once did. With estimates that the average American sees anywhere from 250 to several thousand ads or marketing messages every day, there’s simply no way to keep pace if your strategy is to be ‘bigger and louder’. Instead, brands need to think strategically about how to stand out amidst the clutter.

Apple AAPL +0.88% is my favorite example of simplicity in marketing. Take their Mac versus PC ads: 2 guys just standing and talking, set against a white background. No lengthy list of product features, no mention of price, no professional voice actors with emotional voice-overs, or even information on how to buy a Mac. Each ad aims to make one point, and one point only: one way in which Macs are better than PCs.

Recommended by Forbes
MOST POPULAR
Photos: The 25 Bachelor's Degrees With The Highest Salary Potential
+86,505 VIEWS
Apple Loop: iPhone 6S Launch Dates Confirmed, Risky New Technology, Apple Welcomes...
IBMVoice: Why Speed And Security Is Important In The Mobile Economy

mac-vs-pc

Apple’s billboard ads are similar, and about as simple as it gets:

apple-billboard
Image courtesy of kensegall.com

It’s worth noting that Apple’s products adhere to this rule, too. The popularity of Apple’s products is largely due to their simplicity and intuitiveness, making them accessible not only to tech-savvy consumers, but also to kids and seniors.

Another example of a company that definitely scored with the concept of ‘less is more’ is Ivar’s, with their half-second Super Bowl ad from the 2009 Super Bowl. In case you missed it, here it is:



The ad tells you absolutely nothing about the company. It doesn’t tell you that Ivar’s is a chain of seafood restaurants, try to convince you that they have the best prices, or that they have the best food. It’s a low-cost (relatively speaking, considering the cost of a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl is around $4 million), split-second flash of imagery. No marketing message, no features, no benefits. While this ad took the concept of simplicity in marketing to the extreme, it generated massive amounts of buzz for the company – due only to its simplicity.

How Do We Use Simplicity in Our Marketing Campaigns?

We know that web users show an overwhelming preference for scannable, skimmable content. In fact, research shows that only 16% of website visitors read every word on a page; compare this to the 79% of web users who simply scan the page. Many website owners are getting the message, and are doing a good job of making their blog posts scannable by using subheadings, short paragraphs, bulleted lists, etc. But not nearly as many are employing the concept when it comes to their ads, visual content and sales copy.

To streamline and simplify your marketing copy, think about what your customers actually need to know, and get rid of the rest. Some questions to ask yourself:

What is our most compelling value proposition?
What are the most significant benefits of our product to consumers?
What is the minimum amount of information we can provide to our website visitors to help them make a decision?
How can we present this information in a simple, uncluttered way?
According to Pat Spenner of CEB, the primary goal of your website or ad copy should be to simplify the decision making process for your customers. You can do this in 3 ways:

Help your customers trust the information you provide: One of the best ways to do this is through providing customer ratings and reviews.
Help your customers learn about your product: Provide no-nonsense, simplified and streamlined product information that’s relevant to each stage of the buying process.
Help your customers weigh their options: Be transparent about comparing products and brands so they can make an informed purchase decision.
For more tips on effectively marketing your business and products, see my recent post How to Maximize Your Marketing Campaign Through Storytelling, or grab my eBook The Definitive Guide to Marketing Your Business Online.

Results (English) 3:

完美的实现不是没有什么可以增加的，但是当没有任何东西需要离开时。安托万de Saint EXUPéRY，1939

何时营销商开始假设的方式站出来，在大声的和华丽的广告方法是更大和更？我们面临越来越多的证据，统计，研究结果表明消费者已经厌倦了被轰炸无关的信息，而不是帮助他们，使他们的购买决定。

根据CEB的研究，通过精细复杂的网站达到消费者并不是最有效的方式，广告或销售拷贝，而是通过简化决策过程：换句话说，准确地展示消费者需要知道的，而把剩下的。事实上，他们发现，公司谁简化和简化的决策过程，为他们的客户有86%个更容易使销售。简单。

简化决策
形象礼貌CEB

越来越多，营销人员发现，提供更多的–更多的副本，更多的复杂性，更多的信息，是不是像它一样工作。据估计，美国的平均每个地方从250到几千广告或营销信息的每一天，根本没有办法跟上步伐，如果你的策略是“更大，更响亮”。相反，品牌需要从战略上考虑如何脱颖而出的混乱之中。

苹果Apple 0。88%是我最喜欢的例子，简单的营销。拿着他们的苹果电脑广告：2个家伙只是站着，说话，设置在一个白色的背景。没有冗长的清单的产品功能，没有提到价格，没有专业演员的声音与情感的画外音，甚至信息如何买MAC。每一个广告的目的是使一个点，一个点：一种在Mac比PC

福布斯
最流行的
照片推荐：25学士学位与收入潜力最高的
86505视图
苹果iPhone 6S循环：发布日期确定，高风险的新技术，苹果欢迎……
ibmvoice：为什么速度和安全是重要的在移动经济

MAC和PC

苹果的广告是相似的，和简单的得出：

kensegall苹果的广告牌
形象礼貌。COM

值得注意的是，苹果的产品遵守这个规定，太。苹果产品的普及，主要是由于其简单、直观，使他们可不仅要精通技术的消费者，而且还为儿童和老人。

另一个公司，肯定得分的概念，“少即是多”是Ivar的，与他们的2009超级碗超级碗广告。如果你错过了，就在这里，这是一本广告，告诉你绝对没有任何关于该公司的事。它不告诉你，是一个海鲜连锁餐厅，试图说服你，他们有最好的价格，或者说他们有最好的食物。这是一个低成本（相对而言，考虑到超级碗的30秒的成本是4000000美元左右，瞬间的图像分割。没有营销信息，没有功能，没有好处。虽然这则广告的概念，简单的营销到极端，它产生了大量的嗡嗡声，为公司，由于它的简单。

我们知道，网站的用户显示扫描压倒性的偏好，快速浏览内容。事实上，研究表明，只有16%的网站访问者阅读每一个字在一个页面上，比较这79%个用户谁简单地扫描页面。许多网站所有者获取信息，并做好让博客浏览使用副标题，短小的段落，项目符号列表，等等，但并不是很多人都在使用这个概念，当谈到他们的广告，视觉内容和销售副本。有些问题要问你自己：什么是我们最有价值的价值主张？我们的产品对消费者的最重要的好处是什么？
什么是最低金额的信息，我们可以提供给我们的网站访问者，以帮助他们作出决定？
我们如何在一个简单的，简洁的方式呈现这些信息？
根据帕特spenner CEB，您的网站或广告文案的首要目标应该是简化决策过程中你的客户。你可以用3种方式来做这件事：帮助你的客户信任你提供的信息：一个最好的方法是通过提供客户的评价和评论，帮助你的客户了解你的产品：提供无意义，简化和精简的产品信息，相关的购买过程中的每个阶段：对产品和品牌的比较是透明的，这样他们就可以做出明智的购买决定，更多的技巧，有效地营销你的业务和产品，看看我最近的文章如何通过讲故事，最大限度地提高你的营销活动，或抓住我的电子书的权威指南，以市场营销你的业务。