This week Alex talks about the customer journey and the problem of choice. How many touch points do you think your customers go through when they engage with your product or service? What emotions do they feel throughout this journey? What influences their decision making process? Can too many choices be a negative thing? For answers to all these questions and more, tune in and let Alex guide you as she breaks it all down and allows you to understand your customers journey in a way that will add value to your business. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There are many factors that influence our attitudes, including the influence of significant people in our lives. It is important to understand our attitude and how we are influenced, especially when running a business as it will affect the choices of our staff and customers. 
• Our attitude is also influenced by our behavioural beliefs. These are beliefs we carry that may not be true, such as “I can’t do X because of Y”. These beliefs can be limiting to our growth and it is important to challenge them.
• Alex breaks down the customer journey into 4 simple steps. She explains them and helps you to understand how each step is processed in the mind of the customer, giving you the tools to add value to your business. 
• Do people find it harder to make a choice when more options are available? Alex gets into this and talks about ‘preference uncertainty’ and helps you understand how you can give your customers better choices. 

Recommended reading and references: 

John R. Hauser, Min Ding, and Steven P. Gaskin Non-compensatory (and Compensatory) Models of Consideration-Set Decisions 

Graham Jones (book) - Clickology: What Works in Online Shopping and How Your Business can use Consumer Psychology to Succeed

A Study of the Compensatory and Non- Compensatory Decision Support on the Top - 100 U.S. E-Commerce Websites

Naveen Gudigantala University of Portland, gudigant@up.edu

Consumer Decision­Making Models, Strategies, and Theories, Oh My! by Michael Richarme