We hope for simple promises rather than a long list. When brands focus on one clear benefit, it sounds more believable than trying to do everything at once. Take it from Google.
When Chrome launched in 2009, they called it, “Fast Browser.” They used this same line many times in many different ads. Nice line. But think for a second about all the qualities Google has to offer.
They didn’t mention how passwords are synced, how security is best in class, or integration with Gmail. They didn’t mention extensions, stability, or automatic updates. They could do it, but instead they focus on one profit. Speed.
The campaign worked. Now, Chrome is the most popular browser in the world, taking 71% of the market. Saying less can make your brand feel more successful. Adding benefits can actually weaken persuasiveness. Here is the reason.
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The Goal Dilution Effect
A simple ad campaign for Google Chrome is an example of the effect of goal dilution. This cognitive bias causes people to believe that products are less effective when they serve multiple purposes, instead of a single, focused purpose. In short, if you offer more benefits, those benefits decrease.
In a 2007 study by Zhang and Fishbach, participants were given information about how eating tomatoes could achieve certain goals.
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Others are told that eating tomatoes achieves only one goal: “to help prevent cancer.”
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Some are told that eating tomatoes accomplishes two goals: “to help prevent cancer and degenerative eye disease.”
Zhang and Fishbach found that participants rated tomatoes as 12% more effective in preventing cancer when this was the only benefit listed, compared to when additional health benefits were also included.
The Beauty of Simplicity: Five Men
Five Guys benefited from the same bias in 1986 when Jerry Murrell opened the first store. They didn’t try to be jack-of-all-trades. They focused on one benefit, and that focus increased the credibility of their claims.
On the Nudge Podcast, Richard Shotton explained how the founder of Five Guys was inspired by the long lines outside Thrasher’s Fries in Ocean City, Maryland. He was quoted as saying, “There must be 20 places that sell boardwalk fries, but only one place has a long line.”
Why were the Thrashers so popular? Well, according to Murrell, it was their focus. Thrashers only offers fries, nothing else.
Five men repeated the same trick. Rather than offering side salads, desserts, fish fillets and other items similar to fast food outlets. Five Guys only offered the bare minimum: burgers and fries.
That simple menu helped Five Guys explode in popularity. The chain exploded in the mid-2010s, growing more than 700% in six years. With limited menus, the brand can focus on making the best burgers and fries. And, as a result of the dilution of the goal, the customers got the message.
Less is more
Chrome and Five Guys remind us that restraint is strategy. When you strip away everything a brand could do and stick to what you do best, people believe. The power cannot be missed. Therefore, winning brands don’t always have the most to offer. They know what they do best and trust their customers to fill in the rest.
