"Making a train journey 20% faster might cost hundreds of millions, but making it 20% more enjoyable may cost almost nothing." This is a quote by Rory Sutherland in his book Alchemy. Sutherland, a behavioral researcher at the largest advertising agency in the world (Ogilvy), essentially studies ways to make products more appealing.

A study is often cited about how drinking our alcohol in a nicer glass tastes better. This highlights that perception affects our experience. And, to tie things back to Sutherland's opening quote, it might be remarkably more effective to modify the impressions our brand gives off than to modify the product. 

"But the truth is," Sutherland states, "ancillary details have a far greater effect on our emotional response, and hence our behavior, than measured outcomes." Like quality snacks on an airplane, up-to-date magazines in the lobby, or a nice glass for your cocktail. 

Rory calls these massive psychologically perceived improvements "moonshots." He also thinks that this is one of the largest areas of growth in building products and brands.

"It seems likely to me that the biggest progress in the next 50 years may not come from improvements in technology but in psychology and design thinking. Put simply, it's easy to achieve massive improvements in perception at a fraction of the cost of equivalent improvements in reality."

As Sutherland said, it might be easier to make your customers wait 20% more comfortable than it is to make your product 20% cheaper. If we often have clients that visit our office, or we offer a service satisfying customers' concerns, we shouldn't cut small details and instead build on them.

If you're looking for ways to improve these little details with your company, contact me below.