The document discusses the importance of simplicity in customer experiences as shown by a global brand simplicity index based on a survey of over 6,000 consumers across seven countries. It highlights industries with high complexity rankings, such as utilities and banking, and emphasizes that brands that simplify communications and interactions are likely to enhance customer satisfaction and profits. Key recommendations for brands include clear communication, understanding audience needs, and leveraging information design.

1. The Cost of Complexity
Thomas Müller, Global Director Customer Experience, Siegel+Gale 1

2. About Siegel+Gale
Siegel+Gale is a global
strategic branding firm.
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3. Our promise
We build world-class
brands through elegantly
simple, unexpectedly fresh
strategies, stories and
experiences.
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4. 42 years 200+ people
An Omnicom company
8 offices
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5. Pioneers for simplified customer experiences
EmblemHealth Quest IRS Cox United Airlines
Mileage Plus
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7. Global Brand Simplicity Index
+ An online survey among 6,152 consumers in 7 countries:
+ US N=1,027
UK N=1,000
+ Germany N=1,000
Mainland China N=999
India N=1,011
Dubai N=532
Saudi Arabia N=583
+ The sample was recruited to be representative of national
demographic distributions in each country
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8. Questions we asked
Respondents were asked about:
+ How simple or complex they feel their life is
– How this has changed compared to 10 years ago
+ What are the benefits for them of a simpler life
+ Which industries contribute most/least to making their life simpler/more
complex, including questions on:
– Pain of interactions
– Ease of understanding of communications
– Transparency/honesty
– Care about their customers
– Innovation/freshness
– Usefulness
+ Which brands have the simplest or most complex communications and
interactions in relation to their industry peers
– Over 100 brands per country were rated
– Brands were selected to be a representative set of brands that in-country
respondents would be most likely to use or have experience of their services
and/or communications
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9. Simplicity is an important quality of life issue
for people around the world
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10. Some of the brands in the lowest ranking
industries have a lot to learn about simplicity
Lowest ranked global and regional industries
Industry Global Brand Simplicity Score U.S. Brand Simplicity Score
Utilities 580 510
Banking 550 560
Credit card 430 260
Insurance 425 355
Note: The maximum score is 1,000. A score of 750 or better is excellent, from 749 to 601 is average and 600 or
less is below average.
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11. Many of the simplest global brands hail
from the fast food and retail industries
Note: McDonald’s outranked Nokia with a raw score of 853.7 versus 853.5. KFC outranked Burger King with a score
of 826.3 versus 825.7. 11

12. Seven of the top ten U.S. brands are
food-centric—either fast food or retail
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13. United States Brand Simplicity Index
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14. Brands that fail to provide simpler
communications and experience leave
profits on the table
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15. More retail, dining/entertainment and media
brands dominate the German landscape
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16. Germany Brand Simplicity Index
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17. Between 5% and 15% of German consumers
are willing to pay more for simpler experiences
and interactions.
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18. Simplicity pays
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19. Implications for brands
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20. What are the leading brands doing right in terms
of simplicity?
+ Communicating directly, clearly and without jargon
+ Saving time with increased convenience and accessibility
+ Reducing stress by providing savings/value
+ Clarity and simplicity of interactions
+ Enabling consumers to get more from life: deeper
relationships, easygoing lifestyles
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21. What are the low rated brands doing wrong?
+ Communicating in ways that are hard to understand and/or
perceived as deceitful
+ Being perceived to intentionally overcharge
+ Being seen as niche or for too select an audience/poorly
accessible
+ Being found difficult to interact with, having poor customer
service experiences and/or hard-to-use interfaces
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22. The 8 ingredients for
Simplicity
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23. 1. Understand audience needs
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24. 2. Understand business needs
Business decisions Legal/compliance Processing and
delivery capabilities
+ Production capabilities
and constraints
+ Integration of print and
online channels
+ Data availability
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25. 3. Plan for alternative delivery channels
Doctor’s report
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26. Patient report: iPhone
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27. 4. Get the structure right – find your modules
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28. Combine your modules into recipes
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29. One multi-purpose
template covers 70%
of taxpayer
circumstances
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30. 5. Write in plain language
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32. 6. Leverage the power of information design
Paying over time costs you more than paying in full.
A $62 dinner could cost you:
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33. 7. Test with consumers and refine
Before
After
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34. 8. Plan for customer experience governance

36. Thank You!
+ Contact info:
• Email: tmueller@siegelgale.com
• Twitter: tmuellernyc
• Full report: http://www.siegelgale.com/gbsi
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