We tried that in my store & it didn’t work

By Rich Gordon AKA Retail Rich

Failure is an option, it may just need tweaking!

Maybe you really seriously tried it and maybe you didn’t.  Maybe you compromised the idea instead; but even if something fails once or even twice out of the past, is it really a lousy idea forever?

If you think about it, just about everything has been tried before.  Have you ever heard the quote, “Everything old is new again?”  Very little that happens in our lives, is truly new. It’s all been tried before to some extent, or in some similar fashion or variation.  And I’ll bet that almost all things that have been tried and succeeded, have failed somewhere before.

• General Motors tried smaller cars before.  They’re successful with them now.

• Coca-Cola decided in 1985 that the formula for Coke was no good any longer. Within 3 months they admitted their monumental mistake.

• Consumer electronics manufacturers tried MP3 players before Apple succeeded with the iPod.

• Smartphones were sold in some very limited form in the past, but the iPhone changed the market.

• Jell-O appeared for two years starting in 1897.  It was sold as a failure for $450 by 1899.

• “Carnation” Instant Breakfast bombed when it was first introduced in the weight loss section of the supermarket.  When reintroduced with breakfast foods, it took off.

• Henry Ford tried to introduce and sell charcoal at auto dealerships and failed.  Then Charles Kingsford succeeded.

• In 2001 Bill Gates claimed that the tablet computer would be the most popular form of computer sold in America within 5 years. It was practically declared DOI until Apple came out with the I-pad in 2010.

• Apple itself was declared a flash in the pan during the nineties. Today its market value is greater than Microsoft and the company has over $50 billion in cash.

• And then there were e-books (predicted to fail), just a couple of years ago.

In almost all the cases above, someone believed in the product at hand. The strategy was changed and history was made.  No faith, no creativity, no experimentation equals failure!  The fact is that the success of any new concept is at the mercy of many different variables.  It may be timing.  It may be design, promotion, the economy, location, or just the luck of the draw at the moment.  Sometimes even the slightest adjustments can make the difference between dismal failure and overwhelming success.

What’s my point?

We give up too easily, and too often we believe without question, that a failure in the past is indicative that the idea was not a good one.   Yes, there are many ideas that really are not ideal. But how often do you take a look at the lousy idea or the poor unproductive floor-space or the poor employee and just decide that there’s nothing you can do about it other than get rid of it?

Misguided Fear or Wise Decision?

Fear or discomfort seems to motivate many of us to be willing to give up something valuable in order to rid ourselves of something painful or unwanted.  It’s a bit like, “Throwing out the baby with the bathwater” when things don’t work, and it’s shortsighted.

Some of these failed ideas may just need a little more tweaking.  Maybe they need a little more thought or maybe the whole idea needs to be turned upside down and looked at from another perspective (see the chapter in my book on improving your creativity).  Maybe the idea was good, but the execution was poor, or maybe the idea was compromised so much, that it never had a chance to succeed!  Did the idea or person fail, or did WE fail?  Many of the ideas or the people that we start out with, had a spark of worthiness and possibilities when we began with them.  Maybe we just need to break down the failure into bite-sized pieces and look at it a bit more closely. (Were we really that crazy in the first place when we tried the first time and failed?)  What is wrong with the situation and more importantly, what is right?  If you can break up a failed attempt at something, into individual parts, you’ll end up with a better sense of whether or not the idea itself was at fault. You’ll also have a much better understanding of the problems you might encounter if you made another more enlightened attempt.  A more informed or enlightened attempt will certainly give you a better chance and foundation for your next attempt.

Rejecting Good Advice or Compromising Success?

Along the same lines, if someone comes to you with expertise and makes some solid recommendations about how to deal with aspects of your business, I hope that you would listen very carefully and maybe even take some notes. And yes, it is your prerogative as to what you listen to and what you don’t, and if you make a decision not to listen to someone, that is just fine. It may be a mistake, but that is YOUR mistake and YOUR choice. Don’t dismiss something for no other reason than you’ve tried it before and it didn’t work.

I will make one additional strong recommendation. If you decide to listen to someone—to implement an idea or a concept that they can explain and back up with years of experience—IMPLEMENT THE IDEA FULLY, WITH NO COMPROMISES, AND GIVE IT YOUR BEST, WHOLE-HEARTED EFFORT.

The ONLY way you will ever find out if the idea has merit and will help you is to actually give it a try. Don’t water it down and compromise the effort. If you do, then you still haven’t tried the recommendation or idea. Sometimes compromising one part of the idea or concept ruins the whole thing. If I told you that cutting the price by a dime and filling a whole end cap with cans of Pork n’ Beans would increase its sales drastically, that doesn’t mean you fill the end cap with 6 cans or 20 cans or even 100 cans. It means you FILL the end cap from top to bottom. If I told you that you needed to reduce the price on the beans by a dime, that doesn’t mean that you lower it a nickel or that you don’t lower it at all, because then you have still not really tried what was recommended, and you still can’t tell anyone the idea it didn’t work!

Good Advice & Failure

Yes, there are other well-meaning people who give supposed “good advice” all the time, but the difference between genuinely good advice and well-meaning advice is from whom the advice comes from, and whether the advice helps you do what you’re trying to do. If some so called, “good advice” isn’t working for you; it most likely is not good advice.

Successful people know how to grow from past mistakes instead of blatantly dismissing everything.  They understand failure is just a valuable lesson that they will learn and benefit from.  They don’t see mistakes or failure as something to automatically reject, they see failures or mistakes as stepping stones or learning curves that bring them closer to achieving their goals and succeeding.  They welcome making the necessary adjustments that are needed to achieve success.

Don’t allow you and your store to develop a mindset or culture that says we know better and we don’t attempt anything without a guarantee of success.  Looking for guarantees or refusing to make adjustments and learn from what may have failed before, is a major obstacle to moving ahead.  Never failing means never taking risks, and failing is an important lesson and necessary part of the process in learning how to succeed.

© 2011 Retail Redefined and retailrichez.com. All rights reserved.

Increasing Retail Sales With Some Display Changes

by Rich Gordon AKA Retail Rich

While there are many aspects involved in marketing and gaining customer loyalty in your shop, one of the most important is your visual appeal. The world is crying out for unique!

Does your merchandise display attract and interest the customer?

Do your efforts overwhelm and confuse your customers?

Take a look at every 4’ section of your store.  Is it boring or too much like everywhere else a customer goes?

Do you have a “Wow” factor anywhere in your store?  Why not more?

Here are some tips to help you create displays that will get the customers’ attention:

The presentation of your store’s merchandise will either serve to reinforce the customer’s confidence in the products you have or cause them to second-guess their need to buy at all. Your presentation will also reinforce the image and brand you are trying to create, or it will totally work against it. If your product display looks more like Joe’s Bargain Barn, this will certainly not reinforce your image.  Regardless, in a split second, a possible sale can either happen or it can disappear in a snap.

We all know how to merchandise most anything that comes into our stores, because many of us have been doing it for years and after a while it almost becomes automatic.  While I realize we all have limitations in terms of space and what we can do with merchandise that arrives at our store, I would like to briefly talk about the word “automatic” or “usual”.  These very words may be the key to finding some more sales with some merchandise.

Think seriously about what might be a no-brainer to you.  Think about what is always done and try turning it upside-down, inside out or just doing something flat out highly unexpected!  This may be the key in drawing some attention to some old worn out products and presentation ideas, and maybe even your store.  A truly unexpected surprise in a display, may make the product not only more appealing, but also more saleable.  Maybe the question might be, “What would never be done with this item?  Or, What would break the rules?  Speaking of rules, why aren’t there dog mannicans?   What would be the impact of decking out these mannicans in a pet store with fancy collars, dog sweaters or doggie t-shirts?  You know. . . Gucci Poochie stuff!

For years, women and men’s fashion retailers typically presented clothing on racks. Somewhere along the line, somebody decided to use tables for shirts, sweaters, slacks etc.  Why?  What happened?  Tables were probably always a better way to merchandise a shirt, yet it just wasn’t really done. There are lots of things over the years you can point to that have changed in the way of merchandising.  Sometimes temporarily, because the change wasn’t for the better, but I’ll bet even a temporary change caused some unexpected sales, at least for a while.  Try putting something on a wall that is NEVER found on a wall.  Merchandise something in baskets that is never sold by the basket full. Retailing is partly about surprises and entertainment, so try doing it in an entertaining way. . . .and do it with class.

Those who are specifically looking for an item will find it, but those who are just browsing may notice things and become drawn to things that are displayed in an inventive or provocative way.

Being creative doesn’t mean “expensive”. Look for ways to repurpose ordinary objects and low-cost display elements like unique finds at a flea market or from a garage sale. I was in a gift store last fall that used an old oven to display cookbooks and a variety of gift items that related to baking.  It looked fantastic and has been shown on my website.  Think old furniture, blackboards, and bright colored fabrics!

Here are some rules and ideas in brief:

1.  First & Foremost. . . .Keep It All Clean!

Cleanliness trumps everything. Everything should be clean, fresh, stain free and dust free. What’s the point of drawing customers eyes upward in a tall display only to see stained ceiling tiles over everything

2. Create a “Wow” factor

or some major focal point for your store displays, especially something that can be seen by customers as soon as they walk in. An overwhelming display or a boring one can both have the same problem – a lack of focal point.

•     Think about where you want your customers to look.

•     Is there one main feature you want customers to notice?

•     Always be thinking about where the eye will travel through your store. Don’t leave this to chance. Decide and plan what the customer should do when they see the display. Also think about where complimentary items might be placed in close proximity to encourage crossover sales.

Also keep in mind that many window and table displays are too low. The focal point should be at eye level to most viewers. Visitors shouldn’t have to work to get a good look at what you’re trying to show. They will simply walk on by without noticing.

3. Use Interesting Props

Look for ways to use alluring visual elements and props to inspire and create excitement. Put prices on the props too, when you’re ready to sell them.  Just keep it simple
. Don’t try to do too much. The goal is to attract attention to one or two products in a special presentation within your store.  Focus on one at a time.  The goal is to make it easy for the customer to find what they are looking for and to make sense of your product arrangement. Keep your groupings logical by grouping similar products together, with complimentary products nearby.

4. Inspect What You Do from all Angles

Once you’ve completed your display, step back and take a look at it. Ask for input from other employees. Keep in mind that very few customers will see it while standing directly in front of the display. Walk around and make it good from all angles. Assure that it looks the best from the angle it will most likely be seen from.

5.  Work For The Senses

When it comes to merchandising that works, keep something in mind. According to an educational study done many years ago, if people just see something their memory of what they saw is about 23 percent. If they see and hear during the experience the memory retention jumps up to around 43 percent. Approximately 86 percent of the experience is retained when the sense of touch is added. If you add taste and/or smell, you’ve got a killer combination.  Senses evoke emotions and emotions cause people to buy.  What kind of emotions to you want to create? Believe it or not our sense of smell is processed by the same part of the brain that processes memory, so very often, scent will elicit an emotional response.  Since scent is the closest sense linked to memory, people will recall smell with up to 64 percent accuracy after one year. More and more retailers are using this power to effect customer emotions and it seems to effect woman more as they have a sharper sense of smell than men.  Think about it. . .It’s one thing e-tailers can’t do on the internet.  While I’m at it. . Cigarette smoking impairs a person’s sense of smell.

6.  Take A Hard Look At the Common Display Approaches Within Your Market.

Look at what other stores or your competition are doing when it comes to eye-catching displays. Consider also what is never done or never seen, that might be considered to shake things up and become more noticeable.  What would a customer be pleasantly surprised or shocked to see in a store? What would make a customer come in and say, “Wow, I didn’t know you did that,” or “Hey, I’ve never seen that done before!”

7.  Find Ideas By Bringing In Some Retail Outsiders

Bring your employees together with some outsiders who don’t usually deal with your store’s daily problems and issues. These outsiders will see things in your store from a whole other perspective and open up new possibilities of thinking. They may even ask some seemingly dumb questions, but that’s ok, because they won’t be limited by a familiarity with your usual habits and practices.

8.  Aid Creativity By Asking Your Customers Some Questions

The questions below are merely starting points. The answers to these questions may help you in terms of what might appeal to YOUR customers.  Music is a question here because music effects emotions.       Sounds are very important in terms of creating emotions.

Where else do you shop or where else would you shop if we disappeared tomorrow?  Why?

What do you like about our competition that you don’t see here?

What do you usually notice when you’re in here?  What catches your eye?

What could we do to make you come back here more often?  Why?

What is the one thing you would change about this store immediately?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Regardless of what you do with your merchandising efforts, your job is to always appear well-stocked without looking like you’re stuck with an overabundance of something you’ll never sell!    To add to your store’s purchase percentage, it should always appear well-stocked, but not bursting at the seams. On the other side of things remember to keep in mind regardless of what you do that empty or sparsely merchandised fixtures give the impression that you do not have a complete assortment, or your customers are picking from leftovers.

©2011 Retail Redefined and retailrichez.com. All rights reserved.