Toys-R-Us has recently announced plans to add short-term locations this Christmas shopping season. They will be setting up shop in vacated storefronts in malls and shopping centers to pick off additional traffic that their current permanent stores don't attract. It's a brilliant move for several reasons.

First, it's tried and true in other industries. Look at any empty Blockbuster Video or Circuit City location right about now -- they are being occupied by Halloween stores on 2-month leases. Same goes for fireworks shops each summer. They pop up in every vacant storefront for a short selling season and then disappear again. That's exactly what Toys-R-Us wants to do, adding outlets for their busiest season and then folding up when the season is over.

Second, it's low risk. Retail property owners don't exactly have big lines clamoring for their vacant spaces right now; supply far surpasses demand. As a result, I'm guessing Toys-R-Us has gotten sweet deals almost everywhere they have gone. Between convenient locations and their well-recognized name, they are sure to get traffic. That spells profit!

The adage "Location, Location, Location" holds true even in short-term bursts of seasonal business. Where could you be more convenient to customers? How could you be easier to access when the buying decisions are being made? Pick your spots, and compete for traffic in creative new ways!

Labels: creativity, customers, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

As mentioned in the previous post, Kohl's has a new radio spot that got me thinking. The question in the ad is, "Is it just me, or . . .?"

Finish that sentence with your own business in mind. What do you offer that is "just you?" What is it about your products or services or company or delivery or experience or follow-up that can only be found with you? You'll have to be specific, like Kohl's with their no-hassle, no-questions, no-receipt return policy.

Get creative, until you can answer that question affirmatively: "Yep, it's just me!"

Labels: advertising, differentiation, management, marketing, planning, strategy

A new Kohl's radio spot asks, "Is it just me, or does everyone have a return policy this good?" They give a couple specifics of their generous, no-questions return policy, and then decide, yep, it's just them.

This prompts a couple points. First, when retail stores are working so hard and spending so much to make sure they are perceived as different, this move by Kohl's is genius. They aren't promoting their exclusive brands or new product lines, they're highlighting their return policy.

Returns are often a pain. Consumers often dread the experience -- having to explain their reasons for return, having to dig up old receipts, bracing themselves for conflict or hearing "sorry, we can't take this back." So to woo shoppers, Kohl's is selling confidence that the purchase experience is no-risk.

This is customer sensitivity in action. How can you reduce risk for your customers? Find a way, and proclaim it boldly. You'll be set apart that very instant.

Labels: customer centered, differentiation, marketing, planning, strategy

Home Energy Audits are not going to take off. Nor will Business Energy Audits, even if they point out areas of waste and areas of potential savings. Or even if they are free. Why? Because they are called audits!

No one wants to sign up for an audit, even when it's designed to help them.

If you would take that same energy audit and repackage it as something more desirable, like a savings kit or The Wastebuster or something, you would get more takers.

I caught myself doing this not long ago. I was doing free marketing audits for clients of a CPA friend, only we didn't promote it as a marketing audit. We called it a free marketing review. Not sexy, not glamorous, but better than an audit! And I was booked solid all day long.

It matters what you call things. If you want a premium price for a watch, refer to it as a "timepiece." If you know a good mechanic, refer to him as "the Charlie Daniels of the torque wrench." (Sorry, that was stolen from a country song.)

The point is, rethink the words you're using to describe yourself, your company, your products and what they're used for, your services and what they accomplish. Choose words that say more. Choose words that move you more upscale or more value-driven. Don't just say what has always been said. That's how you end up with energy audits no one wants.

Labels: customer centered, differentiation, marketing, messaging, planning, strategy

We were at a department store the other day, which is weird for me. Usually everyone is at a department store except me, since I am deathly allergic to most of them.

But there we were, getting a new pair of Keen shoes for our first grader. When it came time to check out, there was a line at the kids' shoe department counter so we went over to the women's shoe counter. The man behind the counter looked downright petrified when we stepped up. He looked as if he wasn't prepared to check anyone out. Maybe his register drawer was out of change?

Then he asked another employee to check us out, using a hushed tone. She also responded with a look of worry. Then it all became clear: This was about commissions.

They can't check out a customer without entering a code identifying the employee who is supposed to get the commission on that sale. If they check the customer out with no code, no one gets a commission. Or the world comes to an end. I'm not sure.

So they called over a lady from the children's department, who happily reported that, yes, she was the one who helped us and gets the commission. The man entered her code, and it would seem we were back on track. Except then my wife spoke up and said, "Actually, she only brought the shoes out from the back. Another lady sized our son's feet and answered our questions."

Well, by now the code had been entered and I was in the middle of forking over the cash. This is now full-blown crisis mode for the workers, because they needed to figure out how to add another employee's code and/or split the commission between the two.

At this point I will digress, because the whole scene was a bit embarrassing. (For them.) They were following policy, and the policy was centered on everything except making the transaction comfortable and efficient for the customer.

I've seen other little debacles relating to retail salespeople on commissions, but this was the first one in a long while. If you're going to commission your floor sales staff, at least make it invisible to the customer.

Labels: bad habits, customer centered, customer service, management, marketing, planning, salesmanship, strategy

What causes someone to contact you or pay your business a visit? If you don't know, it's hard to gain more customers like that -- at least on purpose.

This line of thinking was prompted by a phone call I got the other day from a business owner I have never met. This man has a successful company and wants to spin off specific services into a more targeted niche. So when he mentioned this to a mentor of his, that mentor directed him my way.

The new market was his decision trigger. If he wanted to continue growing the business he already had, he could probably do so without professional help. But to enter a new market, he knew he might need resources he didn't already have.

I've "trained" my referral sources to listen for this type of situation. When they hear it, that's an appropriate candidate for our services. That decision trigger puts the owner in a position of openness to new ideas, which is one way we help them.

So I ask you, what are the things that trigger your customers to call? Knowing the answer will improve your advertising, your customer contact, your referral base, and much more. Get out ahead of those decisions, and direct people your way.

Labels: management, marketing, planning, strategy

I'm preparing some training for the sales team of a hospice company. We'll cover a wide range of topics, but one keeps surfacing in my mind: It's not about you.

Many of them will feel pressure to meet goals, which is not a bad thing in itself. But many come from a sales background where negative reinforcement is the norm. What these companies might call "sense of urgency" more accurately plays out as desperation. And when someone is desperate, they walk into a sales call thinking, "I need..."

As soon as you're centering your mind on your own needs, you have abandoned the way your customer thinks.

I'm going to tell these reps, "There are several things that are very important to hospice care. Your needs are not one of them."

This is actually a very liberating thought, one I've posted on before. Customers do not exist to help you meet sales quotas or to help you win awards or to keep your manager off your back. You are supposed to be offering something to them, not the other way around. Once you get that, you are free to speak their language and truly help them.

And the funny thing is, that's when you win!

Labels: bad habits, customer centered, employees, management, marketing, salesmanship