QUESTIONS OR ANSWERS?

   Asking great questions is both an art and a science.  Done well, it leads to truth, trust and value.  At Tusco Display, there’s no greater compliment from a client or supply chain partner than to have them say, “You ask the best questions!”

   People often make a mistake about questions.  They feel that asking them shows weakness, uncertainty and ignorance.  Perhaps it goes back to our school days when raising our hands meant opening ourselves to potential ridicule by classmates or showing our teachers that we hadn’t understood something.  Yes, technically, questions indicate that you don’t have all of the answers.  Do you really think that others believe that you already know everything?  Ask your spouse, child, parent or true friend for that answer.

   We so often focus on developing great answers that we miss that it’s time spent developing the great questions that lead to great answers.  Ask the right questions, get the right answers.  Ask the wrong questions and…well, you know that answer.

   Effective in-store marketing isn't so much about answering every question that a shopper may have as they cruise down an aisle.  More often, it's about getting them to stop and wonder about what they see, feel, smell, hear, sense.  It's about letting THEM supply an answer to the question your product display presents.  "Hey, I could use that product when I..."

   Worry less about how you’ll answer questions and focus instead on asking great ones - in-store and in life.  From great questions spring great answers.

IN-STORE WINS - BY A MILE

   At a recent industry meeting, another producer of displays lamented the dire prospects for retail and, thereby, our industry because of the Internet.  My response: "Poppycock!"

   Consider two indisputable facts:

1.    People still buy most goods from stores.  Whether it’s toothpaste or Teflon pans, sausage links or kitchen sinks, food or Fords, shoppers shop and buy in retail environments.  They want to interact with products and they want what they want now.  Though in some categories (e.g., music, electronics) the percentage is quite high, still only about 8% of all dollars are spent online.  Bricks swamp clicks.

2.    Stores are the most economical delivery method.  Moving most products by the truckload to central locations where shoppers come to pick out, pay for and carry home the goods costs less than shipping to individual homes.  If the USPS went to a similar strategy, i.e., eliminate home delivery and require pick up at the post office, how much less would it cost them to handle the mail?  

   Online and direct-to-home delivery will continue to grow but, as transportation costs climb, low-cost, bulky and heavy products may never leave the store environment – except in your trunk or truck bed.  "FedEx me some kitty litter!" said no one ever.  UPS won't become your new milkman.  And people will still appreciate the chance to see, smell, touch and buy what they want on the spot.  

   In-store is the last three feet of the marketing plan; the shopper is the last three miles of the distribution plan.  

VISUAL LOAD

   I recently spoke with a long-time industry friend who does consulting for retailers.  She chatted about the challenge of managing “visual load” in stores.  As anyone with eyes to see can attest, walking into most stores is an assault especially on our visual senses.

   Our job in display design and fixture execution is to better organize, even tame, the visual onslaught so shoppers can be put at ease, more easily make sense of what they encounter and find what they need without confusion or distrust.  This is tough as every brand vies for the attention of that shopper and every store tries to sell her everything they can.

   At Tusco Display, we do more than make racks.  We create spaces where our clients’ products are found and can flourish.  We choose colors, materials, fasteners, angles, dimensions and graphics to complement the products.  We improve the in-store experience for those searching, overwhelmed shoppers.  We lead clients to put their best feet forward on their most important stage: the store.  We make a true difference for shoppers, brands and retailers alike.

   It’s easy for people to overlook what we do in creating environments, in presenting products, in uniting consumers and products in the marketplace.  It’s honorable, vital work about which every one of us can feel pride.