EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES
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In the seminar I conduct on leadership for store managers, I ask participants this question: Using a scale of one to ten, with one as poor and ten as excellent, how would rate your own personal creativity?
When I first began asking the question, I was somewhat surprised that so many store managers rated themselves somewhere between three and six. The feeling of not being particularly creative isn't unusual with managers in highly-structured chain store operations, but conservative evaluations of personal creativity seems to be common in a broad cross section of retail companies of every size as well.
Having looked at how managers, retail executives, and some store owners view their own creativity, I believe they simply don't think of the job itself as a creative endeavor and often don't think of themselves as creative people.
Faced with all sorts of problems, challenges, and situations, many business people today are exploring how to expand their own thinking. They are pushing themselves to be more creative.
If you own, operate, or manage a retail business, you are probably more creative than you think. And in today's challenging environment, you may need to expand and enhance those creative skills.
One way to be more creative is to begin thinking differently. The fact is there are very creative people in every field. Were they born creative? Did they learn how to think creatively from their parents, in school, or on the job?
Creativity can be nurtured and encouraged. It can be developed as well. But, if you don't think creatively, if you don't explore creative solutions to problems, and if you don't use your own creative thinking to look for opportunities, you aren't making the most of your creative abilities. You also are not taking advantage of one of your most powerful management and leadership tools.
When confronted with a difficult problem or unique situation, most of us rely on past experiences or what we've seen others do in similar situations to guide the decision-making process. We find that it's easier to rely on tried-and-true methods rather than look for new and maybe more creative solutions to a problem or situation. Are we getting the best results from this "business-as-usual" approach?
Keep in mind, this is not about artistic creativity. This is about opening your mind and exploring alternative, more creative methods and opportunities for the every day business of selling more merchandise, growing and managing your business, and leading your people.
Before I go any further, let me clarify a couple of things. I'm not a proponent of the "touchy feely" school of management and leadership. Yes, I believe an effective leader must have a wide variety of skills and abilities including those usually considered "soft" skills, but I don't believe in ethereal approaches to leadership.
I believe in practical, usable, tangible methods for operating a business successfully. I also believe that by enhancing your own creativity you will operate your business better. You will be able to come up with practical, usable, tangible solutions to problems and situations. It will make managing your business and leading your people more personally rewarding as well.
If you study the most effective leaders in any field, you will find that the majority of them are pragmatic, no-nonsense people who are able to clearly define their roles in the business and take the steps necessary to move the business forward. Most of these successful people also have an open mind and encourage everyone in their organizations to look for and explore creative answers and solutions to the challenges they face each day.
Hewlitt Packard, the highly successful computer industry company, ran a series of television ads last year showing people in mentally challenging business situations including one where a man was driving his car down a desolate road. The man was thinking about a challenging problem. At the end of the ad he stopped the car at a phone booth and made a phone call. He said to a colleague... "WHAT IF WE...?"
The WHAT IF question is the jumping off point for exploring creative answers and solutions. Is the WHAT IF question an integral part of the problem solving process in your organization? Is the WHAT IF question where you start looking for new opportunities and exploring new ways to do things?
A WHAT IF question by itself won't instantly make you and your staff more creative, but it will get you and your people started looking for and exploring creative answers and solutions to business problems and opportunities.
By asking yourself, and others around you WHAT IF we tried this or WHAT IF we did it another way, you will begin the process of taking a more creative look at your business. Here are some examples of WHAT IF thinking.
WHAT IF solutions. 1. Traditional Approach: Create strategically placed, eyecatching accessory and add-on merchandise displays near the check-out counter or in other high-traffic areas.
WHAT IF... a women's apparel retailer were to use hang tags on shirts, sweaters, and other tops with a photograph of the item along with a contrasting skirt, belt, pair of shoes, or piece of fashion jewelry?
WHAT IF... a hardware/home center had a display right in the middle of the paint department showing everything a do-it-yourselfer needs to paint a room including paint, brushes, rollers, roller pan, masking tape, a tip sheet for doing the job, and anything else the customer might need to complete the job?
WHAT IF... a luggage retailer created a one-page sheet listing basic travel accessories and arranged for local travel agents to give the accessory sheet to customers along with airline tickets or travel itineraries? What if the sheet also included overseas travel tips describing the use of certain accessories?
WHAT IF... a sporting goods store created displays in each hard goods department (golf, weight lifting, skiing, bicycling, etc.) with mannequins wearing complete apparel outfits and the appropriate accessories for that particular sport? What if the display was priced as a complete outfit? 2. Traditional Approach: Teach employees how to suggestion-sell accessory and add-on merchandise.
WHAT IF... employees were taught that every customer must be given an opportunity to buy appropriate accessory and add-on merchandise?
WHAT IF... cashiers in stores that sell portable, battery-operated items were taught to ask every customer if they needed batteries?
WHAT IF... delivery people for appliance and furniture stores carried a selection of accessory merchandise in their trucks and were taught to give every customer the opportunity to buy those items?
WHAT IF... customers who bought higher-ticket merchandise were mailed a catalog of accessories and add-on merchandise a few days after their initial purchase and were encouraged to call or come back within a certain period of time to buy those items at a special reduced price? 3. Traditional Approach: Offer financial incentives to encourage employees to sell accessory and add-on merchandise.
WHAT IF... part of a sales associate's performance evaluation was based on how many customers bought accessory and add-on merchandise?
WHAT IF... part of a sales associate's performance evaluation was based on how many multiple-item sales they made during the month?
WHAT IF... in those stores where higher-ticket merchandise is sold, sales associates were expected to call previous customers and tell them about new accessory and add-on items that could be used with their original purchase? 4. Traditional Approach: Offer special pricing to customers to encourage them to buy accessory and add-on merchandise.
WHAT IF... customers who bought an item that required additional purchases (i.e., batteries or film) was given a frequent-buyer card that was punched every time they made a purchase and after 10 or 20 purchases they would get something free?
WHAT IF... in a menswear store new customers were given an "Accessory Club" card and were offered a rebate or other incentive for every $300 in ties, belts, socks, and other accessories they purchased?
WHAT IF... instead of a discount, each customer who bought a complete package like the sporting goods package I mentioned before or a complete apparel outfit, a complete set of luggage, a complete paint-aroom package, etc., had their name entered into a drawing for an in-store gift certificate, tickets to a major sporting event or concert, or some other desirable incentive?
WHAT IF... there was a way to make every customer, every day feel more wanted and more welcome in your stores?
Traditional Approach: Conduct customer service training classes and teach associates the value and importance of offering friendly service.
WHAT IF... you had a firm company policy to only hire nice people who are outgoing, friendly, and who genuinely care about people?
WHAT IF... every employee was expected to smile and say hello to every customer they passed no matter where the employee was in the store or what else they were doing?
WHAT IF... employees were encouraged to walk customers out to the front door of the store as they left and even help customers carry their purchases to their cars?
WHAT IF... customers were sent a handwritten thank you note after they made a purchase? We all know this happens in Nordstrom and in a few other stores, but What if it was done in hardware stores, sporting goods stores, luggage stores, paint stores, gourmet food stores, bookstores, or even in golf shops?
WHAT IF... store managers were required to spend an hour or so each day as a greeter at the front door welcoming customers as they came in, making sure they were able to find what they wanted, and thanking them for their business as they left?
WHAT IF... 15 or 20 customers were called by the owner, senior level executives, and store managers each week and asked about their experience in the store-whether it was pleasant and satisfying, and whether the staff was friendly and helpful?
If you have a store located in a financially depressed area with high unemployment and little prospect for improving conditions in the near future,
WHAT IF there were ways to change this situation?
Traditional Approach: Cut overhead, layoff employees, ride out the storm, or close the business.
WHAT IF... you were to get all the other merchants in the area together and begin sharing mailing lists, conducting joint promotions and events, and building a committed group of business people who were willing to do the things necessary to turn the community around, creating opportunities for everyone?
WHAT IF... there was a way to raise funds, either from within the community or from outside, to attract new businesses, clean up an unsightly building, and begin promoting the community as a shopping destination?
WHAT IF... there were some little-known state or federal funding programs that could help in your efforts?
Is WHAT IF Thinking a Magic Pill?
Like every other tool you use to manage your business and lead people, WHAT IF thinking won't produce magic results without a few other steps. Most ideas that are generated by this kind of thinking aren't instantly ready to be implemented. They may require some research, further study and refinement, and maybe even some testing. But, WHAT IF thinking will open the door.
How successful you are at using WHAT IF thinking will depend on what you do to put the ideas that come from this creative process into action.
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Retail Management Consultants
1635 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rd., Suite 206
San Marcos, CA 92069Phone: Toll Free: 800-766-1908
Phone: 760-471-0207
FAX: 760-471-0263
E-MAIL: [email protected]