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The five things to know about "Retail Five Things to Know" blog posts

November 8, 2011 by Mark Murray — Director, The Store Channel

As I am a novice at this "blog thing," I went on a quick web safari to see how my maiden voyage with RCE measured up. On the journey, I discovered the rhythm of the waves in blogging — they come in fives. Evidently, everything retail and for that matter, virtually all of life's problems can be condensed into five snappy guideposts. So let me give you my "list of five" before we paddle out to the 2011 year-end list tsunami. Bring your sense of humor and know it's all for your own good.

1. Span silos in a simple click/drag/send

As in-store experiences respond to multichannel shoppers, "store teams" need technology integrated into the experience. Whether it's having inventories at a sales associate's finger tips, NFC alerts in the aisles or in-store on-boarding to web based services — if you're responsible for the store experience you'll need support from "operations" to make your store experience glimmer. A quick e-mail with a link to a "five easy ways" story is a guaranteed conversation starter — especially if you "cc" the right folks.

2. Achieve "Know What You Don't Know" status at warp speed

"Five things to know" posts are a great way to pick up on jargon and absorb an "end to end" understanding of new retail initiatives. And, you can do it in minutes. That said: remember it's just a "browsing phase." While useful in helping you see new vistas from the bridge, you should use the phrases, companies mentioned and snippets of research to dive in and explore why it's relevant to your organization.

3. Appreciate "Press Box" and "Playing Field" vantage points

Thoughtful critiques of new projects are extremely useful. They can reveal aspects of retail experiences that could be pivotal on future assignments. But remember, if the author is merely sharing their "take" — you need to take it with a grain of salt.

I worked on a new store format that was praised for "an intimate, lily pad shopping presentation and sales choreography." In reality, we were retrofitting a store kit that wouldn't fit through a 300-year-old store entry. A table saw and glue gun later ... "Voila, we're Monet!"

When it comes to reliving the game of retail, you'd rather hear from the players than the press box. You don't want to commit funds to someone's opinion.

4. Ask yourself if it's a bulls-eye or merely a target drawn around a dart

In design it's called reverse engineering. In blogging, it's building a story around the point you're trying to make. Retail is the toughest industry I've encountered, and it has the most moving parts. What's more, today could be the most challenging time in our industry's history. It needs invention, not simple formula.

A colleague is presently "on-hold" with a major initiative. The client's management must be told to totally trash a recently purchased service before he can begin. I wouldn't be surprised if a "Five things to know" advice column helped shape the original request for proposal. Check bloggers' sources and where they work to be sure "Five things to know" is not blog-speak for "Now you can think like me."

5. Know the magic of 5

This was the tough one. Could it be "5" provides the right topic altitude/detail latitude and reader attention span portioning for any issue from store design to digital merchandising? Or is it simply the literal response to "give me a handful of helpful hints" (four fingers and a thumb)?

To be sure, I did some investigative work. It suggests 6 is too easy to edit and 3 is much too "easy as 1-2-3." Research revealed 4 is bad Feng Shui — it sounds like "death" in Cantonese, and who wants to alienate 1.3 billion potential readers?

I already know 2 is forever banned following the epic failure of "eat better and exercise regularly." An obese America has clearly put 2 in an early grave. Still, where's the definitive proof that 5 is right number?

At wit's end, I called my favorite blogger and presented my theories. She immediately laughed and revealed the secret in a tone of voice that suggested I'm the most naïve blogger to ever sit at a keyboard. "Mark darling," she said, "the magic number is not 5 — it's actually 10 but you have to pay the author to get the other five."

In our unpredictable world, simplicity has a special elegance that attracts our post-recession shoppers like a magnet. It should be your goal. But working through the complexities of hosting truly memorable retail experiences is the only way to get there.

Just remember Michelangelo's response when told the Pope called his Sistine chapel frescoes genius: "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius."

The point? Blog posts attempting to reduce retail decision-making to a headline tease you'd see on grocery store checkout tabloids should raise an eyebrow. And while you should take full advantage of efforts from consultants and companies willing to get you in the starting blocks of creating better retail experiences, you still need to run the race.

Cheers.

About Mark Murray

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