How Would You Like That?

Are you selling what you want to sell the way you want to sell it?

If you are then you have it exactly backwards.

One of the secrets to any successful business is giving the consumer what they want how they want it.

I read a couple of interesting articles this week that address just this point. One about UPS and one about a consignment bridal salon.You often hear me say to look beyond the bridal world for inspiration so I am going to start with UPS.

The most annoying thing about ordering something is that damned yellow slip on your door that tells you that you missed a delivery. ~grrr~ UPS states that residential delivery has jumped by 12% in just one year and that online spending now exceeds $1 Billion. Their customer is now as much the receiver as the sender. In an effort to give this customer base what it wants how it wants it, it launched a new premium service that allows the orderer to pre-select when the package is delivered when they place the order. Bravo! Check out the full article on Media Post.

The other piece was a press release from a consignment bridal gown salon, La Dress Boutique in Atlanta. Most of the article was touting the cost savings of buying consignment but this paragraph really caught my eye.

Brides and moms love one other benefit of shopping bridal consignment. Shoppers can try on the dress and take it home the same day. Traditional bridal shops have only sample gowns. Brides must order the dress with a 50-100% deposit of the purchase price and wait 4-6 months for the dress to arrive. With bridal stores closing amid a tough economy, this is a risk for any bride.

Yet another example of giving consumers what they want how they want it.

I listen every day to a great wailing and moaning about brides today. So many vendors think that they need to be educated to shop and buy they way that the “professionals’ think they should. Well, I’ve got news for ya’ baby; they are they ones with the money and they are going to spend it however they damn well please!

If you want to survive, you had better figure out HOW that is.

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