For those of you who are in the retail industry, you may have noticed a recent trend to clean up in-store environments – reduce shelf heights, remove dense ends and dump bins, widen aisles etc. – in order to increase comfort and make the shopping experience less stressful for customers.

The big question then becomes “does clean make customers keen? According to Walmart, arguably the largest and most successful retailer in the world, clean stores mean fewer beans (on the bottom line).

As reported in the New York Times, Walmart conducted a massive in-store experiment to improve sight-lines, rationalize the overall number of items offered, remove warehouse-like merchandising in centre aisles, and increase the width of core aisles. According to Walmart’s CEO William S. Simon, “(Customers) loved the experience. They just bought less.”

As a result, Walmart reverted back to its original strategy of offering more products, with tighter aisles, more clutter and lots of bargain bins in the hopes that customers would spend more because of a perception “there were bargains to be had”.

If you do a quick search on the internet, there are dozens of experts who subscribe to the view that a larger selection, more bargain bins, and sales signage equates to “better value”. In essence, the more you look like a market stall, the better it is to generate buzz and sales. They argue that if your merchandise is neatly presented on the walls and in well organized aisles, with no point of sale impulse offers and dense ends full of 2-for-1 specials, customers will tend to think your store is expensive (i.e. overpriced) and they will not buy from you.

And if you think about it, you can probably name a whole list of retailers who subscribe to this “clutter is good for business” philosophy and they seem to be successful. But how can we be sure that clutter makes customers keen? Have we been too quick and prematurely jumped to a conclusion that clean is a traffic and transaction turn-off?
Recent empirical evidence from the science of neurology sheds new light on how we think, and more importantly, how we make decisions. In fact, the decision making part of your brain responds strongly to certain stimuli only.

Did you know that your brain consumes 25% of your body’s energy? As a result, you brain wants to conserve energy so you tend to pay attention and be attracted to things that have sharp contrast, high visual appeal, strong emotional cues and a clear beginning vs. end message.

Now what does this mean for you in the context of your shopping environment?

A chaotic, cluttered store is cumbersome for your brain to navigate – you have to work hard mentally to hunt down and search for bargains. It may create some emotional appeal but it is likely perceived as having low contrast, low visual appeal and no clear beginning vs. end. Shopping in this environment takes time and energy and it also forces your brain to go into “thinking” mode. This is a critical point because thinking is counter-productive to deciding. Thinking takes place in one part of your brain (the neo-cortex), while deciding happens much more quickly (and automatically) in your old or “reptilian” brain.

So what does this research mean for the strategy and conclusions reached by Walmart?

Based on science, the strongest buying cue that you can give your customers is this – if your store (or business) has incredible bargains, people will buy (and even sift through a maze of clutter) because something is in it for them. The “what’s in it for me” (WIFM) principle is one of the strongest influences on the part of your brain that decides.

There is no hard evidence to suggest that clutter makes your customers keen.

Walmart and many others have come to a conclusion based on what they THINK people are doing to reach a buying decision in-store. However, neuroscience has empirical evidence to support the opposite conclusion is more probable. Clutter and chaos create an environment where your customers have to think too hard, which is exhausting for the brain. They will do it if they have to, as long as the perceived bargains and value are very high.

Doesn’t it make more sense to find another way to communicate good value and service without exhausting your customers and causing them to waste their time? Wouldn’t you be more likely to get more sales and word of mouth referrals from your delighted customers?

In the end, Walmart may be correct about the fact people buy more in a certain circumstances but they are wrong about WHY that is. The best way to create more excitement and sales is to make it easier for your customers to decide. You need to show them what’s in it for them, increase the contrast between your solution and your competitors and communicate a strong, clean visual message that compels them to say “YES”.

7 Marketing Secrets Lady Gaga Can Teach You for FREE

“I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me
Papa, paparazzi
Baby, there’s no other superstar, you know that I’ll be
Your papa, paparazzi”

In today’s challenging business environment, customers demand more from the products and services they buy—they want what they want, when and how they want it.  And if they do not get it from you, they can and will obtain it from one of your competitors. Therefore, creating raving fans—customers who love what you do and are willing to follow, listen and respond to your call(s) to action —can give you a significant strategic advantage and improve your bottom line.

Now some of you may be wondering “what does Lady GaGa have to do with best business and branding tactics?”  She’s never attended business school nor does she have a history of entrepreneurship.  While it is easy to question her outlandish costumes, her repetitive child-like lyrics, and her over-the-top media stunts, it is hard to ignore her obvious musical talent and her ability to be at the right place at the right time with the right tune.  Whether you love or hate her (and 99% of you are definitely in one camp or another), it is difficult to ignore the tremendous achievements of this branding genius.

Less than 18 months ago, she was virtually unknown – and today she has two platinum selling albums and is the envy of artists that have been in the business for decades.

How did she do it? 

Read More

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "Financial Foreplay®" and "On The Shoulders of Giants

Bottled water is one of the most profitable drink products in the world, selling for 3000 to 9000 times what most of us pay for the perfectly safe, inexpensive liquid that comes out of our tap at home.

To put this in context, paying $2.40-3.90 for a 750ml bottle of water is equivalent to:

• $10,000 for a tuna sandwich at your local cafe or
• A bill from your water company this month for $3000/tonne of water (as opposed to the going rate of $1.2/tonne)

According to the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, Australians consume over 250 million litres a year at a price of $385 million.  We have been systematically brainwashed by the beverage industry to believe that our tap water is somehow unsafe or insufficient – look around and you will see that there are now hundreds of brands competing for your attention with clever marketing campaigns designed to scare, seduce and mislead us to part with our hard earned money.

Read More

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of "On The Shoulders of Giants"

More important than originality or intrigue, is the ability for a writer to help us experience the world in new and meaningful ways.  Far beyond the obvious –  the power of words to make you hear, to make you feel, to make you see—and above all to make you dream.  Words hold the power to define and eradicate boundaries – both physical and mental.

Twitter has the potential to separate the literary men (and women) from the mice!  Where else can you say so little or so much with 140 mere characters?  I would advocate that if you can master the following Twitter secrets, you will have learned all that there is to become a better, faster, more concise, compelling and articulate writer.

Read More

Rhondalynn Korolak

The good news is that media outlets are constantly searching for stories and people who will capture and captivate the attention of their audiences.  What this means for you and your organization is that right now (TODAY) is the best time for you to reach out and earn some of the millions of dollars of free publicity that is available every day.

So just how do you impress the media and stick out in a sea of wannabes? First and foremost, don’t waste their valuable time. Virtually, every media outlet today is operating in this tough economic climate with fewer staff than they had last year. This means that they still have the same pressing deadlines and space to fill but they don’t have enough staff to do it.

Read More