Over our working careers, we’ve all been influenced by something or someone. Occasionally, one or two of these influences stick with us, bring us opportunities, and so we pass these little gems on to others.
We know what you’re thinking: “Here comes some piece of ‘wisdom’ from some old guy who thinks that he has some insights that would benefit me and my business.”
But hear us out. The catchphrase that we’re about to examine may be familiar to many of us, but its reach is expansive and can be translated to many disciplines. Its premise can also explain why small businesses acquire missed opportunities—opportunities we’ll explore more in depth in future blogs.
Retail is Detail
“Retail is detail.” This phrase was once spoken to me many years ago. I was a young retail manager at a multibillion-dollar company. It made sense. I was directly responsible for millions of dollars of retail sales, inventory, profit, and loss. Why wouldn’t a catchy phrase that rhymes “retail” and “detail” be used in a retail environment?
Apparently, this quote was first used by James Gulliver, while at Safeway and Fine Fare, to lay the foundation for supermarket retailing. For good reason too. When we broadly look at the business of retail we see many moving parts. All these parts work together. They are interconnected and dependent on one another.
As customers, we see stores of varying sizes stocked with items to sell. These stores arrange their products in specific ways to entice the customer, thereby opening up more opportunities for them to sell. Moreover, these stores also have employees and technology to help bring about a sale.
Little Details Have a Profound Effect
But how do they get to that point? Merchandise displays are carefully crafted to attract buyer attention. Store layouts are constructed to maximize the opportunity for add-on purchases. Product assortments are carefully chosen to cater to target customers. These same assortments are purchased or manufactured at desirable profit margins. The list could go on and on.
What happens if a delivery of goods is slow to reach a store and a hot-selling item sells out in that location? That is a missed opportunity. What if that item actually arrives at the store in time but it isn’t received and priced in a timely manner? That is a missed opportunity. What if that same item is received quickly enough but the wrong SKU (stock keeping unit) or price is affixed to the item? That is a missed opportunity.
As you can see, missed opportunities come from a variety of places and can add up quickly. These little details can have a profound impact on our business. Furthermore, if these details aren’t defined and optimized with thorough planning then the execution will be subpar.
“So, how does this apply to me? I’m not in retail…”
Recently we were editing a video and our objective was to make this video stand out. Or, to use another phrase, we wanted it to go from “good” to “great.”
A video project can have good shots, a good “flow” brought about in the editing, and can tell a good story. However, is it as good as it could be? Will it have the same effect?
We need to look at the little details. We can make a video project, for example, be even better by adding the right music and the right sound effects in the right spots. During the editing process, we can work on the color correction to really alter the mood of the project. We could also add a voiceover to really tie the whole piece together. This list, also, could go on. The takeaway here is that to surpass expectations we need to look at the details.
A good practice for all of us managing small businesses is to really have a keen eye toward the small details that drive our businesses. These details will certainly vary depending on each situation. We won’t always see all of the details, but spending the time and effort to identify the details goes a long way.
By identifying the details we give ourselves the change to develop strategies to make sure they are executed well. If we are able to do this then we will find new opportunities for success that we didn’t even know were there.