The incredible energy, ambition, and determination people put into becoming successful in business is a timeless pursuit and a remarkable human quest.
We get advanced degrees, read countless books, hire consultants, and attend seminars and conferences to learn about our industry's latest techniques and tools. We pile up our business roundtables with the brightest thinkers and head onto the battlefield fully loaded and armed to the hilt.
But the one thing you generally won't hear enough about in business strategy rooms is choosing what not to do.
Only the most brilliant brands—such as, Apple, Costco, Trader Joe's, and Harley Davidson—understand that the secret to business success is choosing what not to do and letting go of the trendy "me-too" tactics.
Apple doesn't sell printers, at least not since Steve Jobs took over again in 1997. In his words, “Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.” And they're the market leader.
Costco chooses not to emulate its supercenter competitors, Target and Walmart, by offering 75,000 to 140,000 unique items. Instead, they limit their product mix to a highly edited, curated, and pruned SKU count of around 3,700 items they believe represent the best product and prices for their customers. And they're the market leader.
And Trader Joe's doesn't do e-commerce, home delivery, curbside pickup, or self-checkout stations, despite all their competitors having jumped on the self-checkout bandwagon. And they're the market leader.
Why doesn't TJ's get with the program?
Because they believe in focusing all their resources on making their in-store shopping experience the best place to be, which means having great employee interaction with customers and not making their guests endure impersonal work with a machine.
If you want to succeed in business, focus on choosing what not to do and let your competitors chase all the "me-too" add-ons that make their value proposition cumbersome and unfocused on being great at any one thing.
#business #strategy #retail #retailers #stores #grocerystores #supermarkets #foodretail #food #customers #management #branding #success Trader Joe's Costco Wholesale Apple
A highly effective Senior Pricing/Procurement & Strategy Professional, who meets challenges skillfully and creates positive change.
3moIt's definitely not over for self checkout. Better audit processes, less self checkouts with more people watching (I see chains with 20 or more self checkouts and there are shrink issues because one person can't watch 20 checkstands), it can still be a savings in labor, but it can't be sauce to fix all evils). Obviously, you have seen a re-evaluation of the number of self-checkouts and I think you will see more.