Blog, October 2011
I had my first IKEA experience today. Boy…. that was amazing. Here is what I learned.
1. Make a big, big, big splash in the community (and beyond) that you plan to do business. This means TV commercials, mailers and alerting the press.
2. Locate yourself in an easy-to-get-to location between two large cities.
3. Make your signs big. I mean BIG. Easy enough to see from any direction, 2 miles away. Oh, and bright. Make sure you use bright colors.
4. Clearly mark driving directions, from one spot to the next spot, to the next spot, to where one should park.
5. Clearly mark entrances and exits.
6. Bake cinnamon rolls. Open your cinnamon roll cafeteria a good 30 minutes prior to opening your store.
7. Offer coffee to go with your cinnamon rolls… and charge only 69 CENTS for the combo.
8. Set up a “teaser area” that’s easily perusable from the cinnamon roll cafeteria to generate excitement.
9. Set up the kids area with brightly colored items, next to the cinnamon roll cafeteria.
10. Keep the kids happy! Have easily accessible bathrooms, snacks and toys in EVERY department.
11. Confuse the shopper by creating a maze of your store.
12. Intermix the staged items with the smaller items. (A.k.a. “Lure them in and wow them with your highly discounted stuff.”)
13. Keep “sign design” clean, simple and easy to read.
14. Post many, many signs.
15. Pump cinnamon roll smell throughout your store.
16. Create an easy to access loading dock, complete with tying rope.
I will go back and I will eat more 40 cent cinnamon rolls with 29 cent coffee.
IKEA: masters of the psychology of consumerism… and cinnamon rolls.
