Change Methodically

Ron Johnson, who brought to J.C. Penny his retailing philosophy and former colleagues from the company once known as Apple Computer, has been voted off the island by the Penny board of directors. And “Retail Customer Experience” reports rumors that Apple itself is looking to change the design of its retail outlets.
     Is the polish off the Apple?
     No, the problem is less with the polish than with the way change is handled. If Apple retail stores change design, it would be best if those changes are made incrementally. And the increments for change in an Apple store almost surely can be larger than in a J.C. Penny store, considering the relative openness to innovation of the two target markets.
     Every retail business changes. It might be a change in your mix of products and/or services because of a need to reduce inventory or opportunities to expand your offerings. A change in business location or format to better meet the preferences of your target markets. Changes in staffing that will be noticed by your regular customers.
     A general rule for making changes in retailing is to lead your customers gradually. This reduces the possibilities that you’ll lose your loyal shoppers.
     Researchers at University of Minnesota, Emory University, and George Mason University suggest that you determine where you want to end up, and if this ending point is quite different from where you are now, then introduce at least one intermediate step. If you currently sell paint and you want to end up adding draperies, consider introducing wallpaper first. If you plan to phase out your entire stock of draperies, reduce the product assortment for a while before eliminating the product category completely.
     There are some changes where intermediate steps are unrealistic. For instance, if you want to close your current store location and open up for business across town, it wouldn’t work to open up a store halfway across town for a while as an intermediate step. Here the principle becomes “Ease your customers into making the changes.” Is it realistic to keep the old place going for a while after opening up the new location? Can you announce the change at least a month in advance of making it and show a map of how to get from the old store to the new store? Can you post large drawings of the new store in the old store?

Click below for more: 
Lead Your Customers Through Changes Gradually 
Acknowledge Inertia in Consumer Behavior 
Wean Consumers Off Coupons by Force Feeding