Years ago, one of my first clients, was Bresler’s Ice Cream and Yogurt. Bresler’s had numerous company and franchise-owned stores throughout the United States. 
I worked with their senior leadership team and store owners on sales, marketing, and business-growth strategies and opportunities.
At one results-session, I made a simple recommendation to store owners, that had a profound impact on their business.
I suggested they walk around their stores, on their knees.
This idea was initially greeted with skepticism and confusion. Until one store owner exclaimed, “I get it! I get it!”
When another owner wondered, “Get what?!” she answered, “Kids! Jeff wants us to see things from a child’s perspective!”
Bingo! She was right.
In an ice cream store, a child is a significant decision-influencer. Yet their size makes it tough for them to see into the traditional ice-cream dipping cabinet. So when a parent would ask, “What would you like?” it produced a child’s frustrated shrug and disappointed reply, “I don’t know, I can’t see what they got!”
Armed with this new knowledge or “customer awareness”—store owners began to re-design their signage and displays. They literally wanted kids to see all the goodies they could get. So they could then “politely urge” their parents to buy more yummy stuff.
The owners realized when customers can’t see it, they don’t try it. And when they don’t try it, they don’t buy it!
I shared a similar strategy, when working with car wash owners. I noticed parents were struggling to lift their kids to witness the parade of soap and suds. So I suggested some of the display windows be bigger and/or lower.
This simple approach turned a car wash into a parental savior and a child’s entertainment center, with its blinking lights, blaring horns and colored soaps and waxes. Plus, it was a lot cheaper than a movie or an amusement park!
So what do the preceding have to do with you and your business?
Everything!
Profit points:
– how are you seeing things from your decision-maker’s/influencer’s perspective
– have you truly stepped into your “customer’s” shoes, to experience their experience
– how can a customer’s experience be improved, enhanced or upgraded
– what’s distracting or diminishing a customer’s experience, (what can be changed or eliminated)
– how can decision-influencers help or hurt you, (how are you attracting, repelling or ignoring them)
– are your products, services and solutions easily “visible,” i.e., in your conversations, in your literature or at your website
– what “hidden” assets do you need to uncover
