Hey, it’s Bob Negen and this is another episode of Real Retail TV.

Today, we’re going to talk about tiny tweaks and dramatic differences.

In the last episode of Real Retail TV, I shared with you my yo-yo experience, and how we created yo-yo booms by creating a whole process, a marketing process that got people into the store, and got them– and made them, help them become yo-yo players, help them become hobbyists.

Well, today, what I want to talk about, is a glitch in the system, and a tweak that our friend, Alan Negao, the person who taught us how to create yo-yo booms, solved for us.

So, as I mentioned in the last– as I talked about it in the last episode, we went to the Tight Trade Association, and we learned about how to create these booms from Al, and we went back and we started to create the booms. And it wasn’t quite working the way it was supposed to. We weren’t getting the response that Alan had, not promised but, you know, was sure was going to happen.

So we called Alan on the phone. Alan, it’s not working the way that we had hoped. It’s working, but it’s not working the way that we had hoped. And it’s not working the way that you had promised. Promised isn’t the right word. But– so he says good, let’s talk about this.

So the first question he asked is, are you giving away the coupons? And, we said, yes, of course, you told us to give away the coupons. We’re trying to do everything exactly the way that you suggested. And, he said, when are you giving away the coupons? And, we said, well, we’re giving away the coupons on the way out of the assembly. So the kids are all filing out, we’re giving them the coupons.

And he right away said, oh, there’s the problem. He said, you have to give away the coupons on the way into the assembly. You see what happens is some time during that assembly when they’re super excited while they’re watching your yo-yo professional, that coupon turns into a yo-yo in their head.

So the next day we changed it around. We gave the coupons to everybody as they were coming into the assembly. Guess what? That afternoon after school, our store was mobbed with kids and their coupons looking to buy a yo-yo.

A tiny tweak, a dramatic difference. And the lesson here for all of us is that every marketing campaign has several elements that can add to its success, detract from– from its success. You know, even make or break a success. And it’s your job to understand all these different dynamics, all these different components, and to make sure that you’re optimizing every single one. That you’re examining every single one.

Let me give you an example. So let’s say you’re doing a fundraising promotion that’s partnering with a local charity. What I’m talking about here is WhizBang! CAUSE MARKETING. The very first Real Retail TV episode was on WhizBang! CAUSE MARKETING. I would encourage you to make sure that you watch that.

But let’s talk about all the different components of one of those promotions, and what could or should happen with it. So, first of all, there’s the name of the promotion. If the name of the promotion is boring, it’s not going to lend itself to success. But if the name of your promotion is exciting, and it draws attention to your event, it’s going to bring people in.

The group that you partner with has a huge impact on the success or lack of success in a cause marketing event. Some groups are going to absolutely crush it for you. Some groups are going to fall down. But, again, it’s another dynamic.

The fundraising mechanism that you use with this promotion. Is it inspiring or uninspiring? So, you see, all of these things are adding or detracting from your success. How you’re promoting this promotion, the different media you’re using. Some things work better than others.

But the point is, a single promotion can have 5, 10, even 15, different dynamics that are all adding or detracting from the promotion success. Small tweaks can make dramatic differences. And the tendency is to make blanket judgments based on your own predisposition.

What I’m talking about here is accurate thinking. So the action item that I’m encouraging you to take is to, whenever you do a promotion, look at all of the dynamics, all of the pieces and parts of that promotion, and make sure that they are as good as possible. Make sure that you’re examining all of them to ensure that you’re going to get as much success as possible.

When you create that process of looking at your marketing accurately, without confirmation bias, you’re going to start to see the tiny tweaks that make the dramatic differences.

Did you like this? Did you like the way I think about this? If you did, I would encourage you to go to retailmasterysystem.com and look at that program, and consider investing in it. The marketing module in the Retail Mastery System will pay for your investment 10 times, 15 times, 20 times over. It will help you be a smarter marketer.

retailmasterysystem.com.

I’m Bob Negen. Thank you for being here at Real Retail TV, and we’ll see you next time.