My father

My father makes me argue the opposite view, whatever it is", I heard a girl say ten years ago. Little did I know then, that this girl's journey and mine would cross for a good while, and while on the larger scale of things, she and I didn't share a whole lot in common, this single quote has been traveling in my backpack ever since...

When designing a business plan, ask yourself, to whom would this plan make sense right off the bet? Whom can I convince to accept this 'other-wise' wild proposition?

Given that your business plan is targeting a particular behaviout, can you enhance it-this is the equivalent of cross-sell? But in a smarter manner, because not only would you tie it to natural expectations, but you would tie it to surprising propositions as well...This is where the perk of arousing interest comes flying.

Why do large store chains make money, and why do credit analysts advise people to make a list and to stick with it? Precisely because the large store chains offer enough variety that motivates 'purchases' that are un-natural. Chances are indeed that if you are in to buy baby food, you'd end up buying diapers and wipes, just to save on the gas. Chances are that the baby's stuff is close enough to the toys' department, so you could buy a toy; that department in turn is not far away from the card department-wait, Johny's birthday is coming up. Need some paper, oh, look, crayons, for the little one. Shish, I am right next to the jewelry department, oh, look at the ear-rings. The store is organized to lead you through a very natural journey, so the associated purchases are driven by the journey that the store manager had outlined.

Some stores are richer and allow you multiple shopping journeys. Your entry points are usually two. However, the aisles are organized in a way that allows you to begin your journey from the left, the right, the middle, and anywhere in between. As a result, your wacky choices of merchandise would be really wacky.

Some stores are strict and allow you one pathway alone. Basically, there is a well-defined entry-point and a well-defined exit-point. The trick in this stores is in the layout- all the aisles are exactly the same, and remembering where the cheese is, could easily lead you the napkins section and you would easily acquire a set of cheap napkins...

Some stores maintain a consistent organization. Week in and week out, aisle 2 is the milk aisle. For some people, this is comforting, because they would just follow their list.

Other stores move things around. Hide and Seek. This brings the hunting instinct in people. It would frustrate the bargain seekers and the list-adopters, but for the non-frequent shopper, or for the shopper who is after the deal, this arrangement seams like an opportunity to enhance the shopping list.

The idea is that the association between products is not driven by the shoppers as much from the store itself. Given that the journeys within the store are limited, with enough shoppers entering, all journeys would be well attended and shopping patterns would emerge.

Does it, then, mean that you should offer Diapers and Ear-rings to the shopper I highlighted initially. Or if this is a natural journey, would you lead her to yet another sub-journey by offering her some car tires?

If you send out a catalog with a generic offer, all you are doing is reminding your client that you exist and are a source for their needs.

If you send out a combo variety deal offer, you are accomplishing the same, plus expanding the horizon for new experiences. Maybe 5 packs of diapers at 50% is worth the new set of tires, after all winter is right around the corner. Sounds, wacky! Why should it be! If she is going to buy the ear-rings with the diapers, why would you be offering her a deal on the ear-rings. Make her husband tag along, get some tires. Maybe he will buy some fluid too...or check his breaks...

Offering similar or offering different? Which makes sense? Both do? Which works? That is a different question...

There is no absolute...you can argue and support either side...today you might get one answer...a year from today, the answer could be very different...