How Unique Designs Enhance Stores

Most things in life are taken for granted. The things we pass by on the street, the day to day people we have to deal with in the work environment, and even the people who are close to us in our personal lives don’t always get the attention or appreciation they deserve. This is not because people by nature are neglectful or inconsiderate but rather because as people, we have a limited amount of consciousness and we have to ration it out conservatively. If we were to pay attention to every detail in every situation, assuming it was possible, we might make good Sherlock Holms detectives but we would not have any remaining bandwidth for more emotional and psychological things in life.

This is why so many old time stores and internet businesses don’t invest a lot of time or money in advertising or “gimmicks” to boost sales. (I’m referring to “mom and pop” stores not giant mega businesses.) this is not just a simple mistake, it is also very costly. How so? I will attempt to explain.

The difference between a store that is a success as opposed to a store that is a failure is not as simple as it might sound. They both put a lot of stock in customer service and actual inventory, the real difference is the attention paid to detail.

The successful businesses invest in there store atmosphere and overall ambiance. This is obvious in major successful businesses like Apple and Starbucks but I’ll give some specific examples that you will be able to translate into some relevant advice for your business.

In the clothing industry (my passion) you will see that most of the competition does not necessarily revolve around the actual styles of clothing but rather on the attention to detail. Go into any clothing store in your neighborhood and look around. You will be amazed at the tiny little things that seam insignificant but in reality actually set the store apart for others in its direct competition. Look at the lighting fixtures, the chandleries. Look at the way the actual clothing is displayed, the spot lights that are aimed at them the nearly infinite variety of mannequins and dress forms, even the will paper and shelving say something unique about the store.

What this all boils down to in the end is that it is not enough to rely on word of mouth and good products, or high quality products. You can’t bet your business on people’s good taste. You have to not only anticipate the hard reality of ruthless competition that will try to lure your potential customers away from your business you have to actively combat what other people are doing by doing it better of adding a different spin on it. Pay attention to details and you will be more receptive to new ideas that might have real potential.