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Newsletter #799: The “Move It” Issue

Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

Sometimes all you have to do is shift it, reorder it, or move it to completely change the experience (and your business). A few fantastic examples here:

1> The salad bar
2> The car lot
3> The front desk
4> Check it out: Awkward Stock Photos

1> The salad bar

Tiny moves can make a big difference. When researchers from Cornell moved a middle school’s salad bar to a more prominent location in the lunchroom — a difference of about four feet — veggie sales rose more than 250%. By the end of the year, it even led to 6% more kids eating school lunches. What on your website, in your store, or in your brochure could you better feature with just a tiny move?

The lesson: Look for simple ways to better feature the stuff you really want your customers to focus on.

Learn more: PHYSORG.com

2> The car lot

Sometimes your store isn’t the best place to meet new customers. It might be time for a move (even if only temporary). Volvo did it by moving their sales lot to downtown London. They set up giant movie screens and hosted a retro drive-in — and provided the pre-parked cars. Moviegoers enjoyed “classic Yankee flicks” like Grease and Dirty Dancing — and they even had a team of roller-skating waitresses serving popcorn and cocktails.

The lesson: If you’re looking to meet new customers, sometimes it’s best to move the sales floor to wherever they are.

Learn more: Volvo’s Starlite Urban Drive-In

3> The front desk

Don’t be afraid to move things, to try different layouts, and to experiment with the experience you’re creating for your customers. Kaiser Permanente conducts elaborate simulations to figure out exactly how to architect their hospitals. In one testing, they found that simply moving the reception desk could make it much more inviting for patients — and much more efficient for the hospital.

The lesson: Move things, test them, improve the feng shui, break the feng shui — whatever it takes to make the experience fantastic for the customer.

Learn more: Fast Company

4> Check it out: Awkward Stock Photos

Not sure why you’d need a stock photo of a guy in oven mitts with a calculator or a dog with a doughnut on its head — but should you ever, know that it’s out there.

Check it out: Awkward Stock Photos

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