Choosing the race to the bottom

It turns out that most retailers that find themselves at–or edging ever closer to–the precipice have much more of a revenue problem than having expenses that are fundamentally too high. And yet so many relentlessly focus on cutting costs, often leading to a further reduction in customer service.

It turns out that when the major lever a company has to drive the top line is deep discounting, they mostly end up attracting the promiscuous shopper while simultaneously lowering the margin on the customers who once were willing to pay a higher price. Over the long-term, that math never works.

And while it may be true that retailers can often do the same amount of business with a smaller footprint, it turns out that many of brands that are closing outlets in droves don’t actually have too many stores. Instead they have a value proposition that isn’t sufficiently customer relevant for the stores they have. Shuttering locations en masse may seem like the wise move to improve profits, yet it is typically the first sign of a downward spiral.

By now it should be obvious that trying to stake out a winning position by being a slightly better version of boring is untenable. The notion of cost cutting your way to prosperity is a fool’s errand.

Once we fully accept that selling average products to average people no longer works and that to make meaningful progress we must zero in on solving the right problem, we realize that for most of us the choice is clear–or should be.

We can choose to treat different customers differently, create intensely relevant and remarkable experiences and tell a story that deserves to be told time and time again.

Or, we can choose to join the race to the bottom.

Just remember, as Seth reminds us, “the problem with the race to the bottom is you might win.”

Originally published at stevenpdennis.com on May 1, 2018.