By Tony Huppert, CEO, Team Oil Inc.
I arrived at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning at the Team Oil Travel Center. The previous day, my business partner and I decided to clear out the 700 DVDs we had in stock. My partner, Eric, directed the staff to put them all on the shelf and put a sale sign on them.
As I approached the sales location the sign read, “Movie Sale, BOGO Free.” I looked at it, read it, and turned to the young staff and said, “What the Heck does BOGO mean?” The staff and my wife, Trudy, all laughed at me. They asked me if I was serious. I had no clue what it meant. To prove my point, every customer that walked through the door, I asked them if they knew what BOGO meant. Everyone under 30 knew it meant ‘Buy One Get One.’ Anyone over 30 didn’t have a clue—same as me.
My point to this article is ‘communication.’ In the retail business my theory is, ‘If a four year old doesn’t understand the sign; print a new one.’
Your customers have their own lives to think about; they do not want to spend their precious time figuring out signs in your store, no matter what age they are. Signs aren’t the same as shoes, ‘One size better fit all.’
Tony Huppert is a Wisconsin businessman of 40 years and CEO of Team Oil Inc., the family-owned and operated Team Oil Travel Center, and Subway in Spring Valley, Wis.