Give Them What They Want!

made a quick trip to the new fedex office (formerly fedex kinko’s) in my neighborhood the other day. i’ve always been impressed by how well they know their customers – and how committed they are to giving them what they want! while waiting for a laser print order, i noticed a kiosk with print and audio books on various topics for the small businessperson. both sides of the spectrum were covered — from the “dummies” series of books to intermediate and advanced books on various sales topics. it reminded me of a conversation i had with a musician client who was throwing his first cd release event. i suggested that he invest in merchandise like a t-shirt and hat to go with his cd. my thinking was that his inner circle would be “good for” more than $15 for a cd — and that he had a limited time during which to capitalize on the freshness of it all. well, fedex office is a perfect example of how offering a variety of items increases your average sale given a captive audience.