What If Opportunities

At the end of both the NFC and the AFC championship games, commercials aired offering hats and t-shirts featuring the winner’s logo and the “official NFL” championship logo at NFLshop.com. This offer is no surprise to viewers. For several years, potential winners of a big event have been pre-taped answering the question, “Now that you’ve won (fill in the big event), where are you going?” with “Disneyland!” That “what if” opportunity has acclimated us to commercials which reference the win immediately. At the end of the championship games, most viewers did not stop and think, “How did they do that? How did they know that team would be the winner?”

They didn’t know, of course. A commercial was made for each of the four teams, and they aired the actual winner’s commercial. They prepared for the eventually of “What if the Packers win?” “What if the Bears win?” “What if the Steelers win?” and “What if the Jets win?” In so doing, they took advantage of a tremendous what if opportunity. Think about it. When are fans of the winning team most likely to buy? When they are most excited about the win, right? That is why NFLshop.com management aired a commercial at the end of each game. They wanted to offer excited fans the first chance at championship merchandise.

Every good retailer will tell you that striking quickly by having the product is critical. That is why after the NFC championship game the owner of a store in Wausau, Wisconsin, drove to Milwaukee to pick up championship merchandise to have in his store when it opened Monday morning.

That retailer knew his best opportunity to sell Packer championship merchandise was Monday morning. He also knew that by driving to pick up the merchandise he would be the first in his area to have it. Being quick and first helped him maximize his sales and his profits. He brought in the merchandise, marked it his desired price, and put it on the shelf. When a customer wants an item or a service and wants it now, price is not a factor. There are no discounts or dickering needed in what if opportunities. No, there is only a great deal of profit.

Think about this. Through its tracking, Wal-mart has discovered that before a hurricane hits in Florida, residents stock up on strawberry pop tarts. Knowing that, Wal-mart immediately trucks in more strawberry pop tarts whenever a hurricane is forecast in Florida. By doing so, Wal-mart is taking advantage of a what if opportunity. What if a hurricane hits? Then people want strawberry pop tarts.

Now you may be thinking, “My business is not Wal-mart. I can’t track what people want.”

While you may not have Wal-mart’s software tracking program, you do have a brain. You also know your customers, or, at least, I hope that you do. Using your brain, think through the what if opportunities for your business. Think about what changes affect your customers. What if there is a heavy snow or rain storm of which we have had a great deal lately? What if rioting in Egypt causes the price of oil to increase? What if there is an early or a late spring?

How do these situations affect your customers?

We operate in a dynamic business environment. Changes are happening every second, many of which we are unaware. Make a point to think through which situations affect your customers, creating a what if opportunity for your business. Then plan how you would handle that what if opportunity. How do you need to prepare in order to do so? Do you need to create a commercial, an e-mail, or an ad that you would immediately run? Would you need to pick up merchandise as the retailer from Wausau did? What would your staff need to know?

Answer these questions. Then implement your what if strategy. What if opportunities are profitable, but they must be addressed quickly which means that they require pre-planning. Once you are in the middle of the what if opportunity, it will be too late to prepare.

What are your what if opportunities?