OK, so I figured it was time to come up with some highly practical ways to spend. Shopping was always a part of my life; I just didn’t put any conscious thought or energy into understanding it, or my relationship to it.

Recently though, I started wondering why I bought unplanned items and overspent with a ‘reasonable margin’. I also realised that 40% of items in my shopping trolley were unplanned, not immediately required and bought on impulse.
Guess I need to improve on my ability to say NO. Let me re-phrase, ‘Why can’t I say No’. or rather, will the direction in which I am looking within the store change my perspective?

All these different views can be taken in without moving my feet beyond one square foot. I only have to turn 90 degrees one way or the other, and what I see changes dramatically.

When it comes to shopping, so much of what we experience as shoppers and consumers has to do with the perspective in front of us which is based on the direction we are facing. And it is almost always within our power to change our direction, even if just a little bit. Sometimes just the smallest change in direction or approach can lead to the largest changes in perspective and outlook. Our shopping environment is much cluttered due to space constraints and also because the competition has become fiercer as alternatives and variants are on the increase. If it must catch the shopper’s attention, communication material must cut through the clutter, with unique ways of engagement that creates brand love and affinity.

I know what I want to be looking toward. And it ain’t the carpark…Most definitely, as there was this huge red signage in front of me that not only had sales written in my favourite yellow colour, but read 50% off!.

It was a no brainer, it was disruptive and in my face, seeking attention – I went for it.
Familiar experience? I guess.
Here are a few tips to that breakout and breakthrough the clutter.

• Campaignable Ideas/Communication: The fundamental law of successful is engagement: if you’re not engaging the consumer with a compelling story, they’re going to make up one of their own. It’s important to provide shoppers/consumers with memorable ideas and engagements they are compelling to talk about and share.

• Harnessing the creativity of shoppers/consumers: While conventional consumer research provides an essential foundation, it no longer creates a competitive edge. As there’s more need to experiment with non-traditional, sometimes radical and untried approaches that seek upfront inspiration – and actual ideas – from creative consumers who have a passion to innovate. These gives an opportunity to tap into consumers’ minds and passions to co-create products, solutions, communications and “experiences” that are truly resonant.

• Word of Mouth: Taking the time to watch / Listen /read feedback including feeds from Social Media for common themes and insights can provide a plentiful source of fresh, consumer-inspired ideas. Striking up relationships with the most prolific, influential bloggers with the aim of better understanding what makes their shoppers/consumers tick and how to improve the engagement platform is key.

Shopping these days have become defining moments with powerful choices instigated by compelling in store and out of home communication which usually brings consumers under the spell of ‘Fear of Missing Out’…but really, this butterfly called ‘satisfaction’ is going to be constantly out of reach, we need to start getting contented!.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Most organisations today operate in a highly complex matrix structure with multiple reporting lines and different levels of expertise requiring you sometimes to be vast across a number of skills.

This can be overwhelming sometimes especially when you have multi-functional projects and your delivery is dependent on others as you are not able to do most of the tasks on your own. Thing is, the priority level of each task is different from function to function but each action adds up as an essential for you. More importantly, you need not be overwhelmed but have the ability to ask for help , that way, you spend less time struggling.

It is important to have an enabling environment that allows you to function in a way that fosters better collaboration. Asking for help should not be seen as a sign of weakness but rather, recognizing what you are good at and appreciating what someone else’s is good at.  This enables both sides to benefit and gain valuable experience.  The person receiving helps adds nuance and texture to their thinking, overcome cognitive biases and flaws in their logic while at the same time giving someone else an opportunity to shine and validate their knowledge – this could make someone else’s day!

In asking for help, first acknowledge that you don’t have a solution to a task/problem or that you can’t do it alone – be sure to explore possible solutions as your own first step. Remember, no one person can know everything, so allow yourself to be human. It’s also better to build a reputation to be known to give assistance to others. This paves the way for reciprocity and encourages others to reach out without incurring social debts or negative repercussions, making it an admirable trait.  Additionally, ask for help smartly, as a ‘SMART’ request (Why you need it, what you need, When you need it, from who do you need help) is easy to respond to as you never know what people know or how they can help until you ask. Not only will you have the benefit of extra advice, you will also have people to share your successes with.

An enabling work environment makes it easy to ask for help by encouraging the practices and setting the tone and the norms. However, we must take time out to say ‘thank you’ and really mean it to express our gratitude for the help. It’s important to close the loop by letting the other person know how valuable your help was – people appreciate recognition and follow through. On both sides, emotional intelligence, diplomacy, self-awareness and patience are required to avoid damaging consequences to individuals and the organization.

To be successful in today’s work environment, you need to ask for what you need as it can become a powerful tool, if employed strategically – save yourself and others time by asking insightful questions that demonstrate your curiosity, inquisitiveness and your interest in understanding the process and not just performing your step of the cycle. Two heads… Or more…are better than one, strong people ask for help. Avoid muddling through a bad situation on your own, as challenges presents opportunities to cultivate our network and proactively build relationships.

Again, remember to frame the ‘ASK’ properly.

ABOUT  TOLA

Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola is a Regional Marketing Manager for West Africa in an FMCG. A firm believer in empowering others for success in the work place as she is a well sought after facilitator on Marketing and Business management. She also manages Workplace Management columns and Consumer Insight columns in magazines published across West Africa as well as volunteering with NGO’s as a child educator.