01.08.19

Learn From Sears. Before It’s Too Late.

Anybody who’s seen me speak or read my book knows I’ve been predicting the death of Sears for more than a decade. But please believe me, I get no satisfaction from watching them doing down. I’ve been buying all of my tools—every single one and I’ve got tons—from them since I was a kid and I don’t want to have to go somewhere else. (And the thing about tools is, you need them when you need them; I’ve never bought one online).

I spent an hour yesterday in the Sears closest to me and where I’ve spent a lot of money. What I saw—people taking advantage of going-out-of-business pricing—saddened me as it should everyone with a heart. The greatest retailer of all time is puking up its guts for all to see. How is this even possible?

Put your business cap on and think about these obvious questions: Did the internet kill Sears? Did low price discounters like Wal-Mart do them in? Does Sears sell substandard products? Answer all three with a huge hell no.

I’ll tell you who killed Sears: Sears killed Sears. And their cause of death is going to wipe out a lot more businesses if people don’t wake up to reality and start making some noise.  

We’ve all been to Sears at one point or another, right? Well, that spells the problem and opportunity, while foretelling the disaster. Or at least it should, if you’re thinking like a dominator.

Let’s look closer.

You were in a Sears store, which means you presented them with the single greatest demand-growing opportunity anyone in the business world could ever want: You, a potential loyal customer and potential vocal advocate, were sharing space with Sears people, completely surrounded by all of the stuff they sell. You’re seeing this, right?

But what did those Sears people do when you were in their presence? What did they do to make you feel special—welcome, wanted, awesome, important?  What did they do to infect you with their contagious passion and enthusiasm for what they represent and who they do it for? What did they say and do to make you like them? What did they do to give you a spark of delight that you’d remember and return to?

We all know the answer: Jack Squat. They sold you what you came for. Or, more likely, you bought nothing and headed for the exit. Sears didn’t become the store at the mall where people turn around instead of entering for no reason!

Remember your Noise Cubed questions: What are people saying? What do we want them to say? What are we doing to make them say it? And plug them into the Sears equation.

Look, I’ll scream this til my final breath: If you live by product, you’re going to die by product. If your only reason to exist is to glorify and sell your stuff, you’re going to be replaced by somebody doing it better or more cheaply. Hardware, software, “customer service,” and other stuff can’t sustain competitive advantage. The battle is won with people! Culture! To deny this is to deny reality. 

What do I say about “joy” in my book? It’s the foundation of loyalty! We humans will return faithfully—loyally—to any source of joy in our lives, until it fails to give us joy. Joy here doesn’t mean woo-hoo rapture, it simply means delight. If what you say to me and do in front of me gives me a blush of delight, something all humans seek, I’m going to remember you and come back for more. And because you, as an employee, made me feel this way, I’m going to assume your fellow employees are as awesome as you. Moral of the story: Humans are way more loyal to other humans than we’ll ever be to products. 

Sears could’ve won the retail battle at the point of contact—Lord knows they had a few bazillion opportunities. Store managers could have and should have been on the floor and Visibly Passionate at all times (grab lunch at a Chick- Fil-A if you want to see what that looks like), inspiring and uplifting their people, so they’d do the same for their customers and create a positive, welcoming and delightful environment. They could have created a mandatory, yet easily achieved, framework of required employee behaviors and language and held their people accountable for sustaining it. Instead, they and their people unlocked their doors, manned their cash registers and waited for us to come in and buy. Until we found better options.

What did JC Penney discover when they tried to win the battle of major retailers by eliminating discounts/sales and re-positioning themselves as an “always low price” retailer a few years ago? Nobody cared! Ooops! They focused on the wrong thing! Let’s hope they get wise and focus their efforts outward—on living, breathing people—instead of inward. They should be licking their chops as they watch their oldest competitor go down!

The battle is won (or lost) with culture! And you know it!

Amazon? They’re not the cause of struggling retailers. They’re a consequence.

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