[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been to the circus a few times over the past 4-5 years and I hadn\u2019t heard those words to start of the show. The reason, of course, was that I had been to Cirque de Soleil and hadn\u2019t given a thought to going to the \u201cGreatest Show On Earth\u201d. Yes, every year I would see the news reports when the circus came to town or left its home in Sarasota to go on the road once again. But I wasn\u2019t the least bit motivated to go and see a three-ring circus filled with clowns, elephants, and trapeze artists all at the same time.<\/p>\n
Until I read an article recently in USA Today. The story revealed how this year\u2019s edition of the Ringling Bros . and Barnum & Bailey Circus had been re-imagined. In order to appeal to today\u2019s young families who are living in three ring lifestyles with video games, computer-generated thrill shows, theme parks with high tech rides, and pocket games that they can play everywhere and everyway they want, the circus had to change. With hip-hop music, one big ring with exotic acts, and even its first female ringmaster, the circus has changed. Apparently it is paying off, according to Nicole Feld, the show\u2019s co-producer and member of the Feld Family that revitalized the circus over 30 years ago when they bought it. As he says, they are constantly changing to appeal to today\u2019s kids and in turn, make their parents hero\u2019s for taking them to the circus just like our parents did over the years.<\/p>\n
Amazing that more stores don\u2019t get the same spirit of change to constantly appeal to their customers. Sure, Abercrombie, Coach, Banana Republic and others have re-invented themselves in the past successfully and they know that it\u2019s an ongoing process. As more department stores become Macy\u2019s, I ask what have they done to change for their customers? The malls and the stores anchoring them are much like the 3-ring circus\u2014a lot of stuff going on but not many people paying attention or excited by them. Target has added excitement to the discount world, Costco has made food and warehouse shopping an experience. Publix and Wegmann\u2019s have made grocery shopping an experience instead of a chore. The customers are changing faster than most retailers can change the theme lines of their latest commercials. I\u2019ve been working in the furniture industry the past several weeks and am amazed how this industry has stayed the same in terms of shopping experience for the past several decades. Only IKEA and Rooms to Go seem to have noticed that the customer has changed.<\/p>\n
The brand is built upon change\u2026changing to build a better relationship with the customers, and like the circus the acts (the people putting on the show) have to change. Out with lion tamers and in with Chinese acrobats who do things we can\u2019t even imagine. Out with old salesman and in with consultants who really understand the customer and what they really want.<\/p>\n
So\u2026.on with the show!<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] I\u2019ve been to the circus a few times over the past 4-5 years and I hadn\u2019t heard those words to start of the show. The reason, of course, was that I had been to Cirque de Soleil and hadn\u2019t given a thought to going to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":506,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions\/506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenbanks.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}