The first step in determining a rational decision is ask, “What is it for?” It’s about really getting clear on the purpose of what you’re trying to achieve. To do that you can ask yourself these questions:
What is the reason for it? What are we trying to show? When and how do we know its working? Who are we doing this for? Where does this take place?
As we have explored different decision making models, we have been asking, should Target continue to sell print books? To help us answer what is it for, we took a look at Target’s mission statement or purpose.
We fulfill the needs and fuel the potential of our guests. That means making Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional experiences—consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand promise. –Target
So then, what is the purpose of selling print books at Target?
Increase Profitability – Any product sold in Target is done so with the main goal of increasing profitability. So the question to be asked is, does the book department add enough profit across all stores to warrant keeping it? To understand this we will need to consider profitability among other departments to see how the book department ranks in contribution to Target’s overall profit. Further, it would be valuable to measure revenue per square foot of the book department versus the revenue per square foot of other departments. Considering the results, some tactics they could take to increase profitability would be to minimize or eliminate in print book sales giving room for higher profit items, change the assortment of the books they carry, or perhaps move the department to a higher trafficked area within the store.
Fulfill the Needs and Fuel Potential of our Consumers – The book department fulfills this portion of Target’s purpose by providing customers a knowledge and entertainment resource. Additionally books are popular gifts. Having books at Target provides a convenience to their customers while they are shopping for other things. Therefore it’s important that print books are still a part of Target stores.
Continuously Innovate and Provide Exceptional Experience – There is a huge opportunity to innovate in this department and provide a new, exceptional experience to our customers. For example, we can leverage the opportunity of having customers in our stores (vs. online shoppers) by providing them with an appealing book technology center that features e-readers and e-books. The book technology center could provide an in-person experience where they can listen and view books of their choice using the newest technology that can also be purchased in our technology department.
By asking “What is it for?” and reviewing resulting outcomes, you can see that there are several opportunities for Target to improve their business as it relates to books. It will be important for Target to rank their priorities to determine which of these is the most important. See our article on Ranking Priorities for more information.
Every time you need to make a rational decision, ask yourself “What is it for?” Don’t just ask once, ask it over and over until you have identified all of the possible outcomes. Break it down and ask yourself, “What is the reason for it? What are we trying to show? When and how do we know its working? Who are we doing this for? Where does this take place?”