🔮 The power of anticipation

Imagine you have a child who will go to university for the first time next month.

Imagine this child will be living on campus and, for the first time in their life, they will need the type of household tools and supplies that were readily available to use at home.

Now, list 20 things your child will need to buy to be ready for "adulting".

(Take a minute and try to think of 20 things before you continue reading)

I'm willing to bet that this simple exercise was more difficult than you thought it would be. And I'm willing to bet that if you actually had a child moving away next week, a list like the one IKEA provides in-store would be immensely helpful (pictured below).

Except IKEA goes beyond just providing a list.

They put everything on that list in a large, plastic container (which, quite conveniently, is one of the 20 items on the list) and will sell you this "University Starter Box" for just $99.

It gets better - if you add up the retail selling price of everything included in the kit the total would be $123.82, yet the box is sold for just $99. No brainer, right?

Not only are they providing you with convenience, but also with a discount. I would argue that the bulk of the value of this offer isn’t in the discount, but in helping customers anticipate their needs.

People are bombarded by decisions every day and it is easy to overlook something you need. Even more pressing, in such a high stress world with an overabundance of options it is often difficult to know what you actually need. How do you know which of the 50 options is best to pick? Often, we would welcome somebody making things easy for us by predicting what we need and offering it to us. Lighten the mental load.

We don't all have children heading off to live on campus next month.

But for those of us who have businesses, we all have customers who could benefit from our help in identifying what they need in advance of when they realise they need it. In return, your customers will reward your company with happiness and cash.

Three examples of how this is used:

Marketing agency: Noticing that a customer recently started a YouTube channel and reaching out to offer a complete YT starter kit, or video editing services, or a campaign to cross promote it with other channels you manage, etc.

Shop: Incentivising future purchases based on past purchases, for example offering a $5 voucher for nappy rash cream to people who recently bought nappies (diapers).

Car repair garage: Sending reminders to past clients to come and change to winter tyres based on when they did it last year or current weather patterns. Or little bonuses or discounts to incentivise people to come in when servicing is due. Or adding “impulse purchase” products like car fresheners or coffee in your waiting room. It sounds small, but it can make a HUGE difference. (This is a real example from a client that I worked with that helped my client go from $60k per month to $140k per month).

Having a clearly defined audience - and offer - makes it much easier to anticipate customer needs so you can capitalise. When done well, your customers will thank you for it.

IKEA’s University Starter Box Offer

This post was adapted from one a reader sent to me.

💡 Quote I'm pondering

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” - Leonardo Da Vinci

One of the figures from history that I am most impressed by, Da Vinci was a true polymath and trailblazer. As complex as his works were, this quote reminds me that real genius lies in making things simple. Simplicity is the state to strive for.

I shared this in my Work Smart Wednesday newsletter. Want the full set of related insights? You can read them here: https://worksmartwednesday.substack.com/p/work-smart-wednesday-july-17-2024

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