I finished, now what?

This is a brilliant idea from the floor of Barnes and Noble, where I’m writing this.

To my left is a table of books. A variety, and I don’t know any of them.

Above them is a sign. “I finished Twilight. Now what?”

Books, like wine, can be intimidating. Plus there’s an investment of time and money. A customer doesn’t want to waste either.

This is where the power and impact of a good retailer comes in. Show them where to go.

Imagine how easy it can be to show your customers to their next new favorite wine. Just set it up.

The takeaway on this is the fact that everybody buys something for a reason. Successful retailers control that conversation by doing things like what is described. Unsuccessful retailers, or at least ones that are going slowly in the wrong direction, rely on label designs/scores/popularity/other forms of validation from the outside to sell the wine. If you control the validation, you control more of the conversation, and therefore more of your own future.