The Stats Don't lie

We used to work with a guy who loved to say “It’s not rocket science…...but it is a science”

For the sports fans out there, you know the old adage that the numbers don’t lie…...and more often than not, it stays true to form. The best teams statistically usually are the last ones standing, the ones competing for whatever championship is applicable in that specific sport.

The same goes for operational statistics and metrics. KPI’s provide insight to how your business is performing, and odds are if you’re hitting on your numbers, the business is healthy, and achieving its goals. Data intelligence, when studied, and interpreted correctly, provides immense value to even the smallest aspects of your organization.

We’ve seen some very interesting numbers come to light in the last several years at PIA Products. We knew when we launched that we were providing a strong viable merchandise solution to existing problems on the product side of the amusement industry. Our ability to distribute premium branded merchandise for prizes solved unnecessary liability, and efficiency issues for our customers. Additionally, PIA Products provided an excellent reliable product source for an important, yet underserviced category in the amusement world, for FEC’s, parks, and route operators.

So while we knew we were solving a problem, we didn’t realize initially that some additional, and thankfully positive unintended consequences to what we were doing, were occuring. Data from our customers, and partners began to illuminate an added benefit to our mission.

We knew that a certain percentage of high end, retail and branded merchandise was necessary to truly fill out an excellent product assortment. We didn’t know at first that those products would drive additional sales at locations, and that those additional sales and profits would encourage the introduction of additional items, which in turn produced even more sales and profit for our customers operations. The cascading waterfall, or rolling snowball was surprising to us, until we saw the numbers. The data didn’t lie. Customers tested 5-10 items. After a faster than expected turnover, they increased 50-100%, going to 15-20 skus, experiencing the same results. The exponential growth continued as customers integrated more and more skus into their offerings, watching top line revenue grow. Cost of sales remained constant, which demonstrated that the end-user was willing to play more for what they considered to be “a better”, more recognizable item, of greater value.

The statistical growth data wasn’t limited to the size of the operation. Large national FEC chains experienced sales growth, as did small local and regional operations. Additionally, operators reported seeing guest satisfaction scores rise in relation to the value, service, and the overall guest experience provided, in the context of redemption prizes, and how that impacted the entire operation.

The data didn’t lie, and additional action steps were taken to continue to test and prove out the information the numbers were providing, which led to even greater success. Don’t ignore the science, no matter how simple it may seem.