Often Smaller is better than Bigger

The manufacturer wanted to test a significant number of marketing techniques and tactics in order to understand the range of opportunities for influencing a variety of consumer segments. But one of its key retail partners was reluctant to undertake the months of effort that traditional multi-site, in-store pilot programs require. The high number of proposed initiatives (originally 50, subsequently winnowed to the 20 most promising) heightened the perennial risks of confusing customers with different messages in different stores and of tipping off competitors about the retailer’s plans. Furthermore, the retailer had recently hired a new category buyer, whose focus was rapidly increasing category sales—not turning its stores into a massive shopper-marketing laboratory.

Pasted from <http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Using_technology_to_improve_in-store_marketing_1976>