Looks do count. Deliver visually stunning merchandising. Engage at the point of sale. Help consumers shop with their eyes.

A curious mind does not say to consumers "What do you want?" A curious mind understands context, understands behavior, understands spending and spending patterns - the accumulation of a day's purchases, or spending over a week or a year. A curious mind asks the questions that open up the consumer to talk about her latent dissatisfactions, hopes, wishes, and dreams.

Take an expansive view of the consumers needs and expand beyond your current boundaries.

The choices we make define our future.

Functional goods sold en masse earn a good return but breakthrough profits come from satisfying emotional needs.

Failure to make the tough but necessary choices means slow painful death.

Own one idea. Complete it. Map the current model of purchase and usage. Change how it is done so at least some part of the market uses only your product. Extend from that core user to a much broader universe. Describe your concept in a very short, "six-word story" - a la Ernest Hemingway: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."