One of the greatest resources you can tap into which will give you a flood of new ideas, is to tap into what is working in other industries.
This includes looking at businesses that are so far removed from hypnosis and hypnotherapy, that it seems absurd. This is where the gold nuggets are.
One of the great advantages I have in working with clients from a lot of different industries, is to see what clever ideas companies have implemented that result in a 10%, 100%, or even 1000% increase in revenue.
This may seem simple once you hear it, but I promise you it’s rarely done. Instead what you find is what I call Marketing Incest. People in an industry mimic what everyone else is doing. This is why there is so much bland, boring, “me too” type of advertising, and why at best businesses get average results.
If you want to have above average or better yet, mind blowing profits, you have to look outside your industry for ideas.
Here’s an example I came across in a business article today:
“I don’t know who first put me on to Zappos.com, the Web shoe merchant, but it is phenomenal. It not only has a fine inventory of my brands (New Balance and Johnson & Murphy) in my weird size (8EEE), but it actually sent me a renewal notice! One year after I bought a pair of New Balance walking shoes, they were in sorry shape. Suddenly, in my e-mail, was a note from the folks at Zappos offering these shoes in my size. With a couple of clicks I bought them and several days later they arrived.” (from Denny Hatch’s Business Common Sense)
There is a super valuable lesson and a gold nugget idea in this simple paragraph. Do you get what they both are?
This is the power of being strongly niched. I don’t know when they started, but Zappos is becoming known as THE PLACE TO GET SHOES on the Internet. When I read this, I recalled how many of my friends recently have bought shoes from Zappos and raved about them.
Think how much this is worth. With BILLIONS of people online worldwide, millions more coming online every month, and shopping online accepted as safe and convenient… being the #1 online shoe store is like a licence to print money.
And they have HUNDREDS of brands in an easily searchable system. Anyone that has ever gone shoe shopping knows how long it can take to find a pair of shoes you like. I can’t help but think of parents having to deal with their kids while going from shoe store to shoe store to find something that fit and they will wear.
Sending an email right when the time comes to buy a new pair of shoes. BRILLIANT.
The famous copywriter Robert Collier was famous for saying, “Always enter the conversation already happening in their mind”. Sending an email right when most shoes have worn out, exactly enters the conversation in their mind.
I would love to see the sales numbers from this simple email. And it’s completely AUTOMATED! It’s a system they set up and it runs 24/7 365 days a year. This is smart marketing. Do the labor once, use it over and over till it stops making you money.
And there is a 2nd bonus, if the customer needs a new pair of shoes they will be thankful for the reminder so this builds goodwill and customer loyalty.
Takeaway Points for You to Consider:
- When you ‘niche’ your business, people can easily remember it. It makes it easy for others to refer business to you. This is a pervasive problem in the Hypnosis Industry. Are you the Pain Management Specialist or just another hypnotherapist?
- Setup automated systems to do your marketing. Now with the Internet there is NO EXCUSE for not doing this. If you don’t have the technical know-how, pay someone else to do it.
- Use follow up contact with your Hypnotherapy clients. Also for people who buy your products. You will be amazed at how this will increase satisfaction and stimulate referrals. Ask yourself, what sort of follow up would be useful for them. Then ask, how can I create a system to do this? If you use phone or mail, you can have someone else do it for you.
