Your Identity is essentially that which defines who you are and what you stand for.  

• What is it that you do that you are really, really, REALLY good at?  

• What is it that you do that is better than any of your competitors?  

• What is it that you provide to your customers that nobody else in the industry does?  

(If you don’t provide anything truly unique in the marketplace, you need to innovate your products or services to come up with something your customers want that nobody else is giving them.)  Do you need some ideas to take your business to the next level?  Need ways to make your company more powerful, innovative, and interesting? Strategic Marketing has nearly 20 different Innovation Formulas designed to stir up your brain and make you THINK.  There are lots of ways in which you can innovate your company, your products or your services.  Part of what we do is help you brainstorm innovations in your business to create unique products or services that no one else is offering and then help you market those innovations to your target market.

A few of these formulas include the “Magic Wand,” the “Bookmobile,” and the “Real Deal”.  I plan to do a series of webinars in the coming months that describes how to use these innovation formulas and provide examples of how to apply them to your business.  So stay tuned.  Sign up for our RSS feed to be notified when the webinars will be presented.

For now, here’s the gist.

Magic Wand – If your customers could have ANYTHING, what would it be?  (Innovate fewer ideas but execute flawlessly.)

• Dentist: 50 magazines, TV mounted on the ceiling at just the right angle and a remote in the chair, Free Wi-Fi, etc.
• Jeweler: Perpetual trade-in program,
• Hotel: Free/cheap movies, free/reasonable-priced meals, contour or memory foam pillows,
• Restaurant: staff/guest ratio, clean, quick,
• Mini Storage: pick-up and delivery, shelving, electric opener, inventory system,
• Mortgage: Plain English, home services referrals (painting, remodeling, landscaping, dentist/doctor, etc.)
• Day Care: Fun facilities, staff ratio, teacher credentials,
• Haircut: Chair/head massage (longer than the norm; i.e. 5 min., free trim, shave, free Wi-Fi,

Bookmobile – Can you bring something to customers they normally have to go get?

• Florist: Mobile store on wheels, flowers, Mylar balloons,
• Dentist: RV with mobile cleanings, x-rays,
• Oil Change: While you work, every 3 – 6 months (send email/text reminder),
• Pet Store: Food delivery,
• NBA: Narrowcast to movie theaters (bring the crowd experience where they serve food & drinks)
• Restaurant: Real version of the restaurant
• Convenient Store: Now we’re talking REALLY convenient (email/text alerts as to when they’ll be there)
• Haircut: Mobile hair salon,

Real Deal – What do your customers REALLY buy from you?

• Florist: “romance & get out of trouble”, funerals, birthdays, etc., Pre-selected monthly “romance”; 2 “get out of jail free”
• Radio Stations: (advertisers): “advertising results”, Ongoing training, advice, solutions, (not necessarily radio-related; joint ventures)
• Home Builder: “handle everything soup to nuts”, Specific recommendations, mobile showrooms
• Network Cert. Training: “high paying job in IT”, Line up employers for graduates, interview/resume support
• Health Food Store: “healthy living lifestyle”, Ongoing education, information… other healthy products
• Moving Company: “time, hassle, & energy savings”, Utilities help, service providers help, food arrangements
• Retirement Home: “care & well being of Mom/Dad”, Daily/weekly reports, webcams, health specialists
• Sales Training: “job security & lifestyle”, increased income, 
• High society parties, dream sessions, shopping assistance, wardrobe coordination, color assessment
• Haircut: “relax, enjoy, look good”, hot shave, head massage, 
• Restaurant: Make it an EXPERIENCE, Have a live piano, guitar, saxaphone player, Have a comedian, Send a limo to pick up your customer, Send flowers before your customer arrives

Until next time,

Shea Ellison