Creative Emulation

I had an interesting weekend. Holly and I went to Florida and started our trip by having dinner with Damon Moschetto and his lovely wife Laurel. For those of you who don't know Damon, he's a real industry expert and a co-author of Fitness Riches. Holly and I made it back to the resort and were checking out the weather channel to see the forecast for the next day when the breaking story came across - flash flood in Elizabethtown, KY (our hometown) - not good. So we got to come home to a wet basement and our lawn tractor being found 3 houses down after the water carried it away. Interesting weekend.

So on to the post of the day...

Before we go any further - please understand that creative emulation should not be confused with outright plagiarism. Creative emulation is art of studying and observing all sorts of effective (and successful) marketing techniques and concepts that companies totally outside of your own industry are using and creatively adapting variations of these concepts to your own business.

Let me give you an example of what I mean to better understand the potential.

It is common for health clubs to use EFT to bill their members each month. This technology has reduced deliquency, made clubs tons of money and simplified the lives of members. We took this same approach and applied it to selling personal training. The clients were already experiencing EFT billing with the health club so applying this approach for their in-club services wasn't a stretch.

Did it work for us?

Did it ever!

We have absolutely no resistance to this approach, over 80% of our clients sign 12 month training contracts and we consistently have penetration rates over 350% better than the industry average when it comes to % of club members using trainers.

I could point out other examples but I think you get the point.

But in case you don't see Creative Emulation for the opportunity it is - here's a couple of thoughts on the concept:

1) It's not only acceptable - it's a great idea to emulate someone else's concept particularly when you see evidence that it is successful.

2) Some of the most successful and profitable breakthroughs I've ever seen were common approaches in one industry that were successfully applied in another.

How can you start using Creative Emulation?

• Be nosy. Look for ways you can use things you see at the theater, the coffee shop or the video store and apply them to your business.
• Read, read, read. Read magazines that chronicle success stories and business stories. Read books about business. You'll be amazed by what you pick up.
• Take action. Test ideas that you come up with based on what you discover. Some will flop, but often you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. Besides, the odds of success are greater since it's already worked in another industry.

I don't know if I'll be making another post this week. Trying to get caught up after the weekend in Florida, the flood and prepping to be out of town for the Ryan Lee Bootcamp might prevent me from posting. We'll see.

If you are going to the Bootcamp, I will be there along with Nick Berry, Holly and Randy Campbell, our VP of Training Services. Nick and I will be spending alot of time in the lobby catching up with our clients, customers and subscribers - so make sure to come and say hello.

Later.