Thinking outside the box is a must

Thinking outside the box is a must


Liam Horan

Sometimes the best way to test the market is to, wait for it, test the market.
Some people wrap themselves up in endless feasibility studies, labyrinthine business plans, and unfathomably deep research.
Others have a hunch and just go for it.
We can procrastinate for aeons, and even dress our procrastination up as worthwhile planning. Nowadays, more than ever, there are cheap ways of testing your market, without engaging in the whole-nine-yard investment.
Online, you can advertise your product before you even have it produced.
Through a variety of means, you can determine how many people got to the point where they clicked Buy Now on the screen. If enough click, you have a product. Those who click are told there’s a slight delay.
Imaginative use of new technology is one of the great opportunities for business right now. I consider myself reasonably au fait with the whole, ever-evolving technological world – and yet I know I barely scratch at the surface of the potential therein.
Getting the most out of it involves some lateral thinking, and, in all likelihood, a severance of the umbilical cord linking you to your day-to-day work. While you’re on that treadmill, there is rarely enough time to look up and have a peep around the place.
Perhaps inviting a third party in to have a look is one way?
What about you swap places with a friend for a day/week, and see what suggestions you come up for their business. And vice-versa.
Sometimes the best ideas come from those completely on the outside. Their thinking is fresh and unfettered. They are not afraid to suggest because a) they know they are not supposed to be experts and are thus forgiven any daft suggestons, and b) they know they don’t actually have to do the work themselves.
If you can’t afford the time to swap, even for a day, then just ask people to think about your business. Ask them to write down the ten things they would consider if they were in your shoes.
And don’t give yourself the power of immediate veto: make a commitment that you will consider the suggestions for at least a week before ruling any of them out.
If I were a barber, for example, I would look into providing an automatic shoe-shine machine. When people sit down to wait, they could clean their own shoes. The waiting time could be put to good use.
I’d certainly appreciate any barber who had such a machine in his place, or, indeed, even just plain old-fashioned brushes and polish. It could be just the thing that would bring me back.
Maybe it’s daft. Maybe it’s not. Barbers of the world, invite opinions. Be the first – not the thousandth – to do something new.

Liam Horan runs www.SliNuaCommunications.com , a communications consultancy based in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.