It is Friday and I have had quite a week.  Long hours, moments of joy and sadness…and I loved every minute of it.  I have hit hyper speed in my personal journey…yes, I do have my seat belt on

 

I thought it would be fun to get some facts from a business that is all about being different and providing its customers with a great shopping experience…

 

lululemon athletica

 

You can read more about this company by visiting www.lululemon.com as I don’t want to take a long time to make an intro here.

 

I visited this store on my trip to Boston back in September.  I have to say it was quite the experience.  Everyone there was ALL ABOUT the clients.  If you are ever in a town where there is a retail store you should stop by.  Rumor has it, the Milwaukee “sstore front” will become a full fledged shop so you can visit it locally!

 

Here are 3 takeaways with some HUGE lessons:

 

1.  The company refers to its “store clerks” as Educators.  This is a big positioning shift.  These individuals are now valuable versus being a pain in the butt (“Can I help you find something?” – you know the typical drill).  How do you refer to yourself and your support team?

 

2.  Lululemon’s brand personality has tended to be a bit “cheeky.”  The company thumbed its nose at the Vancouver Olympic committee with a clothing line inspired by “A Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011.”

 

I love that!!!  Reminds me of the pompous, arrogance of the NFL saying advertisers cannot use the term Super Bowl.  Well, how about using it in your marketing the same way lululemon has…

 

In honor of the “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place for the 46th (XLVI) Time in Indianapolis February 5th, 2012…” we are having a VIP Event (blah, blah, blah).

 

That’s fun, interesting and controversial.  My kind of marketing edge!

 

3.  Lululemon’s corporate manifesto it printed on its bags.  The company’s recent decision to include a reference to Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, which advocates self-interest as the path to a better world, has raised eyebrows with some of its hard core, loyal customers.

 

Once again, I love it!  Who cares what the minority thinks.  Be confident you can express your own opinion when it comes to YOUR business.  Take a stand.  Be controversial.  My kind of company!!!

 

I love finding these examples.  Now, take this and take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Can I enhance my business by infusing more of MY personality?”  I think you already know the answer.

 

I recall the first time I met with a client of mine after she was a guest at one of the monthly business meetings back in 2008. The focus was how to grow her fitness business that was in its early stages.

As per the usual the brain storming session resulted in more ideas than time would allow, but that shows the immense possibilities that lie within a business. The most important opportunity came after I asked her two questions…

What is your closing percentage and what is your closing script?

After watching her just one time I was able to fix the real problem, which wasn’t needing more leads, it was how to offer her services and the structure of her pricing.

After a number of months testing the pricing and the offer it is now completely rock solid. This also is a lesson in testing, written about here as bonus.

My point is, try to take a step back and see if there is another way of looking at a challenge you are facing. Get someone else to look at it and give you feedback.

It’s all about perspective. This one idea could change a big challenge in your business to a huge opportunity. Try it out. You may just like it!