Be wary of the panacea for any issue you have appearing in any form.
There’s no such “real” beast out there.
The genuine cure-all is doing the right things at the right time for the right reason – a rarely achieved combination resulting from timing, good karma, skills and a grand dose of luck.
Social Media, for instance, is just one media “channel” of many.
Be careful of the Kool-Aid you drink. Be wary of the “wizard,” no matter who he/she might be, me included.
My last blog post I talked about RedBox kicking HV’s butt.
They answered RB’s competitive run at their market by introducing a “$1 no matter how long you have it” video rental. Get a FREE RedBox movie rental here.
They erroneously believe the chink in RB’s armor is that they charge $1/day as long as you have it. When, to me, that’s NOT the top thing people might dislike about RB. Because, right now, I pay $4.99 on DishNetwork for a rental that I can only watch during a 24-hour period. That’s 5x as much.
I think waiting in line is one problem. I think being in the weather is another problem (how do those things work in 110 degree heat or 5 degree cold?). I think the lack of privacy is kind of one, too. I know I felt artificial pressure the first time I rented since a line formed almost immediately behind me. I also think the return process needs to be simplified. But, these things can be overcome, I believe.
All that aside…
Here’s a list of things HV should be doing and should have been doing all along…
- an obvious thing: buy RedBox and expand the biz.
- replace their existing huge stores with small footprint (low $) human-less dispensers – BLUE BOX
- Rent movies by the bundle – $10 for up to 12 movies. (Increase sales/client = increase profit/client)
- sell bundles of crap with a movie rental – 5 movies, 2 bags of micro popcorn, 5 candy bars and a 2-liter bottle of pop for $15.
- develop, nurture and communicate with their clients. Email at the very least. RedBox has that down. They give away a movie to acquire an email address. What if they operated at break-even, of $1. That means they’re paying $1 to get an email address they can begin to nurture the client, make special offers, etc. Heck it’s automated marketing with zero (at this point) delivery cost.
- once they get an email address, then, get a physical address. MAIL stuff. That’s a novel concept, eh? Dean Jackson (www.thedeanjackson.com) has this technique down. Subscribe and you’ll see his clever way of extracting a regular mailing address from someone that just gives him a regular mail address.
Most businesses think they can survive anything if they’re a nameless, faceless corporation. Heck, the world’s largest company, Wal-Mart, was not faceless at the beginning. Ol’ Man Walton was everywhere. His personality was infused into the culture of the company from Day 1.
RedBox oughta be listening/reading this, too. They can be knocked off. Somehow. It’s coming. They need a face to put with their company. A personality.
An enormous company like Hollywood Video can’t compete with RedBox. RB has no employees at their locations, just service guys to check on the machines. They have no GIANT footprint store with a huge inventory to manage. It’s a different biz. Different biz model.
HV has to do something to reinvent itself. They must, or they die. What do you think they can do?
What’s your big threat(s) in your business that you’re ignoring, hoping it will go away?
Have you rented a Red Box DVD, yet?
It’s interesting. For $1/day, you can keep the DVD as long as you want, up to 25 days, then it’s yours to keep.
Then, there’s Hollywood Video, a company that is, I believe, crumbling from the competition … DISTRIBUTION options other cos. have and CONSUMPTION options consumers have, is destroying them.
HV has answered Red Box’s challenge in their advertising, but I do not think it’s going to be effective – too little too late.
Red Box – every location I have seen – has someone standing at it or a LINE has formed.
Next blog post, I’ll cover what HV should have been doing this whole time to lock out their competition and lock-in loyalty of their existing (now soon to be former) clients. And yup, this has EVERYTHING to do with Dentistry, Chiropractic, or any other service-based, client-based business.
Check back soon…
Are you extending the “Olive Branch” to your patients and clients – asking them to come back to your business?
Check out this video where I “show” you a call I received yesterday from Wal-Mart’s Vision Center. It doesn’t take much to reactivate inactive patients.
Want the the Ultimate Patient Reactivation System for FREE (an $897 Value)? Check out ClearPath Society, here. It’s all part of the $12,000+ in bonuses you receive when you join…(No long-term commitments)
[You MIGHT NOT be able to hear the audio on my iPhone, but, I'll review what the message says, so hang tight!]
Starting February 2nd, I’ll be conducting 3, 1-hour teleseminars, at absolutely NO CHARGE.
They will take place Tues, Wed and Thur, February 2nd, 3rd and 4th, from 3PM to 4PM Pacific (6PM to 7PM Eastern).
Here are the date/topics:
Tuesday, February 2nd: How to use Postcards to Double, Even Triple New Patient Flow in 48 to 72 hours.
Wednesday, February 4th: Time Management & Peak Productivity Secrets from the business anarchist. How to get more done in less time and make more money in the process.
Thursday, February 5th: The business anarchist’s approach to “How to use Patient Newsletters to DOUBLE Your Annual Referral Numbers.” Snag my 15+ years of experience with Dental Patient Newsletters and put ‘em to work in your practice.
There is no registration required for these events. The call-in information will be sent to anyone who has “opted-in” to my lists at this website or DentalMarketingTips.com or ButtsInOps.com.
Questions? Post ‘em below and I’ll answer ‘em.
“See ya” on the phone, soon!
Use the form below to search the site:
Still not finding what you're looking for? Drop a comment on a post or contact us so we can take care of it!
A few highly recommended friends...
All entries, chronologically...
