“Try Sports”
April 12, 2009
If you’re planning on climbing Mt. Everest, you’d make absolutely certain that you have the right training, conditioning, and equipment – to do otherwise would be foolish…and dangerous.
Oh, don’t worry, Mt. Everest is not in my immediate or future plans – I don’t have the time or the inclination to attempt anything like that. But a half marathon is exactly the kind of physical and mental challenge I enjoy (more on that in this week’s Tales from the Road article below…) and the selection of equipment is important here as well.
The list of required items is fairly short: running shoes.
Sure, you can get special running socks, heart-rate monitors, and wicking shirts; but really, the only essential item you may not already own is a good pair of running shoes.
Normally, when you walk into a sporting-goods store, the clerk will ask what size shoe you wear, maybe inquire briefly about the type of running you do and your average weekly mileage, and then disappear into the back to see what shoes are available in your size. She’ll then leave you with several brands to try on, before moving to the next customer.
While this may be efficient, it doesn’t always result in the best possible selection – and running with the wrong shoe can lead to several different injuries that can essentially sideline you for weeks, or possibly months. But it does allow for slightly lower prices – I mean, it is a commodity item, right?
There is another approach, and a company called TrySports has it nailed down perfectly. Their four stores in North and South Carolina focus on people who run triathlons, or participate in any of the three component events: swimming, biking, and running. Let’s ignore the brilliant niche marketing that went into even identifying the need for this type of business, and focus on something even more specific: their process for fitting running shoes.
In stark contrast to the example I gave above, TrySports has a unique five-step process they go through to help you select the right shoe based on the size and shape of your foot, the way you train, and your running style. They even have a name for this fitting process: “5 Steps to the Perfect Fit” – an important thing to do to distinguish yourself from the competition.
One of the steps is a “Video Gait Analysis” where a digital video camera, aligned perfectly to videotape your stride as you run on the treadmill, lets the staff analyze exactly how your foot is striking the ground – particularly helpful if the customer tends to pronate or supinate (striking with the outside or inside of the foot).
And if, despite all of these steps, the shoes don’t work out, they’ll exchange them for a different model – even if you’ve run with them on the pavement, because that’s the only real way to know if they’re right for you.
So you see, they’re not selling running shoes, they’re selling the experience of making sure you have the perfect shoes that will help you enjoy your running, and do it without injury. And, by the way, if the shoes cost a bit more than at the discount stores, no one seems to care – the store was quite busy when I went there a few weeks ago to buy a pair for myself.
Do you have a unique process for what you do? Can it help you distinguish yourself from the competition? Can it put you in a position where you can charge a premium price for your products or services? Find a way to do this, and you’ll leave everyone else in the dust.
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