In this podcast, I share an incredible case study from my friend Hugh Gbewonyo from Foot Solutions in Norristown, PA. Before I go into Hugh's case study, it's important to understand his industry and how he chose to niche. The shoe industry has been growing year-after-year from the 1-to-1 shoe salesman model to the box store. My dad was a shoe salesman in small private owned mall store who knew shoes, was great with people, and took the time with each. I sold shoes years later in a box store where I was trained to help as many as I could and how to properly greet and "sell" them. This is the retail model that took over every industry for the past 40 years. Hugh didn't want that kind of shoe store. He wanted to set himself apart and really help people with every day life by becoming a certified pedorthist. Although he's not a medical doctor for feet, he can analyze feet & gait to recommend custom shoes for people. Thus, his shoe store is a sub-niche from shoe stores.
Prior to COVID-19, Hugh operated like any retail store with open hours and as many as 8 potential customers in his store at a time. Hugh could never quite get to everyone with the average client visiting his store for 15 minutes. His business has done well. But COVID forced Hugh to make a decision. He chose to stay open while other custom shoe stores closed (by choice as they were essential). Hugh ensured each customer's safety with a cleaning and disinfection protocol. Plus, he switched to "Hours By Appointment Only" model out of necessity. This gave his control over the cleanliness between clients and his own daily schedule.
Hugh didn't anticipate what would happen. He was able to get to every customer like the old time shoe stores. He served them and they stayed in his store for an increase from 15 minutes in the old model to over 35 minutes. He felt better as no one slipped between the cracks and he generated more good will and recommendations with the change. By the way, the change also increased his sales per client by 30%! Of course, I asked Hugh about his total sales as he would obviously have less opportunity to sell. Hugh said he is on track to exceed last June's sales by 6% with his new model. Incredible. Not only can he serve more, feel better, have more control over his day, limit the lookers through a prequalification system, but he is making more money! The results speak for their self. Hugh will stick to this model as he has unlocked the Scarcity Principle for his business. He has set himself apart from those that sell the same service. Plus, he offers a free $100 value Gait & Foot Analysis to top it off.
I told Hugh the Jackknives story from Russell Conwell's "Acres of Diamonds". He has already increased his sales per client by 30% through the "By Appointment Only" model. Imagine what could happen if he offered high profit items that every client wanted as well in the front of his store? He could find out what his clients want and start to offer them. He could optimize his sales per client metric to increase his revenues or quite possibly, have more time at home with his family. That's what optimizing and my ISO Model affords you.