Great is…Simple

One of the latest buzzwords being thrown around is ‘disruption’. Everyone is looking to disrupt an industry. Yet, very few are truly successful.

Two years ago, Great Clips — my employer, was approached by one of its vendor partners with a simple premise— lets make getting a haircut even more convenient for our customers. Shortly thereafter, Online Check-In — which allows customers to check wait times at nearby salons and add their name to the wait list — was launched. The service is available via a mobile app and our website.

On the surface, it may not seem all that exciting. But innovation and disruption doesn’t have to be complex or sexy. All too often, we look to come up with the big idea to solve a problem. Instead, we should be focusing on enhancing the small pain points your business experiences. Don’t focus on how your brand can do X, focus on how you can improve Y.

With Online Check-In, Great Clips has truly disrupted the salon and haircare business. We’re focused on enhancing the customer experience, not by adding products or services, but by improving what we’re already doing. After two years of launching Online Check-In, we’ve had more than 10 million customers utilize the service.

Disruption isn’t always that difficult. Don’t overlook the obvious. Find what you do well and make it better. That’s when disruption and innovation happens.