Hack #2: How Would a Florist Better My Business?
Struggling to solve a problem? Use analogies to shift your mindset and discover radical solutions to your most stubborn challenges.
Welcome to the 2nd post in our #Hacks series where we provide you with all the tools you need to solve your most stubborn challenges in 2 hours (or less).
When we’re looking to solve our problems, we often look to the obvious for solutions. Businesses look at their competitors to copy and paste solutions or call consulting firms saying, “we noticed you did XYZ at so-and-so firm and we’d like you to come and do it here”. That’s so lame. If you continue to look at competitors for solutions you’re living in a perpetual state of catch-up. To find creative solutions to your challenges and get ahead of the game, you need to forget “Copy + Paste” and try “Copy + Adapt + Paste”.
Copy + Adapt + Paste
So, what the heck is C+A+P? It’s essentially the use of analogies to inspire divergent thinking. We do it all the time. Phrases like “jumping ship” or “needle in a haystack” are simple analogies that allow us to see our challenge in a new light. Analogies allow us to shift perspective and draw inspiration from seemingly unrelated domains. The most straight forward form of C+A+P is the What Would [X] Do technique, it’s really simple and only requires these 4 steps:
- Identify someone or something to take over your challenge.
- Think of ways in which they would solve the problem.
- Adapt their solution to your context.
- Elaborate and select the best ideas.
The first step is easy, simply remove yourself from the situation and pretend someone (or something) is stepping into your shoes. For me, sometimes close analogies work best (like the florist example I’ll use below), other times completely wild and random analogies are the way to go…the good news is you don’t have to choose, you can do both.
Next, think of ways they would solve the problem. As an example, if your problem is that you’re losing staff, your challenge may be “how do we stop the bleeding?” A logical analogy would be a tourniquet and ways in which it stops hemorrhaging. Next, you adapt the solution to your challenge. Perhaps the solution is to pressure executives higher up in the organization to take bonus cuts and increase staff salaries.
How Would a Florist Run a Bakery?
Let’s dig deeper using an example from one of our previous engagements. Pretend for a minute you’re a bakery owner. Things are going ok, but you think there’s room for improvement. Your challenge is pretty simple “how can our bakery make more money?” Now, you could go on a boondoggle peeking through competitors’ windows or pretending to be their customer, but that’s a race to the bottom. Instead, find an analogy and think how they make more money and go from there. I’m going to use a florist — as I mentioned before this is a pretty close analogy, but let’s see how it goes.
As you’ll see from the ideation sheet above, I start off by filling out the boring stuff in the left column. Next, I fill out section 1 which simply states 15 ways in which florists make more money. I then copy the ideas that I feel have the best potential to solve my challenge and adapt them to my bakery. Here are the 3 best ideas I came up with (it took 28 minutes):
1. Offer Products for Different Occasions and Emotions
Do you think a florist would be happy if they only sold flowers on birthdays and weddings? No, right? Flowers have become a suitable gift for pretty much any occasion. So, why are cake sales so focused on birthdays and weddings? There are so many other occasions — “congratulations on the new job or new house, get well soon” etc. You can bet that a florist would find a way to sell cakes on those occasions….I don’t think they’d be sending cakes to funeral parlors, but you get the idea.
Do you think a florist would be happy if they only sold flowers on birthdays and weddings?
Florists have found a way to take it even one step further though. They target emotions and feelings, not just occasions. Think about roses. Now like many men, I know that different colored roses mean different things. However, like many men, I have no idea which color means what. Adapting that concept for the cake industry, perhaps we could design different-shaped cakes that were synonymous with different emotions or feelings. A star-shaped cake for “thank you” a tear-shaped cake for “sorry”. Now you’ve opened up a whole new set of sales opportunities.
2. Provide Flexible Real-Time Product Design
We’ve all walked into a bakery and wondered “how long has that cake been there?” Why do bakeries have such an obsession with pre-made products? We’re always forced into buying from a select number of choices. Anybody else had to explain to their child that they can’t have a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting, only a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting? Does it have to be that way?
Anybody else had to explain to their child that they can’t have a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting, only a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting?
Sure, if you go into a florist you can buy a pre-made bunch of flowers. However, you can also create your own bouquet. If a florist took over a bakery, they’d probably give you the option of buying a pre-made cake or making your own. Think about all the different combinations you could make if you could choose your own cake, filling, icing and toppings. Sure, it would take a little longer, but customer satisfaction must be worth it. You could totally charge premium prices for custom cakes, after all that’s why pick “n” mixes are so damn expensive.
You could even take it one step further than florists and offer this service online. The vast majority (if not all) online florists only offer pre-made bunches of flowers. Why can’t we pick the components and have something custom-made? Imagine an online cake design website where you could create your own cake and pick it up in 2 hours or better yet have it delivered (maybe with everything else you need….spoiler alert #3).
3. Sell Complementary Products
If you’ve ever bought anybody a cake, which I hope you have, you’ll be familiar with the two or three stop strategy. First, you go to the bakery and buy the cake. Then you go to the drugstore to buy the paper plates and napkins. If you’re lucky they’ll sell greeting cards also, if not you’re on to stop three. What a royal pain in the ass that is.
Why wouldn’t you set up your bakery as a one-stop shop? That’s what florists do.
These products are bought together so frequently. Why wouldn’t you set up your bakery as a one-stop shop? That’s what florists do. Most florists sell all the things you need to complement your flowers or plants (vases, pots, plant food etc). They also sell greetings cards to accompany your flowers (look around the checkout next time you’re buying flowers). You know what bakeries sell….baked goods….that’s pretty much it….how frustrating.
Wrapping Up
I know it’s tempting to look to competitors when seeking solutions for your problems, but it doesn’t make any sense. If your competitors haven’t solved the problem, you won’t find the solution and if they have, you’ll continually be playing catch up. Use analogies to look further afield for your inspiration and get ahead of the game. Don’t just copy - copy, adapt and paste.
