Which of your body parts sweats most?
CEO Alli Guest Blogs on her discussion with GSE.
Recently I had the privilege of speaking to the Kentucky Governor's School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) class of 2017 at Transylvania University. This summer the students are utilizing the famed "Business Model Canvas" to strategize and build their team's product or service before presenting on a regional stage. It was pretty amazing to see all of their white boards hung up and covered with ideas on how they were going to beat the competition and win the prize - bragging rights and cash (which every entrepreneur loves!).
Instantly I had the idea to focus my talk on what the Wicked Sheets canvas would like today if we were to complete one. Of course I spoke to value proposition, manufacturing, marketing strategies, etc., but the one that got me all jazzed up (and the kids could tell) was the section on knowing your customer. I feel like at Wicked Sheets we've done a great job of getting to know and understanding our customer. So when you tell a bunch of high school students that, "I intimately know the sweat patterns of my customers so that we can produce the best bedding solutions for them," they all chuckle. But really, this is HUGE.
We've been providing sleep prescription surveys on our website for over 2 years now. If a customer visits our store and doesn't know which product is right for them or their sleep situation, after a few brief questions we can lead them down the right path. You might be thinking, wicking vs. wicking + cooling at this point, but what I'm actually referring to is even more molecular than that. Which body part needs the most sweat-wicking support?
Thirty-three percent of our surveyed sleepers produce the most sweat on their neck and chest. And at a close second, 29% of our sleepers report sweating most on their back and stomach. Next is 21% on their head and 16% on their legs. So when a product innovator looks at results like that, I know that I need to offer the best solution for their night sweats issues. Hence why we offer à la carte, or "Make your Own Bed" ordering options where you can select individual pieces of Wicked Sheets or a set to fit whichever body part needs the most moisture-wicking support.
As I stated to the students attending this talk, no matter what you put on your canvas, if it isn't centered around the customer and meeting their needs, it's a waste of time. You always need to put the customer first, treat them as you would like to be treated, and listen! If you follow those simple rules then your business or service might just have a good chance of making it in this ultra competitive entrepreneurial world. For me, knowing that my customers produce the most sweat on their necks and mid-sections I feel confident that we're creating the solutions that best meet their night sweats needs and think we'll be a competing brand for a long time.
