Post by Bettina Gimenez

The power of lowering the barrier. As entrepreneurs, we often focus so heavily on the end conversion that we forget about the journey. We trap ourselves into thinking the customer experience is a binary switch, either they buy, or they don’t. A huge thank you to Garcia David for the brilliant advice to break this pattern. David challenged us to offer our community something different between buying and not buying - that made the Dancing Queens test: let’s give them the opportunity to simply experience our shoes, zero strings attached. We ran a pilot test in Rovinj that turned out to be a massive eye opener. We went right onto the dance floor and approached dancers who weren't wearing specific dance shoes. We didn't try to sell to them. Instead, we asked for their perspective: Why standard sneakers? What is holding you back? Then, we handed them a pair of SMOVE Dance Sneaker and said, "Just try them on. Dance for a bit - even with us if you want. See how it feels." The impact was immediate and overwhelming. Many of these dancers had never had any direct contact with dedicated dance footwear before. They assumed they didn't need them. But the moment they spun, turned, and felt the comfort on the floor, their faces lit up and they asked me in the middle of the dance how much they are. They were instantly blown away, so much so that they asked to buy them right then and there. In business, we often think the barrier to growth is a lack of interest or price. But more often than not, the real barrier is unfamiliarity. It taught us that as a brand, our job isn't just to sell; it's to educate and invite people in. By shifting our mindset from "Will you buy this?" to "Let me share this experience with you," we unlocked a whole new level of community trust. In the dancing world, as in life, we spend so much time overthinking the perfect strategy. But sometimes, the most profound growth happens when you just step onto the floor, meet people exactly where they are, and invite them to take the first step with you. Dancing Queens Sophie Köster Sharon Bottana Francesca Bertocchi Tenzin Pelzom Drongdö Franco Steiner Christoph Weber Vladimir Semenčić Croatian Summer Salsa Festival Norbert Zeller Manuel Reuteler Bettina Hein Roland Brack Michael Brändli Martin Scholl Christoph Bugnon Patric Rupp Claudio Jampen #StartupMindset #FounderJourney #CustomerExperience #BusinessStrategy #smove #DanceCommunity #Entrepreneurship #KeyLearnings #Innovation

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