Aside from the value of the effort itself, being the first to do something carries an extra boost of PR value that normal innovation doesn’t. This week I’m hoping to get the “what can we be first at?” juices flowing with three, simple ideas.

Early adopters are an interesting group.

They often have a little more disposable income, they are okay with more risk in regard to the imperfections a product may contain, and they realize that the infrastructure to make the experience great could be years away.

The Apple Watch is a perfect example. The apps that do exist are based on a prediction of behavior rather than behavior itself and even those are few and far between.

The Power of Groups
But like any group, there is power in catering to a specific segment of people. Just like Bitcoin, if you show these groups love, they tend to show you love back.

In this case, early adopters have a piece of tech that is begging for cool ways to be used. Give them a way to use it and some of that disposable income may come your way.

Even more, in the context of this post, if you’re the first to do so you also become the only way to use it.

One Piece
Maybe it’s just one piece.

Perhaps Squaw Alpine sends their push notifications to the watch…

Or EpicMix take each guided step from the phone to the skier’s wrist…

Or Trace does the same thing for stats…

The bottom line is simply that if you’re the only one with an app on that platform (or any platform) you’re the only one skiers can use.

And if you’re the only one skiers can use…well…maybe they will.

Wrap It Up
None of these ideas I’ve shared this week are silver bullets. None with double your revenue. None will win you an award.

The point wasn’t to tell you where to innovate, but rather get you thinking about places where your resort can be first. Maybe it’s first resort in Michigan to sell waffles on the hill, maybe it’s first resort in the country to accept Bitcoin.

Whatever it is, being first can carry a lot of PR value and, in the right circles, direct revenue as well. Best of luck.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.