Whose tears does that tarot wipe away? Concept design that breaks through the '3,000 yen barrier'

A little continuation from last time...

I have a question, do you know what a Swiss Army knife is?

When I was a child, my father bought one for me as a souvenir, and at the time, it was my treasure. A knife, scissors, bottle opener, corkscrew, saw... Every conceivable function was packed into a small body.

I remember my young self's eyes shining, thinking, 'If I have this, I could survive even on a deserted island.'

About a year ago, I found it at my parents' house, and out of a mix of nostalgia, I tried using the scissors for the first time in a long while.

...They didn't cut.

Even to cut a single sheet of paper, it took so much force that my fingers hurt. The knife was too short to peel fruit. As for the corkscrew, it was rusted over without a single sign of ever having been used.

'Being able to do everything' is, in other words, the fact that 'nothing is the best'.

That overlaps with the fortune teller from last time.

Today, for you who have fallen under the 'curse of addition,' I will talk about the 'aesthetics of subtraction', where you summon the courage to discard your weapons.

The 3,000 yen quagmire that 'department store-style fortune tellers' fall into

When I receive consultations for web production, I often see the profile sections of many fortune tellers and therapists looking like a 'department store of skills.'

• Tarot cards

• Western astrology

• Four Pillars of Destiny

• Nine Star Ki

• Palmistry

• Reiki healing

• Psychological counseling

• Spiritual Reading

A long list of qualifications and skills. These are undoubtedly the fruits of your hard work and proof of your dedication. They are likely the very embodiment of your sincerity, the desire to respond to any problem your client may have.

However, I must tell you an unfortunate truth. The more menus you add, the lower your hourly rate becomes.

This is because clients do not want to see a 'catalog of divination methods.' Someone clutching their smartphone in the middle of the night, unable to sleep from anxiety, is not looking for 'someone who can do many things.'

They are looking for 'someone who can end this suffering of mine right now.'

A sign that says 'I can divine anything' looks the same as saying 'I can only solve anyone's problems to a moderate degree.'

As a result, you are compared as just one of many 'ordinary fortune tellers,' and you get dragged into the quagmire of price competition—3,000 yen, or even 500 yen.

The sign that gets chosen is that of a 'specialist'

Imagine this. What if you were suffering from a severe, unexplained headache?

A: A local clinic that says, 'Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, dermatology, ophthalmology. We see everything.'

B: A specialized clinic that says, 'Headache specialist outpatient clinic. We treat persistent migraines from the root.'

Which one would you want to go to? And for which one would you feel willing to 'pay a high price'?

It is definitely B, isn't it? This is the power of 'specialization (niche strategy)' in web marketing.

The doctor at B is not necessarily more medically knowledgeable than the doctor at A. Perhaps the doctor at A has a longer career. However, the patient (client) feels overwhelming trust (authority) in the doctor at B for the sole reason that they specialize in their own specific problem.

In the business world, this is called 'positioning.'

Shifting your battleground from 'divination as a whole' to 'an expert for people with X' is all it takes to transform from 'one of the crowd' into a 'one-of-a-kind master.'

The courage to decide 'whose tears you will wipe away'

So, what exactly should you do? You don't need to learn new skills. In fact, have the courage to 'hide' the skills you currently have.

There is only one question to ask to create a concept: 'Whose' and 'what kind of tears' is your divination specifically meant to wipe away?

• Is it 'the vague anxiety about the future felt by single women in their 30s'?

• Is it 'the pressure of a business owner's lonely decisions'?

• Is it 'the cold relationship with a partner you've been with for years'?

Just one person is enough. Think of the face of the client you've met in the past whom you wanted to save the most. Then, rewrite your sign just for that person.

Before: 'I will read your fortune using tarot, astrology, and palmistry'

After: 'Reconciliation specialist tarot advisor. I will decipher when you will hear from him after he has gone silent, and specifically design the content of the LINE messages you should send'

How about that?

The latter will have fewer target people. But for those who wish to 'reconcile,' it should strike them intensely, making them think, 'This is the teacher for me!' That intense trust is the reason why people will say 'I want to ask you' even at a high price.

Becoming lighter than you were yesterday

Let's go back to the story of the Swiss Army knife.

In the end, I put that knife back in the back of the drawer. And I peeled an apple with a 'sharp kitchen knife' in the kitchen.

Tools function beautifully precisely because their purpose is defined. Your talent is the same.

'It's a waste because I went to the trouble of learning it'—I understand that feeling painfully well. But to me, the way you look now, carrying everything and walking as if it's heavy, looks much more like a 'waste'.

It's okay. Even if you remove it from your sign, your skills won't disappear. Rather, why not secretly read the palm of a client who came for a 'reconciliation' consultation as a secret menu item?

'Teacher, you can do that too!'—it will turn into a surprise of being moved.

Why not start by trimming your profile?

Decide to stop 'selling fortune-telling' and start 'selling solutions.'That courageous subtraction will surely lighten your business and your own heart.

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