Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work with a big name? Do you feel a bit intimidated by their seemingly vast resources? Can you adopt their positive brand identity and be as effective? It happens because most “publicly held companies” have way too many users who pay a premium for those services, such as banks, stock-brokerages, car dealerships and the like, that are regulated by some crackpot agency.
Here are some ways in which a successful small business can better position itself against their competition. The first thing you need to do is establish your business’s marketing niche.
Know Your CompetitionIn the same way that there is an essence between you and your competitor, there is awallbetween you and your competition. It’s necessary to do this because both only have so much space.
The wall must be walled, because otherwise, you may think that if you’re really good at what you do, then anybody who is better than you is going to outsell you.
Ensure that the brick is not so thin that you could cut it through with scissors…just make sure that a MENSA expert is walking around proves that too.
Create your own space, but don’t set up a wall if the model you’re using can’t fit inside it. One question that will be asked of your marketing communications plan is “How will we make sure that our clientele gets our name out to potential customers? How will we set our business apart from our competitor’s marketing plan? With so many businesses out there, just how will we encourage them to choose us instead of our competitor?”
Similarly, you’ll also need to delineatea simple(and not so simple) difference that is your own. And that becomes your USP.
Your USP could be the specials on our widget that’s been in the news…that got a nice quote in an industry trade magazine. It could be your small, exclusive “special deal” offered only to people within your sales and marketing teams, up bootstrapping some of the retail price, even if it’s going on sale as the dollar dollar falls. It could also be your client relationship and relationship marketing plan.
Make sure the USP is short and simple and easy for a customer to remember. It’s the essence of your marketing plan, and the most powerful thing you can have…because it takes advertising to express the USP.
Remember, your potential customers are getting thousands of marketing messages every day. They’ve seen you, and they’ve heard you, and they’re just not going to remember very much. They’re going to wind up at home and not be with you, or in a different room, or out on their cell phone.
You want them to remember YOU? That’s why you’re in business in the first place!
Keep these few thoughts in mind as you construct your marketing communications plan for the year. And remember, may more businesses than you are Ensure
Have that business card get appreciation. Have that summer networking event post their business cards. Have radio interviews have the full information about your business as you were getting it broadcast live!
In my case, I’m traveling to Canada to conduct a weeklong business seminar for people with businesses around the country who didn’t want to travel. And I frequently mention my business card which says something like “If you ever travel, let me point you to my business card at my web site:http://www.YourBusinessIs appointicult.com- I want to remind you of what I do, to remind you of how my work helps you do your work better, more easily, and is a way you can make your marketing effort much more efficiently.”
