Whenever I tell new coaching clients that I want to start off by
having a look at their "big picture," they always seem a
bit relieved. Perhaps that's because, like many small-business
owners, they tend to get caught up in the details. In the case of
marketing, that may mean anything from interviewing copywriters for
an upcoming online campaign to negotiating the best price from
local printers for a new brochure.
No matter whether your small business has been around for years
or you're trying to bring a startup into high gear, it's
vital to periodically step away from the daily details and look at
the larger canvas. Generally, it's not the single tactics that
will make or break you-it's the broad-based thinking that will
have a profound impact on your ability to increase sales.
Adopting this larger point-of-view will help you more
effectively position your business, pinpoint and motivate your best
prospects, and develop your own unique value proposition. And
it's as easy as answering these three questions:
Content Continues Below
1. What are you really marketing? (It's not what you
think.) You may be tempted to answer this question by naming
the product or service you offer-shoes, software, commercial
landscaping, image consulting, tax prepraration or whatever it is
you provide. But when it comes to motivating customers or clients,
what you really should be marketing are the benefits they'll
enjoy by using your product or service. For example, while your
actual product may be software, to be successful, you must
market what that software helps users do.
Customers who read your ads and brochures or take your cold
calls have only one question in mind, "What's in it for
me?" And no marketing message can succeed unless it leads with
the benefits that your customers can expect. The key to effectively
positioning your business or its products and services is to define
a unique set of benefits and then build a communications message
around them.
2. Who wants to buy what you market? Have you ever
noticed how major manufacturers offer products uniquely tailored to
niche markets? Canon, for instance, may offer a line of inkjet
printers for small to mid-sized businesses as well as tiny portable
printers that can work on the front seat of a salesperson's
car-two very different products created specifically to appeal to
select target audiences.
Is there something uniquely distinct about your products and
services (or even the way you offer them) that makes them
particularly appealing to a specific group or market niche? Create
a profile of your best prospects and tailor your offering
accordingly. If you can't increase your share of your current
market, perhaps you can modify your product to go after a new one.
Consider how, with a simple change of packaging, for example,
mainstream food products are sold to ethnic markets. How can your
company apply this type of strategy to attract a more targeted
customer?
3. Why will the customers you target want to buy from
you? Let's face it, consumers have endless options when it
comes to buying almost any kind of product or service. In fact, if
you think you have no competition, it's likely that while
you're educating the market on the benefits of your product,
there are others just a few steps behind you. (You may own the
category for now, but we all know that it's often easier, and
less expensive, to be second to bring something truly innovative to
market.)
Be certain to eliminate any elements that reduce your
competitive edge. Last night, for example, I was shopping online
for lamp finials and came across a beautiful pair made out of
carved jade. I went straight to the shopping cart but stopped the
transaction when I saw that the seller tacked on an additional,
high-priced "handling fee" plus shipping. This e-commerce
site had a unique and desirable product, yet they lost the sale
because of their non-competitive pricing structure. So all they got
from me was an e-mail with some terse marketing advice.
Once you've answered my first two questions, you're
ready to take the final step and formulate a compelling value
proposition that trumps the offers made by your competitors. What
do your customers really want? How can you provide it? Sometimes
the answer can be as simple as offering something that seals the
deal, such as free shipping. Last holiday season, this was the
major closing tactic used to great advantage by many online
marketers.
For marketing success, it's a smart idea to make a habit of
looking at the big picture. There couldn't be a better
prescription for your business and its long-term growth.