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Small
Business, BIG Marketing™
by Will
Dylan ©2007
A
Market Position for your SMALL
business
You probably
aren’t in the fast food business, so let’s take a
look at some of the elements that would be common across
all small businesses, and how they can be used to build
a market position for your business:
·
Price you
charge for your product/service versus the competition
·
Level of
service you provide
·
Geographic
area in which you compete
·
Quality
of your product/service versus the competition
·
Type of
customer you are targeting
There are
others – this is by no means meant to be an exhaustive
list. But for now let’s use some of the factors noted
above to illustrate how using a market position can take
an otherwise ordinary business in a market where it’s
not easy to tell competitors apart, and make it stand
out.
For example,
imagine that you run a marketing consulting firm out of
a home office. You provide marketing advice, strategic
guidance, and advertising services to small business
owners.
The core of
your offer isn’t really unique – type in
“Marketing Consulting” on Google and you’ll see
what I mean. It seems half the population is an expert
in marketing.
Common
Positioning Factors
So how could
such a business be positioned to actually mean something
in a crowded marketplace? Well, you could start by
leveraging some of the market positioning factors
outlined previously:
Price
– You could scan the market to determine what your
competitors charge and simply charge less, giving you
ownership of the “low-price” position
Level of
Service
– You could offer more services than the competition,
or you could do the opposite and offer fewer services
allowing you to specialize in certain types of
consulting.
Geography
– Thanks to the Internet, you could be a consultant to
anyone in the world, or you could choose to offer your
services on an in-person basis within a defined
geographic area.
Quality of
your Service
– What credentials and experience do you bring to the
table that would allow a customer to judge the quality
of your consulting services? Are you better equipped or
less equipped than your competition in this area?
Target
Market
– Do you have a defined target market for your product
or service? McDonalds was clearly targeting families and
the youth market. Geico.com targets cost conscious
consumers who are willing to accept over the phone
service instead of in person service from their
insurance company in exchange for a discount on their
premiums.
While being
a marketing consultant is hardly unique, you could
manipulate the factors listed above to create a
compelling offer for clients.
Continue
>>
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