Business Killer 2: Lack of Information – Marketing Continued
Posted by Ryan Volberg at August 31, 2007 2:00 PM

Using marketing to outflank your competitors

Once you've answered the six questions from the previous post. You can now take action on it. The truism "Time is Money" can also be turned to read "Money is Time". That means that both commodities are interchangeable. While you may not have the financial resources, you can use your time more effectively to combat them in the marketing arena.

You also have one other significant advantage. You have more passion about your business than any manager-for-hire will ever have. Use this to your advantage in your marketing.

If there's one thing that history has taught us it's this:

Passion + Ingenuity + Fearlessness = The Ability to win losing battles as the underdog

Jay Conrad Levinson pioneered this concept in his book "Guerrilla Marketing". I encourage you to read it if for no other reason than to heighten your awareness of the tactics being used by many other businesses. Early on, his tactics were largely employed by small business, but now even Fortune 500 companies like Nike and General Electric use marketing tactics aimed at creating direct relationships with consumers.

Here are some of JCL's main points:

Fact Based

Decisions about marketing are not based on gut feel or experience. Instead, they're based on an analysis of what is working and more importantly, what is not. Just because you don't prefer a certain type of advertising does not mean that you shouldn't use it.

Primary measure is profit, not sales

Selling more only to make less is not a winning strategy. A relentless focus on the bottom line ensures that your marketing efforts will be effective.

More Frequency, Larger Transactions, More Referrals

Many business owners will tell you that "A Satisfied Customer" is their goal. Probing more deeply gets the response "so that they come back and buy again." Using the 80/20 rule, drive your business toward your most profitable niche.

Cooperation - not competition

The competitor across the street isn't your competitor if they help to increase the overall traffic to your location. Shopping centers and strip malls exist out ot the reality that a single retailer or restaurant isn't enough of a draw. Find ways to cooperate with nearby or related businesses to increase both of your revenue streams.

Multi channel approach

A single approach will not reach all of the people. Online advertising only reaches people who search for certain terms or go to certain websites. A magazine ad will only reach readers of that single magazine (who happen to see your ad).

Next week, we'll look at how your approach to staffing and labor can give you a significant advantage over your large competitors.

Ryan Volberg is CEO of Vivonet, a company dedicated to ensuring restaurant and retail success.

Category: Survival Tips

Comments