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Atricle Dump - Small Business Marketing Strategies for Tackling Big Competitors
Good grammar in spoken and written communications can dramatically increase your value to both current and potential employers. In the business world, and especially in the job interview process, an important part of your value is the perception you present of the profitability of your past performance and expectation of future continued successful performance, and the ideas and strategies you express. If you can speak well and in an organized fashion to communicate important concepts to people with whom you interview with or work with -- and do it quickly and clearl
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertis
When launching a new product or company, an entrepreneur must consider their biggest cost - the opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is an economic term that is defined as the cost of passing up the next best alternative when making a decision. For instance, if an asset such as capital is used for one purpose, the opportunity cost is the value of the next best purpose for which the asset could have been used. In the entrepreneur’s case, this asset typically includes the entrepreneur’s time and money.For an individual currently working in a corporate position, th
And yet some small business owners do it very successfully. How?
There are some proven marketing strategies to use when competing against larger, more established competitors. These strategies have been used successfully by companies of all sizes to drive sales and carve out a sustainable position in the market. They apply to online commerce and traditional small businesses.
Here are details on two such strategies that you can use as a small business owner to help grow your business when competing with larger competitors:
Take the “Alternative” Position
If you are up against the market leader in your business, shift your market position so you don’t compete directly with them on their turf. Become the “alternative” to the market leader – that is, promote and advertise an aspect of your product/service that the leader simply can’t offer. This is a classic marketing strategy that has been used successfully by small companies and major corporations, because it allows you to compete with the leader in a part of the market where they may not be very strong.
Pepsi couldn’t beat Coke at the cola wars, because Coke was viewed as the original cola drink that had no substitutes. That was fine with Pepsi. It let Coke have that territory, and instead marketed itself as the “Choice of a New Generation”. Its marketing appeal and target audience was young and cool - everything that Coke couldn’t be with their more traditional positioning. Pepsi successfully carved out the number 2 position in the market by becoming the primary alternative to Coke, and made billions in the process.
The rule applies to everything from .com companies to local furniture stores. Survey the competitive landscape in your market and determine how you can position your business as the best alternative to the established market leader. Second place in a given market can be a very nice place to be from a profitability standpoint.
Sell what they don’t have – You!
Many small business owners have found success by building their personal reputations as experts in their field, with significant benefits to their small business. They have become the “public face” for their company.
Some large companies have a “public face”, a person who represents the company in the minds of customers (Richard Branson for Virgin is one). But most don’t. As a small business owner, you can effectively represent yourself as an expert in your area of expertise, and drive awareness for your small business in the process.
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertise
Without testing you will never know how good or how bad your ads performed. Before the advent of internet, advertisers used to test classified ads quality using certain techniques. However, there were no such things called free classified ads then.Free or paid, you are spending your time with classified ads and you need results from paid or free classified ads. Even in case you are getting an opportunity to list your product for free, you still need to test the effectiveness of the free offline or online classified ads.The techniques that advertisers em
Take the “Alternative” Position
If you are up against the market leader in your business, shift your market position so you don’t compete directly with them on their turf. Become the “alternative” to the market leader – that is, promote and advertise an aspect of your product/service that the leader simply can’t offer. This is a classic marketing strategy that has been used successfully by small companies and major corporations, because it allows you to compete with the leader in a part of the market where they may not be very strong.
Pepsi couldn’t beat Coke at the cola wars, because Coke was viewed as the original cola drink that had no substitutes. That was fine with Pepsi. It let Coke have that territory, and instead marketed itself as the “Choice of a New Generation”. Its marketing appeal and target audience was young and cool - everything that Coke couldn’t be with their more traditional positioning. Pepsi successfully carved out the number 2 position in the market by becoming the primary alternative to Coke, and made billions in the process.
The rule applies to everything from .com companies to local furniture stores. Survey the competitive landscape in your market and determine how you can position your business as the best alternative to the established market leader. Second place in a given market can be a very nice place to be from a profitability standpoint.
Sell what they don’t have – You!
Many small business owners have found success by building their personal reputations as experts in their field, with significant benefits to their small business. They have become the “public face” for their company.
Some large companies have a “public face”, a person who represents the company in the minds of customers (Richard Branson for Virgin is one). But most don’t. As a small business owner, you can effectively represent yourself as an expert in your area of expertise, and drive awareness for your small business in the process.
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertis
I’ve had the pleasure and honor to meet some of the world’s greatest leaders and leadership gurus, from Sir Richard Branson, General Tommy Franks, and Captain Mike Abrashoff to Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. Henry Mintzberg, and Tom Peters. And I get paid to do it! Through our work with Linkage Inc., we help support their broadcasts of these famous people by designing and developing participant and facilitator guides that many clients use to turn a 90-minute presentation into a true learning and growth opportunity.I recently had the opportunity to meet with Marshall
Pepsi couldn’t beat Coke at the cola wars, because Coke was viewed as the original cola drink that had no substitutes. That was fine with Pepsi. It let Coke have that territory, and instead marketed itself as the “Choice of a New Generation”. Its marketing appeal and target audience was young and cool - everything that Coke couldn’t be with their more traditional positioning. Pepsi successfully carved out the number 2 position in the market by becoming the primary alternative to Coke, and made billions in the process.
The rule applies to everything from .com companies to local furniture stores. Survey the competitive landscape in your market and determine how you can position your business as the best alternative to the established market leader. Second place in a given market can be a very nice place to be from a profitability standpoint.
Sell what they don’t have – You!
Many small business owners have found success by building their personal reputations as experts in their field, with significant benefits to their small business. They have become the “public face” for their company.
Some large companies have a “public face”, a person who represents the company in the minds of customers (Richard Branson for Virgin is one). But most don’t. As a small business owner, you can effectively represent yourself as an expert in your area of expertise, and drive awareness for your small business in the process.
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertis
Working with a verbally abusive boss is something that people often have to deal with.I'm speaking specifically about a verbally abusive boss and not one who is physically abusive. If I had to deal with a physically abusive boss, I wouldn't be working there anymore and I'd be consulting a lawyer.If your boss uses abusive language, the first thing I'd try to determine is whether they use it against just you or against others in the office. In other words, is it a problem that only you face or have you witnessed your boss doing it to others as well? Deter
Sell what they don’t have – You!
Many small business owners have found success by building their personal reputations as experts in their field, with significant benefits to their small business. They have become the “public face” for their company.
Some large companies have a “public face”, a person who represents the company in the minds of customers (Richard Branson for Virgin is one). But most don’t. As a small business owner, you can effectively represent yourself as an expert in your area of expertise, and drive awareness for your small business in the process.
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertis
Commercial property, industrial units and offices are becoming more and more valuable to their owners. Whether bought to use by the owner or bought to let to other businesses, the value of these units and offices have huge potential for long term capital gain.Every business whether service based or manufacturing needs premises to operate from and this is what makes industrial units and commercial property so valuable. Owning a commercial property gives a business a major advantage. It increases the value of a business hugely and means that a company has a valu
One of the most effective ways to build your reputation is through the credibility that comes from publicity and media relations activities.
Here are some guiding principles to working with the media as a small business owner:
View it as a relationship – reporters need story ideas and expert sources - you can offer both when it comes to your area of expertise to create a win-win situation
Pitch story ideas about what’s new and what’s changing – the media likes to break news about emerging trends, either in your industry or related to your experience as a small business owner
Strive for repeat business – once a reporter has identified you as a good source of information on a topic, they will keep coming back to you – so ensure that early in your relationship you are available to them and willing to offer help in getting information for them to pull a story together
Having a single person leading the charge to build media relationships and run the company makes it easier to transfer the goodwill that you achieve in the media over to your business activities. This doesn’t work nearly as well for larger companies, so leverage this competitive advantage and take a personal approach to building your business through publicity.
You Can Compete!
Small business marketing is all about leveraging the built-in advantages of being a small enterprise in the battle against larger competition for customers and sales. Establishing your business as an alternative to the market leader in your business, and building personal credibility that can be transferred to your small business are just two strategies that you can implement to help your small business succeed against bigger competitors.
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