Guest
Marketing Column
Written by Michael D. PollockAs I write this, it's Thursday, October 14, 2004, and
I'm in recovery. No, not from some unfortunate illness
or injury. And not to seem glib about a serious issue, but
it's not the whatever-aholics anonymous
type of recovery either. Nor am I speaking of my recovery
from the two recent losses incurred by my beloved Boston
Red Sox at the hands of "The Evil Empire," New
York Yankees.
I'm in recovery from the third and final round of
presidential debates that have held captive most of the
U.S. over the past couple of months. Before you go
thinking this is a political rant, let me reassure you.
This IS about marketing, and I'll get there. But, I digress.
Judging by CNN, Fox News and every other major (and
minor) media outlet, you'd think there were only two
people - maybe three tops - gunning for the chance to
plant their presidential posterior in the oval office for
the next four years. Not so.
Visit Project Vote Smart (http://www.vote-smart.org/election_president.php),
and you'll notice there are currently 72 individuals in the
running for President this year. Yes. SEVENTY TWO. Not
just the two or three we see in the media so
frequently.
What a country - where even James Louis
"Watchman" Dezort, a self-proclaimed prophet
from Portland, Oregon, has an opportunity to hold one of
the most powerful positions in the world. Ok, I've never
heard of him either. But I say again, what a country.
(Here's where my mini civics lesson converges with
marketing.)
Neglecting the obvious differences between presidential
politics and
marketing, the whole situation begs the question. How can
you position yourself, your service or your product to be one of the
two or three best and most visible candidates, in a field of
hundreds or thousands, that your potential customers and clients
have to choose from?
Whether you're running for president or marketing your
business, here's a basic plan to put you name at the top
of the ballot in the eyes of voters or potential
customers/clients.
First - you define yourself. Who
are you, and what is your company about? What are your
values. What do you stand for? What are your strengths and
weaknesses?
What business are you really in? Presidential
candidates are not in the politics business. They're in
the hope business. Hope for more safety
and security. Hope for a more
prosperous tomorrow. Hope for a better country. Hope for a better world.
- Harley Davidson doesn't just sell motorcycles, they
"fulfill dreams through the experience of
motorcycling . . ."
- Microsoft doesn't sell software, they "enable
people and businesses throughout the world to realize
their full potential."
Who are you, and what are you selling?
Second - you define your target audience. There
are any number of ways to define your audience. It can be
defined by industry, profession, gender, age, cultural
background, common interests, political affiliation (if
you're running for office). Even sexual orientation is a
viable market segment nowadays.
The point of defining your
audience is to make the marketing and delivery of your
service more effective. When you have a sharp focus on a well-defined target, it's much easier to hit that
target consistently. It's also easier for your market to
buy from you when they realize your product or service is
custom-designed just for them.
Third - you find out what's most important to
your audience. What are the key issues? Talk to your
market. Find out what keeps them up at night. What
needs are not currently being met by their current
products or service providers? This is a time to be asking
and listening. And nothing else.
Fourth - you position your service or product to
address the needs of your audience. If you have experience
solving their problems effectively, great. If not, learn how to do it
in a way that creates tremendous value for your customers.
Design your product or service to solve your potential
customers' problems better, cheaper or faster than others.
Another option is to find a need or problem that's not
yet been addressed by any product or service. You can
create an entirely new market and dominate it because no
one else will be doing what you, your product or your
service does (think eBay here).
Fifth - you prepare and deliver your stump
speech as many times as possible to your target audience.
You've got to press the flesh. Kiss some babies (something
my friend Helaine would actually love).
Use audio, video, print, a website, referrals or
personal appearances. Use some or all of these based on
what your financial resources will allow. The bottom line
is you need to get in front of potential customers and let
them know why you, your service or your product is the best option
to solve their problems. And you have to keep doing it until you get their vote.
(Despite what you've seen in all the political ads, you
don't have to pitch political low blows at your
competitors in the process of trumpeting your own
strengths.)
Last, but not least - you deliver on your
campaign promises. Deliver at least the level of service
you promised your customer, if not more (I doubt anyone
has ever lost business for exceeding customer
expectations). Fail to deliver on your promises, however,
and you probably won't be re-elected for a second term.
("Read my lips. No new taxes.")
See ya at the voting booth on Novemebr 2nd. And by the
way, if you live in Florida, watch out for those nasty
paper ballots. Wouldn't want your vote getting thrown out
of the count altogether.
About Michael D. Pollock: Michael is a sales and
marketing coach. He helps individuals and small businesses
(and occasionally, presidential candidates) position
themselves, their product or service to be the top choice
in their respective markets. Contact him at: michael@smallbusinessbranding.com.
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