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You might recall, a little while ago, we asked you to submit questions to us about marketing and branding. Chris Lee, from Holy MoLee Wedding Photography did just that and has inspired me to discuss how you can compete in highly saturated markets.
Sure there are lots of profitable niches out there, but how do you go about differentiating yourself in a saturated market like wedding photography? I mean you can’t just expect people to find you amongst the herd of other businesses – you need to stick out!
So, what can you do?
Well here’s a little tool which will do just that…
Your position in the market is made up of how people perceive your brand in relation to other brands with regards to important aspects (benefits) of what you offer. For example, say you offer beef jerky (Gee, I ate so much of that stuff in the US!). If your competitive advantage was lots of beef jerky at a low price then, to consumers you might look like this:
In this instance, consumers looking for budget jerky will find you. Although, in order to make the positioning most effective, you need to find some things out first.
Just for a moment, assume there has been a boom in the doggy daycare industry.
You’re struggling to attract customers and you’re currently trying to offer consumers a smörgåsbord of benefits. The best thing to do in this situation actually sounds quite counter-active but by narrowing your focus, you will be able to appeal to people much more than by ‘being all things to all people’. It’s a way of operating in a niche without selling something totally obscure.
Do some market research and find out what people are looking for in your industry and develop a list of aspects. Depending on the level of competition in your industry, you might look at doing anywhere from five to as many as humanly possible. The more points you can differentiate yourself by, the more you are likely to stick out.
Here is an example list that I came up with:
- Keeps them occupied
- Teaches them new tricks and manners
- Friendly customer service
- Employees are well-trained dog handlers
- Cheap to send your dog there
- Extra services like shampooing
- Flexible hours
If you were offering a premium service like Chris, then you might find that you’ll pick attributes like “Employees are well trained dog handlers†and “Best customer service in the industryâ€. However, if you don’t pick ones which match your brand, you’ve got a problem with the way you’re entering your customers minds.
If you want to be a premium brand but you’re strongest points are “Cheap Prices†and “Keeping dogs occupied†then you’re not going to considered as much as a brand who focus is congruent with a premium brand.
So as you can see in this example, this brand differentiates itself from competitors on the basis of cheap prices and good service. If you find your business has lots of competition around you, then you might want to look at differentiating your brand through other aspects until you have found your own little niche.
For example, if you want to be perceived as cheap and friendly you might make all your marketing say the same thing. So your slogan would be “The Cheapest and Friendliest Dog Care in all London!†As long as you’re the best, the fastest, the first or the only brand in your ‘new niche’, you’ll be first on the list for many customers who are after your unique service.
Although, just saying it once isn’t enough. You need to say it across everything you communicate to your customers and prospects. Here are some places you should consider to communicate your market position / strongest points through:
Once you’ve got your market positioning coming out your ‘A’, you can be rest assured someone will fall in love with your brand.
As with all things in marketing you need to test and measure your success. If your market positioning isn’t profitable enough, maybe you picked the wrong aspect to position by. Maybe your customers can’t afford a premium brand in a poor suburb. It’s very important to monitor your market position and identify with your strongest, most sought-after points.
By focusing on two aspects I don’t mean that you need to throw away all your other benefits either. You can still offer customers a smörgÃ¥sbord of benefits, but just downplay them and focus on what you’re actually good at. In fact, you can even surprise customers by giving it to them unexpectedly.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is looking forward to an equally good New Years Eve. Take it easy on the cocktails and beer – Well… at least until the clock reaches Midnight!
We’re very happy to have you all as readers and I’m thrilled to let you know that SBB has big plans for 2007. We look forward to providing you with entertaining and informative marketing and branding articles in the New Year.
Anyway that’s it from me for 2006, I’m Robert Kingston and I’ll see you in 2007!
Author: Robert Kingston (32 Articles)
Robert Kingston works as an online marketing consultant at New Business Media, a boutique Australian web agency. He maintains several of his own sites and has worked with Yaro Starak on various projects. Robert has an understanding of blogging, search engine optimisation, search marketing and new web technologies. In particular, he is very interested in how the internet can be used for marketing. Feel free to contact Robert Kingston through his site.
December 29, 2006
Robert,
Thanks for the post! Very useful for small bus owners. I like the visual presentation of what we call a “competitive matrix.” We list the competitors – say column A – then add benefits across the top row and rank each using 1-5 (five being the strongest). Add the totals to identify your strengths compared to your competition. Market your strengths while mitigating your weaknesses.
December 30, 2006
Hey Greg,
Nice idea… I’ve seen it done that way a few times before. I have to admit that the guy I know who does it that way doesn’t use it as effectively as you described it. I might take a look into that…
Thanks for the heads up.
December 31, 2006
[...] Article: Market Positioning Putting the Competition In Its Place: Market Positioning » Small Business Marketing And Branding A good article about how to compete in a highly saturated market. Definitely applies to the t-shirt industry. [...]
December 31, 2006
As much as I agree with your comments about differentiating yourself from the competition, I find the result of your example to simplistic. When ever I am analyzing a brand project the question I usually ask myself is: Can the competition say this?
General service is too easy – most companies have good service and price can be beaten in 2 seconds. What you are trying to do with focused branding is develop a relation where commodity solutions do not exist. You can’t win on price.
But let’s say the kennel has a proprietary service where they use their own trademarked line of shampoos and lotions, then ONLY they can offer this. Now you can build a relationship with your customers based on this difference in service. Once customers become accustomed to your brand of pet products, they will pay a premium to continue using them. Your kennel brand grows through a stronger reputation of quality.
When I work with companies on focusing their brands, it is absolutely amazing what solutions come out with regards to dealing with competition. But of course the companies have to have the balls to do it. Developing your own line of products can be quite daunting, but imagine the benefits. Just having your own line instantly makes the kennel appear like a larger player. It also positions them as experts in that category. The competition uses off the shelf materials – that is not could enough for us.
So yes, if you are bold enough to really position yourselves as leaders in your fields then take a deeper look at how to differentiate. Most companies simply follow the leader and their brands and brand images reflect this. Look in your daily papers you will see scores of companies yelling that they are cheaper and have better service. They are shooting from the hip.
Take the higher road – you are leaving too much money on the table.
December 31, 2006
You’re right, Ed. My examples were very simplistic.
I think those topics you touched on can be applied *extremely* effectively to product positioning. However I believe for the purposes of this article, introducing topics such as product/service innovation, relationship marketing and brand loyalty, would have been counter-productive in explaining the concept of positioning.
I’m not really a fan of competing on price either, thanks for the heads up – I only just realised I did it twice. Regardless, when establishing yourself as a leader in a given field, if you’ve read anything from Jay Abraham or Peter Sun, this is quite often the best way to go. Their schools of thought dictate that consumers aren’t interested in, “one of the leading specialists in eye treatment,” they tend to flock toward, “The Best, The Leaders, The Most Trusted.” So whilst in my example I made a mistake by differentiating on price, twice (lol – I dug my own grave), I still maintain that becoming a leader in a field is essential. (Unless you can prove me wrong 
)
Anyway Ed, since we’re still learning about our readers, thanks for opening my eyes. I honestly needed a kick in the but like that from you.
Have a Happy New Year, mate!
See you in 2007,
Rob
January 1, 2007
Rob, I too absolutely believe in ‘leaders in the their field’. It’s just that the hairs go up on the back of my neck when I see price as a focus. It’s often the first thing customers often concentrate on, because they often feel it is the ‘fastest’ way to win when in reality it just drags their brands and profit margins down.
My challenge in working through our branding process with them is to be the first to market as a leader not a follower. The field we are in is fascinating. I love developing competitive strategies in relation to corporate brands. Keeping their eyes on the prize without slipping backwards on price is half the battle.
It is invigorating for the entire team when their ah ha! moments hit them and they realize that they really can compete without lowest price.
I continually harp on that they must lead not follow.
On another note, I really like your website and blog. I cruise the web continually and your design is refreshing. Nice work. Also, your quick response was nice. I’ve been to a few places and never get a follow-up. It makes we wonder why they bother to put a blog up. I’ve just recently (over Christmas) put up my own as another way to promote my services. Facinating.
Are you aware of any good small business registries that I might put my domain in? I’m starting off modestly through eBlogger. What inspired me to get into this finally was an article I tripped over suggesting that RSS feeds will replace email newsletters, (I’ve been regularly sending one out for the past 30 months).
I a a charter member of a small group of branding companies from Covington – Kentucky, Toledo – Ohio and Chicago – Illinois. I’m in Windsor – Ontario, (token Canadian). I will pass your site on to them. They too are avid readers and love a good discussion. We meet 4 times a year and discuss marketing and branding issues.
Thank you,
Ed
January 1, 2007
No worries Ed, I enjoy some good old debate about these things… Not only does it inform other readers about information in the post, it allows them to see different viewpoints around the topic – and I’d HATE to stop people from getting the right info.
I also love this field. It’s so dynamic and multidimensional that you’re literally boundless when it comes to brewing branding solutions.
Speaking of ‘brew’ (Aussie slang for beer), I only just noticed your first comment on the way out to a New Years party! I have to say, you definitely got my attention… I thought I’d just sit down and answer it before I left, seeing as you guys on the other side of the world are still waiting for the new year . Anyway, we rarely get a chance to stop and smell the roses, so by responding duly to people, it allows people to connect more – It’s what social computing is all about.
I’m glad you like our blog and our design, we got it designed by Michael Pollock of Solostream Studios. He’s done an awesome job with it all – everything is well integrated and it has some nifty bells and whistles here and there… His designs speak for themselves.
Nice move on the blog for your business, its good to see you’re getting in early before all the major companies start doing it. I was at Mplanet about a month ago and that was all they raved about – so expect to see some healthy competition in 2007!
I’m not familiar with eBlogger but if you search around for directories, you should be able to find a fair few out there to submit your link to. Although, if you’re looking for traffic, your best bet would be starting off by using track backs and putting down really meaty comments on peoples blogs such as the ones you’ve done on here. Yaro, the guy who owns this site has another blog at http://www.blogtrafficking.com/ and I think you might find it quite useful for building traffic to your new blog.
I’ll be sure to check it out after I post this. I cant find many good blogs who focus on branding per se, so yours will will be great to add to my RSS reader.
I’ve really enjoyed this Ed. Wishing you all the best for 2007,
Rob
January 2, 2007
My goal is to present anger management with a caring personal touch but my primary competitor is great at monoplizing the market. Court ordered clients are our biggest revenue source and I most go link to this competior to reach the courts.
Shannon Munford
Daybreak Counseling Service
http://www.daybreakservices.com
January 7, 2007
Robert,
I like your article especially “Points to Consider”.
I am in a unique position in the niche market of “anger management”. Essentially,I am currently the dominant player worldwide. The problem which this poses is this: How can you maintain the top position on the internet?
I management to continue growing without any paid marketing what so ever.
January 7, 2007
Hey guys,
Thanks for your comments. It’s quite funny how you’ve both managed to find this article and are working in a similar industry. I’m glad you have both enjoyed it and I wish you both luck in developing your marketing practices.
As with your query, George – I’m not sure if I understand where you are coming from but if you’d like to stay atop the search results on major engines, then I’d have to say you need one hell of an SEO guru to help you build a blog, then target the Longtail, by writing lots of articles with specific key phrases related to anger management.
If you’re trying to say you’re the world’s best then you can do that a number of ways. You can say you’re the most trusted (in terms of customer loyalty), you could say you’re the world’s first anger management website, the world’s experts when it comes to anger management (saying you’re well educated), the world’s most sought after anger management experts (saying you’re popular and found readily in search engines)…
The list goes on and on but I hope that helped you out.
Certainly, the new year is a good time to re-think your strategies, so good luck to you both.
Cheers,
Rob.
January 9, 2007
Hi
I really enjoy your article. I’d like to know your opinion about good marketing positioning is to identify and exploit weak areas of competition. What do you think?
Thanks and best regards,
Wen
January 10, 2007
Hi Wen,
Thanks for your comment – I think market positioning is a great tool to exploit the weaknesses of your competition, provided that there is a market for it. Positioning yourself on the basis of something that people don’t want, is tantamount to strangling yourself.
Also, you need to make sure it can’t be easily mimicked or copied by your competitor. Say for instance you’re in the business of Motivational Speaking and your competitor’s weakness is that they speak too softly. You might decide to speak louder than them – therefore you’ll get more business. However when your competition finds out about that, they’ll speak louder too. Since it’s easy to copy, you’ll have a hard time differentiating yourself on that aspect alone.
All the best for 2007, Wen.
Rob
January 15, 2007
My competitor routinely mimics almost every thing which I announce on my website. He simply changes the wording slightly and leaves the specifics out.
Yesterday, I posted the following entry on my blog which got his attention. It my first effort to use humor to point out what he is doing and it worked. He responded with an immediate e-mail.
A Message from Anderson & Anderson’s Competitor
You Know Who Anger Management Receives Praise For It’s Remarkable Success
During the month of December two major unnamed Fortune 500 Hundred Compainies praised our work.This helped us end the year on a high note.
Dr.Psychotherapist, Phd, MFT has been asked to be the Keynote Speaker at a Major H.R. Conference in Brea,CA. in September.
Yo Know Who Anger Management has just received continuing education provider approval by the Odessa, Texas Substance Abuse Council.
You Know Who Anger Management is considered to be a major anger management provider even in Asia.
You know Who has received hundreds of executive coach referrals of doctors, attorneys and chiefs from a major hospital in Santa Ana, Ca.
We would like to remind all of our supporters that we have a Doctor Background.
Stay tuned and watch out and don’t let the Anger Bee bite you. Cheers!
Anomous
January 16, 2007
[...] On New Years Eve, I got a comment on a post of mine from Ed Roach at the Brand Experts. Here I was, put on the spot with someone confronting some of my ideas. Instead of rejecting his views, I took a solid look at the situation and acknowledged his comment. I announced that I did make a mistake and I made sure I responded as constructively to the discussion as I could. [...]
January 23, 2007
Generics Don’t Work!…
When I saw smarter writing on a “store brand” bottle of kitchen cleaner and noticed the bottle design was anything but “generic” it hit me: generics don’t work anymore!
Being, or looking generic in the way you present your…
July 6, 2010
One thing you post doesn’t exactly say, but implies, and it is clear reinforced by the discussion in the comments is that market positioning is no just a marketing decision. For position to effective, all components of a business – operations, product development, customer follow-up – needs to be oriented around the positioning. Different positioning actually produces different company structures when it is done right.
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