HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW

Marketing & Advertising Strategies: A Few Possible Reasons Why Your Prospects Buy Elsewhere
By Texas 6

The Texas 6 Alliance is the Houston Business Show Advisors for Marketing Research and Consulting. Danny Barron, Jeff B. Herford, and David C. Pacheco bring decades of experience to every article in the Houston Business Review and during every interview on the Houston Business Show (Sunday at noon on CNN 650). Learn more about each of them by visiting here and to contact them visit www.texas6.com.

Don't let our company slogan fool you. Most people assume we are trying to be catchy and cute with our title "MONOPOLIZE YOUR MARKETPLACE. Separate Yourself From The Competition... THEN ELIMINATE THEM." But, on the contrary, we mean it literally. Here's an example from one of our favorite clients--an auto repair shop.

We distinguished them from the "other" auto guys. We implemented compelling marketing into their business practice. And because of their insatiable appetite for flawless auto repair, they have REPEAT customers.

Monetary compensation is not the engine driving their devotion for fixing cars. They know their competitors have over-inflated prices and offer poor workmanship, which leaves customers with a negative impression for ALL auto repair shops.

Why Don't You Own Virtually 100% Of Your Market?

Most business owners don't fathom that complete market dominance is an option. Ask Bill Gates if he has any competitors in operating software. Or ask our client, from the above example, if they have any competitors. The answer in both cases is yes. They MONOPOLIZE their marketplaces. And you can too? so why don't you? We've found that there are only a few reasons why competition even exists. You would think there would only be one exceptionally aggressive competitor dominating every category of products and services. But, actually, this is not the case.

The following is a short explanation of reasons why you might not own your marketplace, along with prescriptions to fix it. See if you can identify and remedy your situation. If so, there's no question that you'll beat your competitors into a demoralized, quivering pulp.

Reason #1: Somebody Else Has A Better Deal:
Don't confuse a better deal with price. There's a competitor who's offering more value than you are. And the prospects recognize this and don't buy. Sounds simple enough, but if you're not offering the best deal possible, you shouldn't expect to win. Why do you think traditional sales training exists? It's designed for companies with sales mentalities that believe all competitors are equal and your only chance of landing any business is to out-sell, out-trick, out-technique, out-cold call, out-persist, and out-luck all your competitors.

Prescription #1: INNOVATE ALREADY!
Innovation simply means figuring out a way to offer more value than any of your competitors. There are literally 2,944 ways to do this, which we explore in detail at our workshops. But on a basic level, just ask yourself one simple question: If I were a customer of my business, what would compel me to buy from me instead of my competitors?

If you can't answer that question and aren't willing to work your guts out figuring out the answer, do everyone a favor and just quit right now. And remember, we're looking for real, quantifiable, interesting, exciting and compelling reasons for customers to buy. Not things like we've been in business for a zillion years. Not things that are pretty neat, but all of your competitors do also. Not things that your customers have come to expect from you or your industry as status quo. What is it? If you don't know what it is, YOU MUST INNOVATE. If you're stuck about how to do it, give us a call.

Reason #2: People Perceive Someone Else To Have A Better Deal:
Okay, so you've innovated and you're now the best deal. Anyone in your target market would be a fool to buy from your competitors. But they still do. Why? The only possible reason is that your marketing plan doesn't effectively nurture and coddle prospects through what we call the educational spectrum. You may attempt to communicate your obvious advantages, but your prospects either don't believe you or don't think about you in the moment of truth.

Prescription #2: MONOPOLIZE ALREADY!
First, identify all of your prospective clients and gather their information in your database files. Next, create a series of compelling, well-articulated marketing messages that target each of the possible concern areas and build trust over a period of time. Make sure that your marketing materials are all Hot Button-based. Then you need to carefully execute your plan and communicate with your entire prospect base to guide them through your educational process.

If this sounds a bit confusing, it's because we've taken a 244 page book and an 8 hour workshop and have broken it down into one paragraph. Just realize that the whole key to effective marketing is to let your target market know in a consistent, compelling way that they would be a fool to buy from anyone but you. And be sure to prove your case. If you have truly innovated like we talked about in Prescription #1, it's just a matter of time before you'll win all the clients you want.

Reason #3: Your Prospects Don't Know That You're An Option:
If your target market is very narrow and easy to identify, then this is an unforgivable mistake. For instance, if your market consists of all the meeting planners for the top 500 businesses in Dallas, then these 500 people should all know who you are. If your market consists of many possible customers, like ours, then you need to constantly add prospects to your files.

Prescription #3: MONOPOLIZE... But Don't Break Your Budget!
One common approach is to buy a ton of media impressions to get "name recognition." If you're not a Fortune 1000 company--forget this strategy. Not that you shouldn't use radio, TV, or print, but you just need to be more careful and calculated as to how you do.