It’s not unusual, when I’m meeting with a new prospect or making a presentation related to marketing and the issue of competitors comes up, for someone to say: “We don’t really have any competitors.”
My response: “Well, actually you do.”
Even the latest and greatest brand new technological innovation that nobody has ever seen before will have to think about competitors. Here’s why. (more…)
Sometimes it can be the smallest of things that leads to a lost opportunity from a marketing or sales perspective. Small things that can, I think, be easily corrected.
I had a personal example of this recently while working on a proposal for a branding project. I needed to gather some price information for some elements of the project. In two cases, I contacted two different individuals, asking for some estimates. In each of these cases, one of the people got back to me right away—the other, not at all. (more…)
“Fast follower” is a term used in marketing circles to refer to a company that moves quickly to do what its competitors are doing, or to do what one specific, extremely innovative competitor is doing. But I’ve never really liked the idea of
Identifying the key benefits that answer the question of WIIFM (“What’s in it for me?”) for your customers and prospects, the first step in writing compelling copy. The second is positioning what you have to offer relative to what your competition has to offer.
In considering your competition you need to (more…)
Not many people remember a product called Zima, and that’s the point of this post. As a marketing professional, I’ve always been interested in new product introductions and advertising campaigns in general— how well do they work? how long do they “run” (suggesting that the positive effects are continuing to produce results or, if nothing else, that the agency and client haven’t “pulled the plug” prematurely).
In addition, as someone who is not a “beer drinker,” I was interested several years ago when a new product was introduced—Zima—a beer-based beverage that was supposed to be light and refreshing. Hmm. Sounded interesting. The campaign was extensive, attention-getting, and effective—to a degree. It raised awareness. It generated preference (at least initially). All was good. Right? Wrong. (more…)
Over the past several years, a growing number of wineries, microbreweries, and distilleries have been springing up across the Chippewa Valley where we’re based. It’s a trend that is mirrored in other states around the country, as entrepreneurs seek to address a growing market not simply for alcoholic beverages but for local destination experiences.
Consumers have long been able to buy wine, beer, or spirits at local liquor stores with no discernable lack of brand options available at varying price points. Why, then, are these relatively small players having such a big impact on the economy?
The 3 C’s of Marketing (company, customers and competitors) is a popular model used to help businesses and marketers develop marketing strategies by encouraging them to think about their customers and what they value, what they have to offer that address what customers value/need, and what others (competitors) are offering. It’s a model that also aligns very well with another three-pronged marketing approach: segmenting, targeting, and positioning.
Every business has competitors and needs to successfully position itself against those competitors to succeed in the marketplace. Creating a competitive analysis matrix can be a good way to help you identify areas of opportunity for your business and its products and services. Here we show you how.
(more…)
Competitors are a fact of life for businesses of all types and sizes. Even if you think you have no competition (and some companies do think this), you do! We like to define competition, broadly, as “any available alternative to what you have to offer.” For instance, I worked in the healthcare industry for a number of years, leading the organization’s marketing efforts. We had direct competitors (other hospitals and clinics) serving the same market we served. We also had indirect competitors—Google search for instance. How often have you gone online to find information about some medical issue rather than make an appointment to see the doctor?
The point is, we all have competition. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Where to price products and services is a key part of any business’s marketing and finance strategies. Economic theory includes multiple strategies for pricing, depending on broader business goals. For example, a company looking to maximize profit will try to set its marginal revenue—the revenue received from one additional unit of sale—equal to marginal cost (the cost associated with one additional unit of sale). A company trying to maximize sales will focus on average costs and revenue. The point where they meet is the sales maximizing point.
Of course, these are economic theories, and how these strategies play out in the real world is anything but certain.
Subcribe to This Blog
Brand Evaluation
We’ll help you assess the gaps between how you’d like to be perceived and how you are perceived. More
CONTENT CREATION
Whether you need web copy, blog posts, whitepapers, ghostwriting--or RFP or report creation, we can help. More
PR/MEDIA RELATIONS
We can provide you with media training and coaching, help you identify relevant media and help you generate media coverage locally, nationally and online. More
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media isn’t for everyone, but if it’s right for you we’ll help you identify, implement and assess the impact of your online communications. More
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Our name says it all! We’re passionate about strategic planning and work with clients to develop marketing and communication plans, as well as broader business plans designed to provide actionable--and measurable--direction. More
