by Gail Oliver, Marketing Consultant
Are you just about to dive into a market that many others are already in, and doing it well? Are you offering a service that so many other, more experienced people with huge client bases are also offering?
So what to do when you are newbie or late entrant into your market? Give up? No. There is always room for new players, if you do one or both of these things:
- Improve upon the weaknesses of your competitors
- Find a niche no one else is targeting
Improve Upon Competitors’ Weaknesses
No company is perfect. Even successful companies like Apple have their weaknesses. One of the biggest complaints people have had for years is that the iPhone has a horrible battery life. If another company were to come along and offer everything the iPhone does, plus superior battery power, that may be enough for some customers to switch over.
Maybe you just opened a dental practice, and all the dental offices in your city close at 5:00 pm, frustrating those patients who can’t afford time off work. Simply keep your office open to 8 pm just a few days a week, to capitalize on this need.
A great way to find competitors’ weaknesses is to go to Yelp and read what their customers are saying. Whatever customers hate about their business, make sure these will be the things people will love about yours.
Find a Niche or Specialty to Target
The worse thing you can ever try to do as a business is try to be all things to all people. If you can find and specialize in a niche, you will have much better success. For example, if you have just become a realtor, finding new clients is always a challenge. You can target the newlyweds or the empty nester looking to downsize, like everyone else is, or you go after a niche your colleagues may not have considered, such as the out-of-town-buyer. Approach the Human Resources department of local companies who appear to be doing a lot of recruiting from other cities and states for new talent. This new talent will need help finding a new home, and that is where you can make sure you get first crack at the business.
Maybe you sell gadget cases for phones and devices. Everyone seems to be targeting their designs towards the female market, but why not create cases whose designs specifically target kids. Do you know how many young kids have a phone and/or iPad these days? In fact, iPad cases for kids is a top Google search because this segment of the market is growing so fast. Don’t be surprised if soon all pre-schoolers have their own phone. Jump on the new and upcoming market segments if you hope to be a leader in your field.
Need My Advice? Email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com to find out how I can advise and come up with some creative marketing ideas just for you.
© 2012-2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.
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