SOME LESSONS IN STRATEGIC MARKETING

Lesson 1: Research the competition

·                     Pay a visit to them

·                    Get a feel of the competitor

·                    Know your competitors to better able effectively compete with them.

Lesson 2: Know your customer’s values

·                     Recognize other concerns besides prices

·                    Don’t be caught in the mentality that customers will buy from you only if you have the lowest cost.

·                    Think/make your product as a bundle of attributes having a unique value.

Lesson 3: Identify opportunities

·                    Look into developing new products/services or improving existing ones.

Lesson 4: Develop a positioning based on opportunity

·                     Provide different benefits.

Lesson 5: Create a Catchy tag line.

·                    Help in building brand equity, communicating benefit and feature.

Lesson 6: Spread the word

·                     Business name card

·                     Print and distribute flyers.

·                    Methods:

-       Word of mouth

-       Advertising (online and offline)

-       Philanthropy (donate money, services and/or time to non-profit organizations, or conduct own event).

Lesson 7: Be ethical and above-board

·                    Concentrate on improving rather than dodging regulations

Lesson 7A: Subterfuge is a poor long term strategy

Lesson 8: Implement until you are blue in the face

·                    Keep trying until you got it right

·                    Don’t give up

·                    Strive to continually improve.

Shared From Article By:

Allen Turnbull

Accountants Today

September 2006