Transcript What is your `Place`? - He Who Enters

Understanding the Market
and Your Place in It
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Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: 317.917.3266 | Fax: 317.916.8921
Email: [email protected]
www.businessownership.org
Understanding the Market
and Your Place in It
Presented by:
Kim J. Brand
President, Computer Experts, Inc.
CEO/Founder, FileEngine
Phone: 317.833-3000
Email: [email protected]
“Computer Repair Indianapolis” or “FileEngine”
or “Kim Brand” + Indianapolis
Agenda
 The
market is like a rock
 (Just

some of) The Problems
What is your Marketing Objective? - Key Questions
 The
Marketing Mix – Four Ps of Marketing
Product – Place – Price – Promotion
 Marketing
facts (you need to know)
 Homework
 Resources
/ Next Steps
The ‘Market’ is like a rock
A big rock
But much harder to move ;(
Your objective is to move the rock
(Just some of) The Problems
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You have a wonderful product or service but nobody knows
Buying habits of your customers don't include you
You have no reputation
You have no money
You've never 'marketed' a product or service like this before
(You may have sold them before, but marketing is different)
Competitors
Most of what you know is wrong (which leads to mistakes &
wasted time & money - but adds to experience ;)
The rules, once you figure them out, change - and usually
not in your favor
What is your marketing
objective?
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Create Awareness
Communicate Outrageous Value
Create Urgency
What is your marketing
objective?
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Create Awareness
Communicate Outrageous Value
Create Urgency
…but wait, there’s more !!
Key Questions
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What are you selling?
Who are your competition?
Why should your customers buy from you
instead of them?
Key Questions
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What are you selling?
Who are your competition?
Why should your customers buy from you
instead of them?
 Your competition includes:
Doing nothing
Key Questions
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What are you selling?
Who are your competition?
Why should your customers buy from you
instead of them?
 Your competition includes:
Doing nothing, Buying habits
Key Questions
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What are you selling?
Who are your competition?
Why should your customers buy from you
instead of them?
 Your competition includes:
Doing nothing, Buying habits,
Bad experiences
Key Questions
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What are you selling?
Who are your competition?
Why should your customers buy from you
instead of them?
 Your competition includes:
Doing nothing, Buying habits,
Bad experiences, “Good enough”
The Marketing Mix
The Four ‘P’s of Marketing
What you sell, the Product
Where/How you sell it, the Place
The Price you sell it for
How you get attention: Promotion
Source: http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/
The Four Ps of Marketing
What is your Product or
Service? – Really!!
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Your BRAND – your promise to deliver
Your MESSAGE – how you describe it . . .
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Your POSITION – How do your customers
view your product or service in the field of all
other products and services?
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You only have 13 words
How will you be compared and described?
What is the PAIN your product or service
relieves?
Where is your ‘Place’?
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Locality:
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Lemonade stand, Neighborhood?
Side of town, City, Region?
State, Country, Planet?
Distribution system:
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Direct, Indirect, Multi-Level
Retail, Wholesale, Discount
Storefront, Web-store, corner bar, catalog
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc.
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. Surprisingly: The narrower the
better!
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size Can you scale or must you enter large?
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size Can you scale or must you enter large?
Current buying behaviors
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size Can you scale or must you enter large?
Current buying behaviors
Existing competitors & weaknesses
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size Can you scale or must you enter large?
Current buying behaviors
Existing competitors & weaknesses
Communication channels (current – new)
What is your ‘Place’?
Who is your ‘Ideal Customer’?
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Demographic: men, women, owners of a
product, age, family status, income, taste,
race, etc. The narrower the better!
Size Can you scale or must you enter large?
Current buying behaviors
Existing competitors & weaknesses
Communication channels (current – new)
What is the potential–share you want/need?
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Is it easy to buy from you?
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Is it easy to buy from you?
Guarantees create trust (but create liability)
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Is it easy to buy from you?
Guarantees create trust (but create liability)
Can you create demand with a lower price?
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Price elasticity
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Is it easy to buy from you?
Guarantees create trust (but create liability)
Can you create demand with a lower price?
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Price elasticity
Can you afford discounts?
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Salesmen, specials, combinations, spiffs/referrals
Pricing & Terms
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Are you better? (Can you charge more?)
Is it easy to buy from you?
Guarantees create trust (but create liability)
Can you create demand with a lower price?
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Can you afford less?
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Price elasticity
Salesmen, specials, combinations, spiffs/referrals
Can you value price upgrades?
Promotion
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Superbowl advertising = $3M for 30 seconds
Promotion
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Superbowl advertising = $3M for 30 seconds
PROBABLY NOT IN YOUR
BUDGET – YET!
Promotion
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What is your promotion Budget?
Promotion
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What is your promotion Budget?
Where/How do your customers find it - now?
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Web, Yellow-Pages, Directories, Flyers, Mailbox
Consumer: Billboards, TV/Radio, Car wraps
Trade shows, Endorsements, Tie-ins, Cold-Calling
Promotion
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What is your promotion Budget?
Where/How do your customers find it - now?
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Web, Yellow-Pages, Directories, Flyers, Mailbox
Consumer: Billboards, TV/Radio, Car Wraps
Trade shows, Endorsements, Tie-ins, Cold-Calling
Where do your competitors advertise?
Promotion
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What is your promotion Budget?
Where/How do your customers find it - now?
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Web, Yellow-Pages, Directories, Flyers, Mailbox
Consumer: Billboards, TV/Radio, Car Wraps
Trade shows, Endorsements, Tie-ins, Cold-Calling
Where do your competitors advertise?
Advertising Specialties: Pens, Shirts, SWAG
Promotion
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What is your promotion Budget?
Where/How do your customers find it - now?
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Web, Yellow-Pages, Directories, Flyers, Mailbox
Consumer: Billboards, TV/Radio, Car Wraps
Trade shows, Endorsements, Tie-ins, Cold-Calling
Where do your competitors advertise?
Advertising Specialties: Pens, Shirts, SWAG
Networking, Referrals, Rewarding customers
for sending you leads
Marketing ‘facts’
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Your prospects are exposed to hundreds of
thousands of marketing messages a day
Marketing ‘facts’
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Your prospects are exposed to hundreds of
thousands of marketing messages a day – How
will yours stand out in the ‘Message Frenzy’??
Marketing ‘facts’
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Your prospects are exposed to hundreds of
thousands of marketing messages a day – How
will yours stand out in the ‘Message Frenzy’??
It may take 8+ impressions before they even
know you exist – leverage multiple media.
Marketing ‘facts’

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Your prospects are exposed to hundreds of
thousands of marketing messages a day – How
will yours stand out in the ‘Message Frenzy’??
It may take 8+ impressions before they even
know you exist – leverage multiple media.
Interruption marketing is out; referrals, viral
communication and entertainment is in.
Marketing ‘facts’

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Your prospects are exposed to hundreds of
thousands of marketing messages a day – How
will yours stand out in the ‘Message Frenzy’??
It may take 8+ impressions before they even
know you exist – leverage multiple media.
Interruption marketing is out; referrals, viral
communication and entertainment is in.
‘Free’ talks directly to the cerebral cortex – can
you give something away to get them to give you
a try?
Homework / Next Steps
Practice the answer to the question:
“What Do You Do?”
Define your brand (promise to deliver)
Establish the size of the market you’re going after
and a goal for your share and a timeline.
Get a simple brochure, terms & price list
designed/ printed – ask 10 friends and 10 strangers
for feedback; fix what’s broken.
Homework / Next Steps
Collect information about your competition and
be prepared to differentiate yourself.
Create a Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) system and start refining your sales
process.
Ask new customers “Why did you pick me?” &
“How did you find me?”
Add their testimonials to your next brochure.
Constantly test every assumption you make
about the market.
Resources
HeWhoEnters.PBWiki.com - my Wiki for Entrepreneurs
SBA.GOV – Federal Government
IndianaEntrepreneurship.com – State Government
GoRainmakers.com, BNI-Indiana.com,
OneDegreeConnected, SmallerIndiana.com – local
networking organizations
ActumGroup.com – free sales book chapter:
“Captivate Attention in One Sentence”
Anything by Ries & Trout – 22 Immutable Laws, etc.
Google.com – everything else