When you’re unsure what to do with your business, one thing that Danny Star often suggests is to “look at the competition.”
That has quite a few meanings.
It covers seeing where they’re succeeding, where they aren’t, what they’re doing with their online marketing, and so forth. You can even do it in the micro sense, by seeing who they’re following online, and such.
This can all be very beneficial to your business.
However, you don’t want to go too far with defining your business by “who you aren’t,” and “what you do not do,” etc.
Defined in Opposition
We thought about this today when we came across this interesting article about an upcoming video game.
The gist of this is that the very expensive marketing for this new video game spends far less time focusing on the “hero” as opposed to the “villain.”
That can turn people off from the game, the article implies, because potential customers won’t find the hero all that interesting.
There might be a lesson here for your company.
Saying “we do more than the competition” and pointing out their shortcomings has its place. However, that can’t be all that you’re doing.
Defined on Your Terms
Always remember to focus on what your company does best.
In fact, if you’re going to mention the competition at all, you may want to do so through the prism of what’s great about your company.
This is true even if you’re using a nebulous “the competition,” without specifically naming any competitors.
“While our competitors do not do (blank), we here at (your company) instead do (blank/something better).”
You can see how that uses words like “while” and “instead.” Those draw a direct contrast, putting you in the best light. Moreover, they allow you to do so on your terms.
For help with marketing and just about anything else, you can schedule a remote marketing consulting in Los Angeles session with Danny at (213) 457-3250.
