In an earlier article I spoke of a return to basics, that before looking at the current or “where you are now” phase. One should always go back to the basics, look and refresh the original presentation. Or look at the revisions made at the most recent brand audit or strategic review. The key issue here was to talk to lots of people and develop an understanding, not of how you saw your brand but how others perceived it to be. Following that we looked at reviewing the way you visually represented your brand, and how that affects the way people perceive your business to be.
In this post I take a look at the industry in which you operate and look at some of the aspects you can learn from your target market, your competitors or your suppliers. It is a more internal perspective.
The process is very similar to that previously outlined. Before you do anything, revert back to your original perspectives or the last review position.
The first component you can look at, and always critical to a marketer is THE TARGET MARKET.
- Who was your original target market?
- Characterise that in real terms. Demographics of age, sex, income, vocations, qualifications and locations. All the physical measurements that characterise the people you are selling to. And it is useful to personalise that. Find images that represent these people. Pin these images onto boards and place around the office where all can see them. And this is not a consumer tactic. If you are a B2B business the same applies.
- Remember that you have tiers of target market. Someone specifies your product. Someone else may use it. Another person may make the buying decision. Usually someone else places the order. And another manages your payments. They might be the same person. But if they are not you must address each according to their needs. You must to develop a customer centric campaign for each one individually.
- And while you are personalising these people, identify some of the emotional tributes as well. Those might be loyalties, they might be commitments, or they might simply be the factors that influence these people.
- And are these people the same people that you originally conceived? Have they changed? What are the differences?
- If you are supplying a raw material to a production unit consider their target markets as well. Are their features to your product that will benefit those consumers? Are there products you can add to your portfolio that might assist their production or marketing?
- Are there other targets you should include? Other businesses new to your industry? Are there other products you added to your mix that give other opportunities in other segments?
- And think broadly. In these changing times they may well be erstwhile competitors who could use your products now. Are there services you can offer a previous competitor that will make life profitable for both of you? Are they competitors out there who are now targets?
While you are looking at the industry and the markets it is a good time to formally review YOUR COMPETITORS.
- The same questions apply. Who did you originally target? Are those original competitors still out there? Have they been replaced by others? Are you looking at these new competitors as closely as you considered the previous competitor’s?
- Categorise the competitors. Who are the innovators? Who are the price fighters? And where do you want to be? An innovator or a price fighter? Compare yourself with the right ones!
- And an important modern consideration is are the competitors only local? Or have international vendors come into the competitive matrix? How must you handle that?
- Think about who has been successful in your industry and what have they done to win that success? Can you copy that success? Can you counter that success?
- And what have your successes been against those competitors? What are your core successes? What are their core successes? Stock levels, customer services or pricing? What can you do more of to achieve better success?
Another key factor to look at YOUR SUPPLIERS within your own industry. You can learn a lot from them.
- Look at their product catalogue. Are those still the same or have introduced other products? What sectors do these new products serve? Have you missed something new?
- When your suppliers invite you to golf days or other social functions who do you meet? Do you go out of your way to look for and talk to competitors? And does your team sit down after such an event and throw all their ideas together?
- Who do your suppliers consider to be there success customers? What are your suppliers success stories? Why do they rate those as successes are they filling areas or opportunities you should have filled yourself?
- And talk to these suppliers at every opportunity you have. Look for international trends. Local trends? New developments? Products they are researching? What is happening in other markets they are servicing? Is there anything you can learn from that?
For each of the above aspects there are a host of issues to be discussed and considered. Each business has its own priorities. But always it is critical to
- Review the original idea all the discussions held at the most recent review. Who did you target?
- What did you identify as strategy and tactics? What were your priorities? Who was responsible for each of the individual actions?
- Were those tactics completed? And were they successful or not?
- Then only look at new opportunities.
- And develop new plans, tactics, priorities, allocate new responsibilities and times.
And a final note is to record you discussions. Write a contact report. And make the review process a standard part of your strategic business practise. And writing things down makes the review that follow more efficient and effective. You will know exactly what was previously discussed, planned, prioritized and actioned.
Good luck!
In the next post we will return to a more marketing related topic, that relating to communication.
Never before in business has been so possible to create a targeted communication strategy and campaign that optimizes your own businesses products, target market, content, resources and budget, that to create a community that surrounds you, is interested in your business and will listen to you.
About Garth Sutherland
Garth Sutherland has an extensive multicultural understanding.
He has worked with local brands (creating independent strategic positions) and international brands (integrating the international brand vision with the local demand to optimize the “on the ground” brand presence). His strengths include bringing a strong strategic focus into all aspects of marketing delivery, working with multi-agency perspectives, independent thinking & implementing with a consistent and practical interdependent teamwork focused delivery.
He is currently heading up www.smallbusinessmarketing.co.za, a fractional marketing consultancy that specialises in the SME sector.
And writing on modern marketing.
If you are looking to maximize the strategic value of your brand opportunity, Garth is the ideal resource to task.
Contact him at garth@smallbusinessmarketing.co.za or +27 (0) 81 265 5803
Other posts in this series can be read at https://www.linkedin.com/in/garthrsutherland/ or on http://www.smallbusinessmarketing.co.za
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