Creating a Unique Marketing Position for Your Start-Up Online Business
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When you begin a new Internet business, there are so many things to do that it is easy to postpone addressing some of the essential aspects of marketing. One of the decisions that you should not omit from your early planning is the positioning of your business.
While the term positioning seems like just an example of marketing jargon, its importance can’t be stressed too much. Positioning is merelyidentifying what there is about your business that allows it to stand apart from all of your competitors.
-Client Service - Nearly all businesses claim they have great service. If you can provide exceptional service compared to your competitors, your clients will remember you. I’ll never forget calling a foul tempered handyman to try to get him to come to my house for a plumbing emergency on a weekend. He acted like he didn’t want my business and then told me it was going to be $200 for him just to show up. I told him “never mind” and hung up. I called roto-router who gave me amazing service, a guarantee, and the bill was less than $200. I now use them for all my plumbing, whether emergency or not.
-Features and Benefits - Identify what it is that you stress in your business operations or with your products or services. Maybe you are a “full service” dry cleaners or you specialize in problems just like theirs. Possibly you offer more size options of your clothing lines than any other Internet store.
-Price Point - This doesn’t necessarily mean you have the lowest price. You may be the most expensive in town, and that’s OK if you convince your customers you’re worth it.
-Negative Features - Is there something you don’t have that annoys customers of your competitors? I’m not saying use negative advertising, but just mention the feature and tie it to a benefit. I’m annoyed when I have to pay for parking to go shopping at Mall. Instead of touting free parking, a mall that wants to speak to me might declare, “you’ll never have to pay for parking”. This drives home the pain of shopping with a competitor without going negative.
-Credibility - Some businesses like to brag about their long history. If your business is new, you need to find a different way to establish your credentials. Perhaps you might say that you bring fresh ideas to your industry or niche. Adding logos from recognizable, trusted sources helps as well. Join the Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau. Work to obtain the endorsement of a magazine or a professional organization. Display those endorsements prominently. Plan for the future by soliciting testimonials.
-Etc. - Whatever you can think of that allows you to demonstrate that you are different from your competitors (in a good way, of course) is useful. That’s really all positioning is. Spend some time thinking through each phase of your business to see what you can point to in order to stand apart.
You will spend a great deal of time later developing your online business. You may even make subtle modifications to your positioning as you experiment and discover what is working for you and what isn’t. Immediately, though, you must start working on your positioning statements. They are too integral to your long term success to postpone.