In Marketing - one size does not fit all
In Marketing - one size does not fit all
The answer of course is that each market is unique, with different customs, competitive pressures and customer expectations. This is true not only for large international brands, but for small businesses as well, where the needs and expectations of its various target markets can vary substantially.
As a small business owner I know how important it is to have a good understanding of each target market and adapt my product/marketing offering accordingly. As we saw with Starbucks, a one-size fits all approach to business does not always work. So how does a small business owner really get to know this with little or no budget? In this article, I will run you through a practical case study of how a small business can conduct some Market Research at little or no cost. Keep reading!
Case Study - Photographer
Let’s look at a common photography business. Most photographers I know run businesses where they are the main owner operator/boss. They may subcontract out work if they are busy or have an assistant to help out when needed, but they are usually the main person driving the business. So let’s see how a ‘one person’ type business can use Market Research and tailored marketing tools to help sell a product offering. In this case let’s examine the product offer, ‘People Portraits’.
Possible Target Audience Groups for ‘People Portraits’ include
1. Executive level corporate positions
2. Professional Speakers
3. Small business owners
4. Young families
5. High school children
For this case study, the photographer has decided to concentrate on groups One and Two. As a small business owner, it is important that for the purposes of marketing, that you select the most profitable and easiest to reach Target Audience Groups. This prioritisation is necessary where there are limited budgets and for any money that we do spend, we want to get a noticeable return on our investment. Or ‘bang for our buck’ as I say!
The first step though, before spending any money on marketing or advertising is to conduct some Market Research.
Here are some ideas on how to conduct cheap and quick Market Research for the selected Target Audience Groups.
Photography business Market Research - Executive level corporate positions
Ring the CEO’s Personal Assistant (PA):
It would be quite rare to ever be able to call and speak to a senior executive without having known or met them prior. However it would be more likely to be able to speak to any CEO’s PA.
In order to be able to know the name of the CEO (before you call), check out the company’s website and call the general office number asking to speak to the CEO’s PA. When making the calls, be prepared for people to be too busy or just unwilling to talk to you. Stay focused. You may only need to speak to a handful of people to get some good insights.
Once you have the PA on the phone, introduce yourself and ask if they have a few moments to answer a couple of questions about a new product idea you have for your business. Be nice, let them talk about themselves and their business issues and ask them questions like:
• How often they have professional photos taken?
• Have they had any problems in the past?
• Who organises the pictures to be taken?
After each call, make as many notes as you can, as they will provide tips for your brochures and any other marketing tools. For example, if you notice that all the PAs say that being on time is one of the most important aspects of this work, make note in your brochure about your reliability and perhaps a guarantee that you will be on time and ready at the nominated time slot.
Photography business Market Research – Professional Speakers
Google and ring Professional Association
You may be able to Google and find a number of Professional Speakers that way. Use the search results as a calling list. As an alternative, there is also an active Professional Association for Speakers. You may call the association to see if you can post a message in a monthly email newsletter or blog site for members, asking for Speakers to participate in a short Market Research survey. Offer a Myer voucher for the first ten people who call you. Be prepared with questions again and you never know, they may end up being your clients!
Having made several calls and spoken to a few people in each group, you will be full of new ideas and able to focus your marketing materials much more closely to the needs of each group. Here’s what to do next:
Can you afford only one brochure?
I envy the days when I had a budget as a corporate Marketing Manager to produce several different types of brochures for various product offerings. Now that I have my own small business and a much different ‘smaller’ budget, I have had to become more creative in ways to create multiple documents with little or no budget.
Tip: Create one brochure with different text.
If you can only afford one brochure, brief your graphic designer to create a template style brochure where different text can be inserted for the ‘Executive’ and ‘Professional Speakers’ editions. In essence you will have two brochures that look the same but read quite differently.
Use your Market Research notes to write the text. Make sure you include all the things that you have now considered to be ‘hot buttons’ for those looking to purchase your product/service. If you write your own text, at the very least have it checked by a copywriter for spelling and grammar. Also, do this step before you send the text to your graphic designer, this will save you some graphic design time and money.
If your budget doesn’t stretch to printing or you do most of your selling via email for example, have your graphic designers create a ‘screen friendly’ pdf version of your new brochures that can be uploaded to your website or attached to emails.
As the Starbucks case suggests, a one-size fit all approach to business does not always work. It is important that all businesses, including small businesses, conduct some Market Research to better understand their target market and if necessary adapt their business and marketing model. As shown above, it does not have to be time consuming or expensive and it should help ensure that you are getting full value from your marketing spend.
In Marketing one size does not fit all - To learn more about this author, visit Jo Macdermott's Website.
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In Australia, we recently saw the withdrawal of the global Starbucks brand with the closure of most of their retail stores. In Japan however, the opposite appears to be true and the Starbucks model and stores are a huge hit. The stores trade well, are open at all hours of the day and in some areas are located on nearly every street corner. So this got me thinking, why can a business work so well in one market and yet be so unsuccessful in another?
The answer of course is that each market is unique, with different customs, competitive pressures and customer expectations. This is true not only for large international brands, but for small businesses as well, where the needs and expectations of its various target markets can vary substantially.
As a small business owner I know how important it is to have a good understanding of each target market and adapt my product/marketing offering accordingly. As we saw with Starbucks, a one-size fits all approach to business does not always work. So how does a small business owner really get to know this with little or no budget? In this article, I will run you through a practical case study of how a small business can conduct some Market Research at little or no cost. Keep reading!
Case Study - Photographer
Let’s look at a common photography business. Most photographers I know run businesses where they are the main owner operator/boss. They may subcontract out work if they are busy or have an assistant to help out when needed, but they are usually the main person driving the business. So let’s see how a ‘one person’ type business can use Market Research and tailored marketing tools to help sell a product offering. In this case let’s examine the product offer, ‘People Portraits’.
Possible Target Audience Groups for ‘People Portraits’ include
1. Executive level corporate positions
2. Professional Speakers
3. Small business owners
4. Young families
5. High school children
For this case study, the photographer has decided to concentrate on groups One and Two. As a small business owner, it is important that for the purposes of marketing, that you select the most profitable and easiest to reach Target Audience Groups. This prioritisation is necessary where there are limited budgets and for any money that we do spend, we want to get a noticeable return on our investment. Or ‘bang for our buck’ as I say!
The first step though, before spending any money on marketing or advertising is to conduct some Market Research.
Here are some ideas on how to conduct cheap and quick Market Research for the selected Target Audience Groups.
Photography business Market Research - Executive level corporate positions
Ring the CEO’s Personal Assistant (PA):
It would be quite rare to ever be able to call and speak to a senior executive without having known or met them prior. However it would be more likely to be able to speak to any CEO’s PA.
In order to be able to know the name of the CEO (before you call), check out the company’s website and call the general office number asking to speak to the CEO’s PA. When making the calls, be prepared for people to be too busy or just unwilling to talk to you. Stay focused. You may only need to speak to a handful of people to get some good insights.
Once you have the PA on the phone, introduce yourself and ask if they have a few moments to answer a couple of questions about a new product idea you have for your business. Be nice, let them talk about themselves and their business issues and ask them questions like:
• How often they have professional photos taken?
• Have they had any problems in the past?
• Who organises the pictures to be taken?
After each call, make as many notes as you can, as they will provide tips for your brochures and any other marketing tools. For example, if you notice that all the PAs say that being on time is one of the most important aspects of this work, make note in your brochure about your reliability and perhaps a guarantee that you will be on time and ready at the nominated time slot.
Photography business Market Research – Professional Speakers
Google and ring Professional Association
You may be able to Google and find a number of Professional Speakers that way. Use the search results as a calling list. As an alternative, there is also an active Professional Association for Speakers. You may call the association to see if you can post a message in a monthly email newsletter or blog site for members, asking for Speakers to participate in a short Market Research survey. Offer a Myer voucher for the first ten people who call you. Be prepared with questions again and you never know, they may end up being your clients!
Having made several calls and spoken to a few people in each group, you will be full of new ideas and able to focus your marketing materials much more closely to the needs of each group. Here’s what to do next:
Can you afford only one brochure?
I envy the days when I had a budget as a corporate Marketing Manager to produce several different types of brochures for various product offerings. Now that I have my own small business and a much different ‘smaller’ budget, I have had to become more creative in ways to create multiple documents with little or no budget.
Tip: Create one brochure with different text.
If you can only afford one brochure, brief your graphic designer to create a template style brochure where different text can be inserted for the ‘Executive’ and ‘Professional Speakers’ editions. In essence you will have two brochures that look the same but read quite differently.
Use your Market Research notes to write the text. Make sure you include all the things that you have now considered to be ‘hot buttons’ for those looking to purchase your product/service. If you write your own text, at the very least have it checked by a copywriter for spelling and grammar. Also, do this step before you send the text to your graphic designer, this will save you some graphic design time and money.
If your budget doesn’t stretch to printing or you do most of your selling via email for example, have your graphic designers create a ‘screen friendly’ pdf version of your new brochures that can be uploaded to your website or attached to emails.
As the Starbucks case suggests, a one-size fit all approach to business does not always work. It is important that all businesses, including small businesses, conduct some Market Research to better understand their target market and if necessary adapt their business and marketing model. As shown above, it does not have to be time consuming or expensive and it should help ensure that you are getting full value from your marketing spend.
In Marketing one size does not fit all - To learn more about this author, visit Jo Macdermott's Website.
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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