Marketing in a crowded market

New answers have emerged for the dilemma of how to stand out in a crowded market.

It’s an age old problem that doesn’t just apply to business. For example, private schools have had to work hard on this for decades – but now government funded schools are finding that they too have to promote themselves effectively or suffer the consequences of declining enrolments. This in turn makes the task more difficult for independent school marketers.

The list goes on and on: charities vying for the shrinking fundraising dollar, established law firms fending off start ups; the ever-changing motor vehicle sector; pubs responding to the rise of small bars throughout Adelaide’s CBD are other good examples.

So, is it truly possible to stand out in a crowded market?

The standard advice is to find a niche and aim to dominate it. The other piece of wisdom is to find a point of difference and promote that – hard! The problem with both of these strategies is that advantage is often fleeting in today’s fast-paced market.

Competitors are quick to spy your latest marketing tactic and they can mimic it online within an hour. In fact, if their budget is bigger than yours, they can swamp the market with Google Adwords, mobile, email and social media – as well as other forms of paid advertising, and leave you in their wake.

What that means is you have to be flexible in your marketing approach. You have to be open to new ideas and emerging opportunities.

Here’s one way to look at the problem of how your business can be found in an overcrowded market.

Imagine you are looking for a particular person at a large concert. Using sight alone, your chances are very slim.

Now what if that person was dressed in a fluorescent green jacket and was waving a flashing light above their head? Obviously they would be easier to find, except for the fact that many people wave mobile phone lights above their heads at concerts.

So what if that person was standing on a platform, so they were two feet above the crowd, and waving a light? Ah! There they are, you found them.

Today’s marketing is much the same. You have to put your business on a platform to rise above the competition. In the old bricks and mortar world, that meant a sign that cut through the cutter (good luck with that), letters to clients, clever advertising and cold calling.

Yet with so many people now going online to do their research before they go shopping (or choosing a school law firm, finding a hotel etc), it makes sense to maximise the online profile or your organisation. At the simplest level that means:

Start with a stunning website that reflects your brand.
Ensure that you have call to action elements in prominent positions (eg. Make A Booking, Enquire Now).
Make sure you have Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools in place and check them at least monthly. Use this data to improve your site – or get a knowledgeable company to assist you.

Many companies never get any further than that – and it’s a big mistake. It’s like the old adage “build it and they will come”, which we know is rarely true. Doing the basics is not enough anymore.

To beat the clutter of a competitive market, you have to stand out. Kids might dream of a viral marketing campaign that will rocket them into the digital stratosphere but this is such a rare phenomenon and very hit and miss. So like your business and the way you run it, you have to start with the basics and build from there. Hopefully you can answer yes to each of the following “basics”:

Is Google showing your website in its results?
Are you ranking for all the right words, or do you ran for keywords that nobody uses?
If you aren’t ranking for high traffic keywords, have you looked at Adwords and what that might cost? A free telephone number linked to your online ads would allow you to really track your success, so have you explored that option?
Are you showing up in Google Maps search results, especially if you are a location-based business?

In a future blog, I will explore this challenge in more detail.

In the meantime, please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss your next project.