Category: Sales & Marketing

Figuring out a market go-to strategy can be a challenging task. Add to this the complexity of culture and economics from across the world and it is clear why few businesses successfully make the transition from being a domestic player to an international corporation. Take McDonald’s for example. The extremely successful quick service chain is positioned as a cheap fast food option for customers in countries like the US. At the same time, the company markets itself as an urban fast food joint for customers in developing economies.

As an entrepreneur, it is important to understand how your product fits each of the demographics that you target. This is true not only while working on the positioning of your product in a specific geography, but also in deciding whether or not you must enter a specific market or not. Here are a few factors you will need to take care of while marketing your product in different countries across the world.

Understand your market 

Your go-to strategy and positioning depend a great deal on the level of saturation and competitor profile in the market. Take dishwashers, for example. The product is quite ubiquitous in countries like the United States where the market is saturated and is dominated by the likes of Bosch, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire and Whirlpool. At the same time, dishwashers are not really a thing in a number of emerging markets including the likes of China and India. A brand entering countries such as these would not only be required to position themselves as the best in business, but also educate the customer on the need for such a product.

Chart your competitor profile 

How your customers view your product vary across markets and a major contributor to this is the prevailing competitor profile. ECommerce is a terrific example of this. In many countries in the developed world, eCommerce is a mainstream reality and your market positioning should be based on creating a streamlined process and differentiating yourself from existing players in the market. On the other hand, eCommerce in smaller and poorer countries could still be in its infancy. As a result, a lot of your marketing should be about establishing credibility and trust in the market. Customers who are not exposed to eCommerce may not really prefer purchasing a product without the ‘touch and feel’ that they are used to with conventional retail.

Acknowledge cultural and linguistic differences 

Marketers routinely make the mistake of crafting a universal positioning statement that is then translated into the various native languages that the product is marketed in. This is not only ineffective, but also extremely risky. KFC, for instance, launched their “finger-lickin’ good” campaign in China with a Mandarin translation that literally meant “we’ll eat your fingers off”. Such campaigns can cast a negative light on your brand and can potentially be viewed as culturally insensitive, ultimately hurting your customer acquisition efforts.

Prepare a pricing strategy 

Pricing plays a major role in determining the success or failure of your product in a market. Startup businesses seldom have local manufacturing or assembly plants and instead rely on global distribution from their warehouse or supplier. This can affect your success in a number of ways. Competitors who source and manufacture locally in emerging economies will often have a price advantage over your product. This is especially true if it is exported to the market, as the international shipping costs can add as much as $10-$20 per product for even small scale shipments. Your marketing strategy should identify a price point and this should help you work out the strategies for procurement, manufacturing, assembly and distribution.

Catering to a global customer base can be quite challenging. But we are living in an extremely globalized world that has made such transactions simpler and seamless. By understanding your market and your customers, you can pave the way to building a solid go-to strategy that is the first step towards succeeding at a global scale.

Article Contributed by Kumar Venkatesiah

Launching a business in a saturated market can be an overwhelming experience. Depending on the industry you are in, you may have competitors that have high brand equity and those who have existed in the business for several decades. Establishing credibility and trustworthiness in a market overrun by such competitors is no easy task. But it can be done. Here are a few ways a startup entrepreneur can take on competitors with high reputation in a saturated market.

Carve a niche 

Why do customers go to Toys “R” Us stores when you can buy toys at a Walmart or Target store? The answer lies in the fact that Toys “R” Us has managed to carve a niche for itself in this category. A customer looking to buy toys would prefer a niche store over a generic one for two reasons – one, a specialized store is more likely to have a larger depth of products to pick and choose from, and two, positioning your business as a specialist in a category helps with a higher ‘top of the mind’ recall.

Entrepreneurs should look at carving a niche in their industry of choice. For instance, someone looking at launching an apparel business could focus on something really niche – like formal wear for women, or cotton shirts for men. This brings down the number of direct competitors quite significantly and helps you gain a foothold in the market that you may expand at a later stage when you have a loyal clientele.

Personalize/Customize 

Personalization of products is an industry that is often under-served in many product categories. If your industry does not yet have a popular provider of personalized products, it could probably be an opportunity for you to jump in. You could personalize anything from beer, cigar, t-shirts, water bottles to even placemats and candy labels.

Personalization may not suit all product categories though. In such cases, entrepreneurs could look at customization. Market leaders in most product categories sustain their leadership through economies of scale. This is only possible through the manufacture and distribution of high volumes of a limited number of SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). With customization, entrepreneurs could serve business requirements that are not fulfilled by a ‘one size fits all’ product that market leaders offer. Such a strategy works through a ‘high margin, low volume’ that helps startup entrepreneurs quickly get a foothold in the market.

Create a unique experience 

Carving a niche or personalizing the product cannot always work across industries. In other segments, the most effective and sustainable way to gain market share in a saturated market is by creating an experience that existing providers do not offer. For instance, Uber penetrated the monopolistic taxi market by offering a pickup and drop service that traditional taxis could not offer. Smartphone maker OnePlus penetrated the Android phone market by providing high-end features to mid-range customers. Creating an experience that does not exist today is a fantastic way to penetrate the market and gain market share.

Listening to the customer helps entrepreneurs identify such differentiating factors in business. You could, for instance, check out the publicly accessible customer support forums and product message boards online to identify the common pain points that customers face with the current products in the market. Alternately, entrepreneurs could conduct targeted surveys of people in your demographic to understand what they like and do not like with the current offerings. These strategies help entrepreneurs identify factors that could help you differentiate and thus create a unique experience for the customer.

Starting a business is never easy and launching in an industry that is saturated is extremely tough. But if history is anything to go by, it has been done time and again and it is up to the persevering entrepreneur to devise a strategy that can help them penetrate the market and beat the competition in their industry.

Article Contributed by Christina White

In this fast-paced tech-oriented world, more and more people are focusing their advertising efforts towards online and mobile marketing practices. This is perfectly understandable; as more than half of all internet traffic is now coming from a mobile device. However, when it comes to grabbing the people attention, it may be sometimes better to use an old-fashioned, well-thought-out graphic sign. And the design that goes into making a sign can have a substantial influence on the number of new customers your company could potentially acquire. That said, here are 5 signage tips you can use to help better promote your business.

1.      Keep it legible and visible

You’ve probably already heard the old “less is more” saying. It is an integral part of sign design process, as keeping the message clear and short makes the sign easier to see and read its content with a single glance.  Although signs come in many different shapes and sizes, choosing the appropriate one becomes fairly important once you realize that not every sign size is appropriate for every viewing distance. This is why you have to consider the location where your sign will be placed and remove any obstacles that might interfere with the sign’s visibility.

Another factor to consider when it comes to visibility is clutter. A good sign has to communicate the message concisely and efficiently. Overstuffing your sign with too much text not only makes it harder for people to read it from a distance but also moves the reader’s attention away from the message you’re trying to convey. Marketers tend to fill up any blank space on a sign in order to get the most out of their investment. What they don’t realize is that this “blank space” around words and graphics is equally important for conveying the message as the text itself.

2.      Choose the right color scheme

The right color scheme is crucial for any well-designed sign. Not only does it grab the reader’s attention, it can also be used to convey the brand’s identity. Think Coca-Cola red or Starbucks green for example. Trademark recognition has more to do with the choice of color than the actual logo representing it. Avoid using background colors which make reading the message difficult. Choose a color which contrasts well with other colors, such as black on white or black on yellow. This allows for an easier reading experience, even when viewed from a distance.

3.      Add contrast for better readability

It’s not the color scheme that determines the sign’s readability. Sure, it does play a great part, but if you wish to increase the readability, you have to think about the contrast. Most signs these days’ place graphics and text in the foreground, with the background being filled with a single, continuous color. This creates a contrast between the background and the foreground, allowing the reader to focus on the content more quickly and with ease. The bigger the contrast, the easier it is to view the text from a distance.

4.      Find the right font type

The best fonts are the ones that are clean and easy to read. And there’s a big misconception that as capital letters are “bigger” than the lower case ones, they are easier for reading from a certain distance. This is simply not true, as capital letters produce quite the opposite effect then, let’s say, using both capital and lower case letters. As nothing is ever written using only capital letters, it’s only natural to keep the text as “normal” as possible.

You can, however, use bold, italic and extended text, in order to shift the focus towards a specific part of the message. Finally, avoid using extremely small fonts for the contact information and if you insist on using two different fonts in the same design, make sure that they complement each other and make the message really stand out.

5.      Don’t forget to illuminate you sign

Whether you’re using a banner, poster, billboard or even corflute sign, don’t forget to check if they are properly illuminated, especially during the nighttime. A well-placed light source can be used to accent the sign and draw the reader’s eyes towards it. Not only does it result in a controlled and in turn, more attractive visual, but illumination increases the chance of your sign remaining effective even beyond the regular business hours.

No matter how good you make the sign look, it’s basically a pretty, but empty shell without good copywriting. The message you’re trying to convey is a direct representation of your brand and business, so make sure to write a compelling and engaging message. If you don’t have the necessary writing skills, then hiring a professional writer might be your best choice. Fortunately, they are easy to find online and usually don’t cost that much. The same can be said about graphic designers, but their services tend to be a tad more expensive when compared to hiring a writer. Never go for the cheapest option, but at the same time avoid spending your entire marketing budget on a single sign.

About the Author

Christina White is a marketing consultant from Sydney. She’s been working with different companies for 6 years now. When taking a break from making new marketing slogans, you can find her hiking with her furry four legged companion or just sharing positivity among her friends.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself. Peter Drucker

People fail at marketing for a variety of reasons. This list is not meant to be all-inclusive but here are the most common reasons I encounter:

1. Never been trained in marketing
2. Don’t understand the psychology of marketing
3. Are not consistent in their marketing message
4. Don’t ask for help because they don’t know who to trust
5. Don’t want to do it for themselves
6. Don’t know what works and do not want to spend the money

Let’s look briefly at each reason.

Never Been Trained in Marketing

Many of my clients have not been trained in marketing. They are engineers, cleaning companies, payroll specialists, merchant service providers or insurance specialist. They are experts in their field but not in communicating their value to others. The words they use reflect a lack of clarity in who they are and the value they provide. These small business owners are too close to see clearly their value. Because they are too close and cannot see themselves and their value as others see them, they talk in platitudes: many locations, peace of mind and financial security, without context.

Don’t understand the psychology of marketing

Marketing is nothing more then explaining what you do, why it is important and who should care. Always remember most people take action to avoid pain. Marketing is helping other understand how their life will be better when they buy your product, go to your restaurant, use your services.

Are not consistent in their marketing message

Marketing is about communicating your value proposition consistently. You cannot do a post on Facebook one time and expect to get results. One blog post won’t do it not will sending one postcard. It is about defining the buyers journey and walking with the prospect along the buyer’s journey.

Don’t ask for help because they don’t know who to trust

There are so many people who claim to be marketing experts that do not promote their product or service well. They love social media and expect others to see the same value. I can see why people are concerned about making a bad decision. I am appalled by some of the marketing messages that come across my desk by other marketers who want me to use their services.

Don’t want to do it for themselves

Many people know what to do and do not want to do it themselves. Dan Kennedy said it best, “do not outsource your marketing until you know what works. Otherwise, you are wasting money.” No one knows your business like you do. You may need some help with the message, strategy or tactics but you are the final decision-maker.

Don’t know what works and do not want to spend the money

There are so many choices a small business owner has when marketing his business. Ask yourself this question, “where does of my business come from today?” and do more of that. Don’t look for a social media expert, direct mail expert or SEO expert until you know where you should spend your time. After that continue to add one option until you know that works. Then consider outsourcing.

Article Contributed by Walter Moore

The SEO and SEM business has grown by leaps and bounds from the simple concepts behind online marketing to a tremendously complex set of tasks. There is a whole lot of jargon involved and an even larger list of confusing prerequisites which wards a lot of people off, but it is vital that you start optimizing your business’ presence and reach through targeted SEM. To put it into extremely simple terms which even the least tech-savvy CEOs will be familiar with; there are really only three aspects to the whole process, and these three should be the pillars on which you build every strategy and take every decision. They are Rankings, Revenue, and Reputation. Here’s how you go about Local SEO optimization for your business.

Complying with Guidelines

There are two vital steps to this- the first being determining whether the business is classified as local by Google’s guidelines; the second is to go through these guidelines extensively to ensure that the business isn’t violating them or spamming in any way. These steps are instrumental in protecting the online reputation of the brand and also showing that the business does not deal in spam and black hat tactics. Penalties to rankings are avoided, and you don’t spend funds or time on ineffective and counterproductive practices.

Developing the Website

This is a three-step process. You must first develop a clean, fully functional website which has a proper UX across all users and devices. You can also tune up your existing site to resolve any such issues. Next, develop as much relevant, quality content as you can to set your website apart. Then, you can optimize the site for organic search, local search, and conversions, all at once.

This builds reputation, protects rankings, boosts visibility and also ushers in tremendous results in organic and local search. Each of these steps builds the site’s legacy in the long-term, and hence saves revenue in terms of UX optimizations and time spent in reinventing the wheel to have a functional website.

Reviews

Start off by enforcing and perfecting customer service policies across all divisions of the company. Next, come up with a solid review acquisition strategy across major citation platforms and also for your website. When the reviews start coming in, try to respond to each one. This communication and conflict resolution builds trust with the consumer base and boosts the reputation. Several positive reviews boost rankings too, and revenue gets a great boost thanks to trust-based transactions.

Link-Building

You should look into your website’s pre-existing link strategy for any issues with linking and try to resolve them. The next logical step would be to develop exceptional content which would organically earn you links from genuine, reliable sources. Use local sponsorships, contributions to editorials and other relevant opportunities to build links on reputed sites as well. This association with the best of the best is critical to online reputation management, as it lumps your business with top names and not shoddy practices. This builds rankings over time and pays superb dividends on the initial investment in terms of conversions and traffic from previously untapped sources.

Social and Other Media

Find all the hubs frequented by your target audience and develop a customized social strategy for optimum reach and participation. Put in a genuine effort for sharing and reaching out rather than just selling, and monitor your accounts for any grievances put forward. Also look into alternative media like video and email marketing and development of apps, tools, and widgets. It is understandable if you don’t have the expertise for this, hiring a reliable bulk email marketing services Mumbai firm is absolutely the right thing to do. This boosts reputation, protects rankings and reels in revenue like never before.

Conclusion

It’s surprising that the idea of local SEO and online reputation management is still viewed so skeptically by business owners. While technical jargon does seem daunting at first, entrepreneurial instincts should tell you that this is the next logical step, and not jumping on the bandwagon now will have severe consequences in the future.

Author Bio: Walter Moore is an SEM expert and marketer spearheading a startup in Chennai. He also runs a successful blog revolving around resources on SEO and SMM and reliable references like GingerDomain.com.