Understanding the Business You're In!

I was on a course last year on marketing and one of the sections it covered was company tag lines, slogans and advertising slogans, but rather than considering the usual brand values and what the brand values meant and how the customers related to the brand we considered what the slogan actually meant to the business they are really in.

MacDonald’s is much revered amongst its customers and many business admirers.  Clearly the success of MacDonald’s is not down to the Michelin equivalent dining experience but rather one of almost fanatical consistency bourn out of world-class marketing, logistics and training.  Over the years MacDonald’s have had a number of advertising slogans at various stages of their development, suffice as to say in modern times the site of the golden arches symbol is enough for most people to understand what they can expect as far as the customer experience goes.

My late father used to visit his local his local supermarket on a Wednesday morning and more often than not his visits featured a total lack of bread on the bakery counter, now it can be hardly be the mark of a world class retailer if it can’t get a basic food product to the shelf for a customer to purchase it at a time when it suits the customer.  As my father said at the time, “this is nothing more than bad logistics” and he should know it was his business for more than 30 years!

So the questions is?  Is a modern supermarket in the food business or the logistics business?  Since 1982 and up to recently Fed Ex used the slogan “When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight”, now we all know they’re in the parcel business but this worked really well as a customer guarantee and spoke to the point of their exceptional customer focus, the parcel bit was almost a bi product.  An expectation is set in the customers mind and the business is focused around the customer and closely aligned to it.

Mind you, focus and slogans must move with the business I think its highly unlikely that “We’ll take more care of you” or “Worlds favourite airline” really represent the British Airways of 2010 in the eyes of their customers!!

So in the context of your own business are you fanatically focused on, what is it your business delivers to your customers?  Is your ideal customer at the very centre of your business?  Are you currently aligned to the ideal customer that you need to attract?  What is it that a customer really wants from you? Is it a product, is it the service or are you providing part of the delivery of a service to one of their clients?

You might want to think of the following that might help you really understand your offering;

• What sort and or type of customers do you really want to sell to? 
• What does my product really delivers to our customers or what pain does it take away from them?
• How does my customer feel once they have experienced or used my product or service?
• What do I really need to focus on to ensure I deliver my product on time and expectation?

Just as a footnote Carlsberg have been using  “Probably the best lager in the world” since 1973 and it has become synonymous with a slightly comedic lifestyle and lighthearted approach and is now very little to do with lager, who knows, a similar tagline could become synonymous with your business!

That’s it for now back soon with a look at adapting to change.

As Nike say, Just Do It!  To your success!

Simply Consulting provides business growth expertise to privately owned businesses, see our website at www.simply-consultancy.co.uk for details of our services and to arrange a free no obligation business development assessment.

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From Taking on the World to a Niche in one easy Journey!

It takes time to realise what your business offers and where you are aiming to sell your products or services and I think it struck me some months ago that this in one of the major challenges that faces new business owners when they start there new business.  For me it was a realisation when I was out networking, one of the common features of networking is the “elevator pitch” which gives you 30-60 seconds to tell other in a concise way what your business does and what your product or service offering is.

I saw in myself and others a confused pitch that lacked clarity and tended to lack clarity and for me it was brought home when someone said to me “Clive I’ve known you for some time but I’m still not clear on what it is that you do”.  Well that kind of feedback really does help focus the mind and get you thinking about what it is that you do?  That being said I have become quite adept with my experience to providing other help and support but when it comes to your own business why is it then so much more difficult?  Anyone would think that the person who knows your business best is you?

In the analysis most new start businesses try and sell to as wide an audience as possible so therefore maxmimising the sales opportunity.  So you would think?  The reality is that the “pitch” comes across as vague, unfocussed and generalist, rather than, concise, specific and aimed at a niche.  If I had my time again the first thing I would have written down about my own business is a 60 second elevator pitch before I wrote anything else!

One of the great connections I have made networking was meeting Dee Clayton of Dee Clayton.com.  Dee specialises is speaking and networking workshops and has some great ideas on how to structure a pitch to make it focused and precise, its well worth a trip to her website and look at the short video she has on networking pitches.

Every business will have a core product offering that has been carefully thought through and is the profitable engine room of the business.  You may also have a number of other products or services or adaption’s of your core product that you can also offer.  Well I’ve got news for you, no business can be “all things to all men” and the most difficult thing to do in your first year of business is to say “I’m sorry but I don’t’ have a suitable service or product for you” to a prospective customer or source of income!  Kind of understandable, when your sources of income are now much more unpredictable and unsure.  The fact is businesses that provide services to specific niches where you can clearly show your expertise, will in the long run proves to be much more lucrative, the main issue is being brave enough to restrict yourself to your proven niche.

That being said your experience will tell you whether or not there is the opportunity to develop your product or service offering to other markets, could you develop a “Lite” version of your service?  Could you tailor your offering to a specific niche where you can illustrate your specific skills and abilities?  If this is the case then you need to carefully assess the market potential and what customers in that market expectation area. 

A good source for this research is Google or Facebook ads as you can look at specific searches by type and demographic and in response you will be told how many potential people you have in your audience.  If the result is 3 then possibly you’ve been too specific, if the answer is 236,000 then its too broad but a market with 1-5,000 potential might mean a new market opportunity for you.  Make sure you also check out what competition you have and if your offering fills a “need gap” in the market.

Write an elevator pitch for your business, be concise, specific and if you can name the prospect clients you would like to meet.

Be very specific about the services you offer and the niches that you serve

Do your research into your chosen market and sasses if your offering is “me to” or is filling a need?

Continue to refine your offering to make it more specific focused and concise.

That’s it for now, next week we look at how to the business you are really in!

To your success! Have a good week.

Simply Consulting provides business growth expertise to privately owned businesses, see our website at www.simply-consultancy.co.uk for details of our services and to arrange a free no obligation business development assessment.

Follow us on twitter   http://twitter.com/SimplyConsultin

LinkedIn Profile   http://uk.linkedin.com/in/clivemulligan