The Competition Doesn't Count!?!?!?

This old refrain popped up recently while I was interviewing for a consulting project. When asked about his competition and their impact in the marketplace, the business owner told me his philosophy: “The competition doesn't matter. Just do a good job, and the customers will come to you.”

I've heard this line before, and my response is 3 simple words:

Ba. Lo. Ney!

This attitude harkens back to a simpler, more gentile business environment. During the Eisenhower administration, maybe. But that was long ago.


Today, Your Competition Most Definitely Matters.

It sets the parameters for the conversation you have with your customers. Every one of your sales prospects has an idea of the products available in the market, and their price. Where do they get all of that information? From your competition.

• They listen to the ads,
• research their websites,
• and talk to their sales people.

If your competitors offer a similar product to yours for about $100, and you are priced at $120, your customers will be asking questions.

If the competitors have the product in stock, but you need 4 days to deliver, your customers will expect you to have a solid reason for doing things differently.

If the competition allows people to place their orders over the web, but you make them come in and talk to a sales person, your customers will want to know why.

The buying public won't allow you to operate within a vacuum. They'll evaluate everything you do in the context of what the competition does.

I read a great line recently: “we live in the age of transparency”. That is absolutely true in the sales environment. Your customers are familiar with your competition, their products, services and prices. And that frames the conversation when you begin your sales pitch.

So how do you operate effectively in this atmosphere? You need to arm yourself with two critical sets of information:

1. An understanding of your primary competition, and how they are viewed by the buying public.
2. Some key points of differentiation that will help your prospect see you in a different light, and perhaps justify increased margins.

Those two statements are simple to write, but might take a small business years to master. However, in them lies the difference between being a top contender in the marketplace and being just an also-ran. The competition sets the parameters of the game. How well-equipped are you for the challenge?

Practical Tip of the Day:

• Don't ignore the competition; embrace the challenge.
• Do a “shelf-space” analysis of your competitors, inside the head of your customer base. Do some extensive interviews with customers and prospects. (If you are the Boss, do this yourself. Don't delegate!)
• Figure out why you aren't considered at the top of the list, and develop a plan for the next 12 months.

HOWEVER, don't try to become #1 by mimicking the current #1. But more about that later.

Avoiding the 2 B's of Advertising- Part 1

In the next two postings, I will discuss some highly technical marketing terms:

Baloney, and Bumph

These two examples of bad copy writing appear far too often, and afflict all kinds of advertising.

We will start with Baloney, which is a polite way of saying:

• lies,
• half-truths,
• exaggerations,
• distortions,
• falsehoods,
• fabrications,
• deceits,
• fictions,
• hyperbole,
• and plain, old B. S.

Readers quickly identify this material and recognize it for what it is. And once a reader picks out something considered Baloney, they disregard the other claims in the advertising.

So, why are these types of statements used so often?

I'll answer that question in a moment. First, lets look at some examples of commonly-used marketing Baloney:

• Fastest Service in Town
• Lowest Price Anywhere
• Friendliest Service in the City
• If elected, I will lower your taxes
• As Mayor, I promise to represent all of the voters
• I've never done this sort of thing before
• Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Sale Extended due to Overwhelming Demand
• This may be your last chance to get rates this low

Some of these examples are from business advertising, some are from the political arena, and some are heard on the social scene. They all have something in common, however the audience thinks of them as Baloney!

Here is a critical point in this discussion. It doesn't really matter whether the statement is true or not. It only matters that the listener thinks it to be false, or at least highly suspect. That's what defines a statement as Baloney.

Now, back to the earlier question. Why do these statements appear so often in small business advertising? Four reasons come to mind:

• The businessman thinks the customers are rather stupid; the least likely scenario.
• The owner has come to believe his own advertising (has drunk the Kool-Aid, so to speak).
• The copy writer is just too lazy to create effective copy.
• The statements may actually be true, but are unsupported.

This last option is rather common. The advertising claims are true, but aren't automatically believed by the audience and are classified as Baloney. As a consequence, the whole ad becomes tainted.

How do you address this problem?

If you are going to use a statement that a skeptical audience might find hard to believe, add some support.

Instead of:      We have the best sandwiches in town.
Try:                Winner of Daily Gazette's Most Popular Sandwich Award three years running.

Instead of:      Fastest Service in Town.
Try:                In and Out in 10 minutes, or it's free.

Instead of:       Lowest rates available.
Try:                 If you find a lower advertised rate, we will match it.

You can see the point here. Make a statement that the public can believe, and that they think is credible. Don't just blow smoke. They will see through it every time. It doesn't make sense to pay for expensive advertising media, and then send a message that isn't believable.

Baloney is everywhere, and it is a huge waste of advertising dollars. Don't let it waste yours!

In our next post, we will discuss the other “B” you should avoid: Bumph.

Practical Tip of the Day:

• Look through your marketing materials, and tweeze out statements that could be considered suspect.
• If a statement has some real positive impact, find a way to support it.
• Tighten up your copy, add some more credibility, and you will gain the public's trust.