Turning Up The Heat On Your Competitors: How To Create Market Winning Products

Introduction

In ArticleOne, I defined Marketing Strategy. In ArticleTwo, I showed you how to define your Ideal Client, how to identify Specific Unmet Needs and how to select your first Beachhead on which to do battle. Article Three demonstrated how to marginalize and sometimes even eliminate competitors by creating a Black Jellybean (differentiated) product and in Article Four I gave you a thorough introduction to the critical concept of Trickle Marketing (multiple lead generation sources).

Given the attention I’ve paid so far to creating competitive advantage, you may be forgiven for wondering why I am adding yet another part on that subject. The reason is simple: wars are won by relentless force. At no stage during a battle is there ever a time for smug self-satisfaction, arrogance or complacency.

And so it is with marketing. If you are seriously determined to dominate your competitors, if not eliminate them, then you need to relentlessly ensure that your products, people and processes are superior in the experience of your target clients.

The second reason I’m giving you another exercise on creating competitive advantage is that you will be one of two types of marketer and what you discover within this series will be more effective if I give you exercises that work for both types of marketers.

Scientists versus Artists

There is no doubt in my mind that, as a relatively “normal” person, you can become an effective marketer, provided you are committed to doing so.

But you’ll either have a bias towards being a “Marketing Scientist” or a “Marketing Artist”.

Like most things, it took me a long time to figure this out, but when the light bulb in my brain finally lit up, it cleared up a lot of confusion in terms of from whom I should continue to receive marketing education. Should I learn from the creative types or the more calculating ones? (The answer, of course, is both.)

It also helped me to understand why some of my clients listen to my ideas, follow my planning system and get great results whilst others listen to my ideas and ignore my planning system and … get great results.

Meet Emeritus Professor Malcolm McDonald (right) of www.malcolm-mcdonald.com . Malcolm is a Marketing Scientist. He’s been at the top of the corporate world as well as the top of the academic world, including having regularly lectured at some of the most prestigious universities in the world.

He’s got multiple degrees including a PhD, and below is just one of his 95 slides in a presentation on how to create a Marketing Plan:

I’ve deliberately blurred the image to protect Professor McDonald’s copyright however you get the general idea: it ain’t simple! Remember, too, that’s just one slide out of 95!

In my opinion the good professor is a genius who can (and does) go into an international corporate giant which has multiple vertical markets, each with multiple segmented product offerings, across 37 countries and cultures, competing against 111 competitors, and sort out a marketing plan for them. And the plan will work.

And now please meet another marketing legend, the irrepressibly charismatic Joey Reiman (left) who must, at time of writing, surely have one of the most graphically inspired websites at www.joeyreiman.com . (Check it out, seriously!).

Joey is a true Marketing Artist and every bit as much a genius as Malcolm. But he’s an artist who could no more cope than I could with the extraordinary complexity that Malcolm would lick his lips over.

Yet another great Marketing Scientist, the legendary Dr Philip Kotler called Joey Reiman “the Moses of Marketing”.

I know both Malcolm and Joey personally and I can assure you that you’d be hard pressed to find two different Marketers on the face of the planet.

Malcolm has a self-effacing sense of (British) humor whilst Joey is one of the best self-promoters (whilst adding value and with integrity) that I know.

And I suspect that if I could put them in the same room it wouldn’t take too long before they each started looking at their watches and thinking of a reason to excuse themselves.

The bottom line is this: both are extraordinarily successful marketers. And it’s my belief that the world of Marketing needs both. The Scientists examine and report on what works, based on what worked. The Artists predict what will work, based on what’s not working. One is a defender of the truth. The other creates a new (and equally valid) version of it.

If all we had were the Marketing Scientists, things in the marketing world would change very slowly indeed. It was German physicist Max Plank who declared that “Science advances funeral by funeral”. On the other hand, if marketing were left entirely to the Artists a great breakthrough would emerge out of the rubble of 100 disasters … but more frequently!

Note: Both Malcolm and Joey are made up of part Scientist and part Artist; it’s just that the percentages are weighted differently. I admire each greatly so please don’t imagine for a moment that either of them are deficient in any way, shape or form. Also, please don’t confuse “Artist” with B.S. Artist, of which there are, unfortunately, far too many in the world of marketing.

And here’s how this affects you

You’ll either have a Science-biased mind or a Creativity-biased mind. If you found some of the earlier information on creating competitive advantage hard to understand you’ll find the exercise in this part easier. And vice-versa.

Figuring out how to beat your competitors … a more scientific approach

You can figure out how to create a better product by mind mapping (above is a sample of one I created when planning this series), doodling or brainstorming. These methods are more suited to the artists because they are less structured but they are all legitimate methods and ones I use regularly.

Segmenting your market

Segmenting your market means breaking your whole market place down into sub-categories. Note that you can not only segment your market, you can segment a process into a series of systems, you can segment a person’s role and you can segment a value delivery process and so on. Segmenting simply means breaking a whole thing into its component parts.

For example, a company supplying dental equipment nationwide may have market segments that include regular dentists, dental nurses, denture laboratories, holistic dentists, cosmetic dentists.

And one could further segment the market into CBD practices, suburban, rural, owner-operated, publicly listed dental chains and so on.

Each of these segments is likely to have needs in common with the others but it’s equally likely that they will have some needs or preferences that are different.

For example, the premium-priced cosmetic dental surgeon needs high-end fancy bits and pieces (perhaps not the right technical jargon  ) compared to the government subsidized (read “underpaid, overworked”) dentist that works in an Aboriginal settlement in outback Australia. They belong to the same marketplace (Dentists) but work in different segments.

Different segments, and therefore different needs.

Segmentation is a very cunning method for figuring out product features that are different and more desirable to your Ideal Clients.

And it’s very unusual for a business to have only one segment. Take the example of a very simple business: a residential lawn mowing contractor owned by Sam. She may think that she only has one segment: people who have lawns that they don’t want to mow.

But her segments may include retired people who want her to use a catcher and trim all of the edges and cut the hedges every single time and are prepared to pay more to make sure their visitors are impressed that not a single blade of grass or leaf is out of place.

There may also be young families who only want their lawns done during the week between 9 and 3 when the kids are at school. Then she will have the landlords who simply want a decent job done at a low price and to heck with catching the grass.

Different segments, different needs. Segmentation is a great way to figure out how to differentiate your products so that you have more appeal to your Ideal Clients.

Action item #1

Make a list of the three most important segments in your market place. You can segment by gender, age, religious beliefs, location, height, weight, income, industry … the list goes on.

A simple description of each “Ideal Client” (see Part One of this series) by segment is what I’m wanting.

For example in a recent Strategic Planning exercise I completed for a university post-graduate school I identified the following segments (I’ve changed the numbers and description a little to preserve my client’s anonymity):

#1: 65% of all graduates were female and so segment number one was females with less than 2 years practice who needed a lot of support and guidance whilst they gained experience. (Note they needed the support not because they were female but because they were inexperienced.)

#2: 60% of professionals worked in multi-partner firms located in large or regional cities and most did not mind travelling to post graduate education events and generally had someone else who could cover for them whilst at an event.

#3: 32% of graduates were sole practitioners and/or worked in rural areas. Either way, travelling and time off work was problematic and these people preferred online educational events after work where they could gain continuing education credits.

That’s three segments, all with the same need for continuing education, but all wanting that education delivered in significantly different ways and at different times.

Note: I use the word “product” to include a “service” or an “offering” etc. The concepts of differentiation and segmentation are equally valid to all types of value offerings.

Step Two: Identify each segment’s needs and score yourself and major competitors

The following is a “Segmented Needs” spreadsheet for a Veterinarian client.

You can probably figure out the formulas I’ve used. For example cell D6 is the result of C5 multiplied by D5 (8 x 9 = 72). You’ll note that row D (“You”) scores 330 on the Total Competitiveness Score” (row 16) compared to the “Corp Comp” (short for “Corporate Competitor” and “NH Vets” (another privately owned clinic).

In the example my client is charging more than her competitors (see row 13) but remains more competitive for the segment overall because she is targeting “Pet Parents” who want a trusted relationship with the same Vet each time they come into the clinic. This is as opposed to the corporate competitor who appears to have some sort of revolving door policy for their Vets.

Marketing Scientists love this exercise. However, any of us can do it relatively easily. Just sit down and knock up a spread sheet (get your teenage kid or tech-head friend to do it if you can’t) and list the top needs, wants, preferences of your most important segment from the action item on the previous page.

Action item #2

Score yourself and your competitors as objectively as you can in each of your top three segments. You really do not need to undertake massive surveys or hire industrial spies or mystery shoppers for this. It can be useful however to anonymously sample your competitors premises, product and service if possible (sneaky but fun). Refer to Article Two “Specific Unmet Needs” if you need some fresh ideas.

Step Three: List things that need to happen in order to improve your score

Everything we’ve done so far has been Marketing Strategy. Now it time for Marketing Tactics. The best strategy in war, sport or business is useless until it’s well executed.

This is the time for the mind-mapping, brainstorming and doodling. Do this on your own and with your team. Ask each person to come up with one idea to improve each of the five most important Needs/Values. Listen carefully to complaints and frequent requests from clients. Refer back to Articles One and Two also.

For example my Veterinarian client requires all team members to know at least the names of the pets that are due to come into the clinic, and preferably also the name of the Pet Parent. Team members are asked to greet each pet like it’s a long lost friend and generally make the pets (and vicariously, the owners) feel loved and cared for.

Action item #3

Gaining and maintaining competitive advantage needs to be systemized. You can do this by scheduling several regular events.

Firstly, at least once per year send out a simple survey form to each client and ask them to rank each Need/Value on a scale from one to ten. Include stamped, self-addressed envelopes or do it via a service such as www.surveymonkey.com . Collate the results and compare each survey with the previous ones to ensure you are improving.

Next, hold a meeting for your team at the start of a month, immediately after work. Provide foods and drinks and present results and highlights from the previous month/s. Ask each team member for one idea that will improve the ranking of any of the top five Needs/Values. You don’t have to do this every month but perhaps every second or third time.

Thirdly, create systems for training and reminding each team member of things that need to be done to maintain competitiveness in the keys Needs/Values. Charts, checklists, signs, team meetings, and performance review meetings are all a part of this process.

Lastly, walk the talk. For example, be as friendly to your team as you want them to be to your clients (probably don’t pat them on the head or stoke them, though ). In other words “be the change you want to see” by demonstrably living the desired behavior every day. That’s true leadership and it leads to a revolution in competitive advantage.