The Edge Marketing

Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank method for creating a theme and positioning statement for your business. I prefer to use his same system for creating clarity for myself in what I'm selling, creating an elevator or introduction speech, and also material for my website, brochures and business card.

Using this same method for each niche I have also keeps me focused and on target for where I am going and what comes first. I know it will do the same for you. As a public speaker, I also like to use the same exercise to create a one-line message for each workshop or engagement. This way the participants and I start from the same page. I like to say it provides the tree trunk that all the branches stem from.

This exercise is designed to be simple and achievable in 15 minutes. However, if this seems somewhat daunting, see if your beliefs are still in the clouds of wanting to deliver too much to too many to soon. If this is the case, there is a great book I recommend that will support you in narrowing down: Niche and Grow Rich, by Jennifer and Peter Sander. This book will support you understanding the market place you want to enter and in narrowing your thoughts.

Exercise

For ___________________________
(Hints: Who is your target customer, your niche? Is there a geographic relevance? If so, add it. Examples: Seniors, women business owners, teens between 13 and 18. If a specific geographic area: Writers in the Washington DC metro area.)

Who ___________________________
(Hints: This is where you qualify your target customer and time of need. Examples: Who are obese. Who are 62 and older. Who own a business. Who are in high school and take music.)

Our product/service is ____________________________
(Hints: What is your product or the service? Our product is a line of workshops. Our service is training. Our service is executive coaching. Our service is training or engineering or accounting.)

That provides ______________________________
(Hints: What are your key features of this product/service? What are the major benefits of this product or service? What are the tradeoffs? That provides shortcuts (software training) at a discount/premium price. That contains no chemicals. That contains no hidden costs. That contains no markups. That contains life support.)

Unlike ____________________________________
(Hints: Who are your competitors? What are the products not serving the needs of this particular niche? Unlike other retail sellers, which have.... Unlike store-bought goods, these.... Unlike other coaches.... Unlike other workshops....)

Our product/service _______________________________
(Hints: Your product/service serves this niche by doing what? Our product/service helps this group increase their personal leadership skills. Our product/service helps this group overcome.... Our product/service helps this group reap the rewards of....

Taking This Forward

Once you have completed this exercise, whether it is for your overall business theme or better yet a narrower one, you can move this information forward into all your marketing information.

Create a paragraph with this information, then edit and refine the language so that it fits your customer’s reading style. This is especially important if your style is different. Each word you use has an energy attached to it. This energy either detracts or attracts customers.

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