The Edge Marketing

If yours is a small business and you have big or even huge competitors, you may be laying awake at night wondering how can you possibly beat them. You can't out-advertise them, or out-promote them, and you probably won't be able beat to its prices. For example, think about a small business whose biggest competitor is Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Amazon.com or some other huge retailer. Is there any way to compete successfully against these Goliaths?

My answer is to use marketing judo.

As you may know judo was developed many hundreds of years ago as a means of self-defense. But did you know that much of judo is based on the concept of using the opponent's strengths against him? One example of this is when the attacker pushes against an opponent. The opponent simply steps aside and (usually with the aid of a foot), uses the opponent's own momentum to throw him forward.

The lesson for the smart marketer is to first analyze the competitions’ strengths and then develop strategies that will turn these strengths into points of attack.

But first, let's talk about strategies. Many small businesses think that strategic planning consists of developing an overall strategy (or set of strategies) and sticking to these strategies for the entire length of the marketing plan – be it six months, a year or even longer. In truth, your strategies should be designed to meet existing conditions and then changed whenever conditions change or you discover new competitive weaknesses.

How does all this work in practice? Let's get back to the Wal-mart example. You will never beat Wal-mart in head-on competition. Let's look at some of Wal-mart's strengths:

· It offers a huge variety of merchandise – everything from women's apparel to household electrics, and flat panel TVs to fine jewelry.

· It has large stores (in some cases, super stores) almost everywhere.

· It has a very sophisticated system for purchasing products and controlling inventory.

So how can we use marketing judo to turn these strengths against the giant retailer?

First, because Wal-mart offers a huge variety of merchandise, its inventory may be wide but it generally isn't very deep. Back in Nebraska we used to describe the Platte River as a mile wide and an inch deep. You could almost describe Wal-marts inventory the same way. Go into a Wal-mart store and check, for example, the depth of its inventory of computer products or golf equipment. . Chances are, you'll find only a few dozen computer products, and even fewer golf-related items.

So the smart marketer uses marketing judo to turn Wal-mart's breadth of inventory into a weakness by picking a niche and then beating Wal-mart with depth of inventory. For example, a computer store could promote itself as having more software titles or a wider variety of peripherals than any super store in the area.

Now, let's consider the second point. Wal-mart has large stores almost everywhere. How does marketing judo turn this into a weak point? Wal-mart's sheer size translates into some real advantages, especially in the area of volume buying – which is why it can sell so cheap. But Wal-mart's huge size makes it difficult for the company to implement change quickly. I once read that when the captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier issues the command to turn 60 degrees starboard, it takes about five miles before the ship actually begins to turn. I suspect the same thing is true of Wal-mart.

In comparison, a small business should be able to just about turn on a dime or in just a few weeks. Let's take technology as an example. Right now, one of the hottest merchandise categories in America is accessories for Apple's iPod. If you have a small electronics business – either online or brick-and-mortar – you should be able to track down the distributors of these products and have them in you store in a few weeks or less. On the other hand, Wal-mart, with its size and labyrinth of buyers and buying regulations, it might take months to get the same products on its shelves.

Finally, Wal-mart might have hundreds of more employees, but its employees are usually not well trained in specific product features and benefits. Again, take golf as an example. Walk into a Wal-mart store, go to sporting goods and say to the nearest employee, “Hi, I'm a 18 handicap golfer with a tendency to slice my drives. What would you suggest?”

Well, my guess is that what you'll get in return is a blank stare.

This represents another opportunity for marketing judo. Keep your number of employees small but make sure they are super-trained to understand your customers and your products' features and benefits.

As Sun Tzu points out in his classic treatise The Art of War, "You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of your enemy."

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