Loughborough

#21 – 24th June 2008

Do your customers know what you do?

What do you have written on the back of your business cards? Sometimes you can really get some clarity on what a business does by the few words that it is possible to fit on the back of a business card. In their eagerness to set out a broad list of services some businesses fall into a common trap. They claim to be experts in too many things.

Many businesses, especially those in their first stage of development, try to offer too many things to too many people. They fail to specialise, with the result that their prospects become confused as to what they offer (and to whom).

Why is this important?

That wonderful and complex filing system, the human brain, works on a system of associations. We need to know what something is like before we can index it. On-line and paper directories are organised around these things. Good old yellow pages are a classic example. Finding a business is much easier when you know which category it is in.

Most successful businesses have a real understanding of what is special about them – what their Niche is. Niche marketing is all about narrowing your focus... specialising... establishing yourself as the expert in a tightly focussed range of products or services.

Your niche is the place in which you have a natural competitive advantage because you occupy the right place in the right business ecosystem.

Know what you do

Before your customers and prospects can easily work out what you do, you must be clear in your own mind about your lead offer. This is easier for some than for others but is always worth the effort.

Express what you do in one line

If you need to qualify and explain, then you may still leave your prospects in doubt as to where your real expertise lies.

The good news

You do not have to turn away work that is not totally within your declared specialism (as long as you stick to work for which you are qualified). If you are busy, there may be a justification for starting to be fussy – perhaps using price as the mechanism to discriminate.

The point is to refine your proposition to the market so that clients and potential clients can label you. When people can label your business, they are much more likely to enquire about your products and services. What really counts is your passion and consistency in promoting your core products and services to your chosen target customers.

Be brave

If business starts to fall off, it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming a generalist again. Your specialism may need to be refined, but having the courage to stay specialised will pay.

Paul Fileman MIET CEng MCIM
Chartered Marketer
paul.fileman@talktosps.com
Tel:  01509 854447
Mob: 07969 188820
www.talktosps.com