Marketing Strategies

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:21:41 EST

Before you conclude that no one could say a thing about the subject you haven't heard already, give me a second or two here. My last post showed that even Bill Gates sometimes loses sight of his marketing. (Remember, the disaster he had in China.) In that instance, he went forth with his sales force blindly assuming that anyone sitting in front of a computer daily would be willing to be the usual rate for his software.

That erroneous assumption for anyone else might have meant bankruptcy. Our market niches are changing constantly. One can't pick up the business section without seeing worrisome souls anticipating dismal conclusions to the slowdown in the housing industry as well as other investment niches.

All of this comes down to one basic. What did work in a given market segment is now creating havoc. As much as these changes are publicized, it never ceases to amaze the many who are testing the waters of the business world but have failed to define their niche at all, let alone be capable of shifting in the future.

One can, believe it not, pick up a few business hints from the summer reality show dealing with the inventors who are sure their product is going to be the next big thing. The judge from England asked one of the finalists to define her market. They awarded each finalist $50k to help develop their product. This woman had a design for a bra that worked with a backless dress. She had samples made, hired models but failed to find out how many women would be willing to buy her product. She should also have found out how much they were willing to spend. She was faulted for this and ended up in second place. She won a contract with Maidenform, who would consequently be stuck with the burden of doing it for her.

I ran into two writers recently who were contemplating two very large, but different projects. One gave me a very general description of what he saw as the target audience. The other had the project completed with his partner. When I asked him what market they were contemplating selling to first, his answer was astonishing. It really shouldn't have been after all the years I have been doing this, but I was taken aback nevertheless. "We are still debating that question."

So my point is very simple. You can't have a successful marketing strategy if you have been lackadaisical about defining your market to begin with. Successful marketing is and always will be the key. Neglect it and don't be surprised when bankruptcy court comes calling.

TRCB.com RSS Feed

Marketing Strategies