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Marketing Budgets:
How to Run With the Big Dogs...Even With an Underdog
Marketing Budget!
"How do I gain an advantage in my market when it seems like
all of my competitors can outspend me by at least double or
more?"
This is one of the main questions I hear from our customers,
and it's something that businesses everywhere struggle with--not just
small businesses, but any company that is not the leader in their
category. (Think Pepsi or Burger King--both have large marketing and
advertising budgets, but they are not the category leader, and they are
routinely outspent by their larger rivals.)
In order to compete effectively, your marketing needs to be
DIFFERENT and BETTER than your competition. By "better" I don't mean
that you need to spend a fortune on your advertising. You do need to
reach your audience BETTER than your competition, and you can do
that--even on a relatively small marketing budget.
Start by THINKING DIFFERENTLY--what ways can you market to
your target customers or gain publicity that are DIFFERENT than other
companies in your industry?
A locally owned ice cream shop in Bloomington created a stir
when they opened their location by sending a press release to just about
every celebrity they could think of announcing the opening of their new
business. "Scoops" was overwhelmed by the responses they got from close
to 400 "personalities" with autographed pictures inscribed with "good
luck on your new venture" messages. The walls in their shop are adorned
with these framed celebrity photos providing a great "buzz-factor" for a
new, privately owned business.
A small lingerie company in New York didn't have the budget
to compete with their big-spending rival, Victoria's Secret. They
realized they needed to THINK DIFFERENTLY so they came up with a crafty
marketing campaign. They couldn't afford New York's high media prices,
so they stenciled their message (with environmentally-safe, washable
paints) on sidewalks outside the convention center and other
high-traffic areas:
"From here, it looks like you could use some new underwear."
Risky? Yes. Edgy? You bet. Did it work? Absolutely! Not only
did consumers see it, but also the press noticed it, and hundreds of
articles were written all over the world about Bamboo Lingerie. You just
can't buy publicity like that!
It's not enough to just "be different" though--you need to
reach your customers BETTER than your competition too.
A small bank was looking for ways to attract new customers.
They realized the impact that the fear of identity theft was having,
with lots of stories in the media, bills before congress, newspaper
articles and television commercials all talking about "identity theft."
They capitalized on this ongoing discussion by hosting a
"shredding event" at their local branch banks. Customers were invited to
bring in all of their old bank, credit card and utility statements and
have them shredded while they watched, protecting their identity while
learning about the bank and its services.
They partnered with a local office supply company to bring in
shredding machines and a local restaurant to cater the event. They
issued press releases to the newspapers and handed out flyers to their
existing customers. Once word got out about the event, the local
newspaper ran a story about the event and the local news station did a
spot on it as well.
For the cost of a few hundred flyers and a press release, the
bank earned tremendous goodwill with the community, got great coverage
in the newspaper and television and increased their new customer
sign-ups that month by over 50%!
Start thinking today of ways that YOU can market DIFFERENTLY
and BETTER than your competition, and run with the big dogs...even
without a huge marketing budget!
Entrepreneur and outdoor photography adventurer Caroline
Melberg is President and CEO of Melberg Marketing, Inc., a full-service
virtual Marketing Communications Agency. She has over 20 years of
experience creating marketing communications materials and writing copy
for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. She
publishes the popular eZine, "Blue Chip Tips: The Secrets of Blue Chip
Marketing...Revealed!"
Get
your FREE subscription at
www.MELBERG.COM Caroline Melberg may be contacted at
http://www.melberg.com
http://www.melberg.com or
mailto:carolinemelberg@hotmail.com
carolinemelberg@hotmail.com
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