Re: My big competitors sell the same brands -- Small Businesses Discussion Forum

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Subject: Re: My big competitors sell the same brands

Author:
Dennis S. Vogel

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Date Posted: 11:35:25 07/26/01 Thu
In reply to: Cassandra 's message, "My big competitors sell the same brands" on 12:25:13 07/25/01 Wed

Hi Cassandra:

Brands are important to some people and others will buy whatever is less expensive. There are other things that matter to people also.

I don't what kind of business you have, so let's concentrate on your location and what could be important about it.

Some of your competitors are probably further away from your prospective customers than you are. So you may be able to save people time and hassle in traffic.

If you have a ground level store with one floor and your competitors have stairs or slow elevators, shopping at your store may be more convenient. Especially if you have
products that appeal to people with joint pain (especially in their knees).

I don't mean to be sexist but let's try this. Other males and I tend to go into a store commando-style. We go in, get the mission done, then we get out quickly.

Some women tend to browse as they shop. That's the experience they want. I'm not judging them.

Do you have your store set up in a way that makes it easy to shop quickly? Or is it set up for browsing?

Is on one floor? The ground floor?

Are your competitors in the middle of a business district while your store is near a residential area?

NOTE- Don't think that if your store has been there for 20 years that everybody knows and remembers it's there. They don't. They don't own it so they think about many
other things that don't include your store.

Don't think that just because you advertise your message is received. It may not be understood. It may not be compelling to prospects. You may think it's great because it
pushes your hot buttons, but you're not your target market.

Let's try this buying criteria. I'm writing this in a way that I hope will appeal to some people, but it hasn't been tested. (You can adapt it to your business and test
it for effectiveness. Please read my posts about testing for an explanation.)

"In between working and your time off at home is your life as a commuter. You want to get home and enjoy the rest you deserve. But there are things you need at home.

"When you're on your way home from work, you're tired and possibly frustrated. You're not in the mood to shop. At Life's Necessities, you can shop quickly because everything
is easy to find and reach.

"The store is on one floor, you don't have to climb stairs or wait for elevators. We've even timed a some typical customers who agreed to test our system. Most of them were able to complete their usual shopping in 20 minutes. They told us that they're able to get to the store within 10 minutes from when they leave work. They get home five minutes after they leave the store.

"Your situation may be different, but it probably won't take you much more than 35 minutes to do your shopping after work. That is unless you want to browse for a while.
Our sales floor is set up so you can quickly find things that you need weekly, in just a few minutes. Things you need less often are set up so you have enough room to look at your own pace."

The criteria I wrote is 209 words long, so it's a bit long. You'd need to adapt and edit it for your situation.

If you want specific guidance, please contact me or post another message.

Dennis S. Vogel
thrivingbusiness@email.com
Your business will thrive, no matter who your competitors are, if you market it powerfully and do everything else correctly.
http://wz.com/business/SmallBizThriving.html
http://www.thrivingbusiness.homestead.com

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