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What changes in marketing will make or break your business?
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/article/articles/544/1/What-changes-in-marketing-will-make-or-break-your-business/Page1.html
Jeremy L. Knauff
Jeremy L. Knauff entered the United States Marine Corps immediately after high school, leaving at the rank of Sergeant to pursue new challenges after four years of honorable service. He then spent the next several years in marketing and advertising positions with various companies throughout Florida. He currently resides in South Tampa, where he manages Wildfire Marketing Group, a marketing company that specializes in helping small companies to compete with the bigger companies and win. Wildfire marketing group offers website design, graphic design as well as a variety of other marketing services. 
By Jeremy L. Knauff
Published on 01/26/2008
 

More companies will begin to participate in open dialogue on a variety of business issues, such as pricing, innovation and service. Forward thinking business owners and managers are realizing that they can not hide from their competitors.

What changes in marketing will make or break your business?

Businesses will become more transparent.

More companies will begin to participate in open dialogue on a variety of business issues, such as pricing, innovation and service. Forward thinking business owners and managers are realizing that they can not hide from their competitors. Take a look at the insurance industry for example. When you visit the websites of most major insurance companies today, you can find not only their rates, but also the rates of competing companies. This transparency also extends to problems. The days of a few upset or dissatisfied customers being able to cause a finite amount of negative buzz about your company are long gone as the internet has given them the tools to destroy a brand in less time than it took you to build it. DreamHost knew this and took a proactive approach when pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong by letting their customers know what exactly what was happening and what they were doing to correct it. Rather than trying to shift blame, they took responsibility and were very public about it and this helped them to turn a potentially crippling situation into a situation where they could show their customers that they really cared and would put forth the effort needed to fix their problems.

Businesses will become more focused

Niche businesses will become more common, and more importantly, more profitable than ever before. This is largely due to the power of the internet, allowing consumers the ability to find unusual products, as depicted in the latest Ask.com television commercials. In the past, businesses were forced to offer a wide variety of products because they could only serve a specific geographic range based on their retail location. Additional sales had to be generated via direct mail, radio or television advertising, each of which required a significant investment. Now you can have a website developed, implement a modest internet marketing campaign and reach the consumers most interested in what you have to offer all over the world through the major search engines. This intense focus allows you to get started with a smaller investment, reach a more passionate prospect who is more likely to convert to a customer and earn a larger market share more easily. It also make it easier to analyze your industry, your results and new trends so that you can make more effective business decisions.

Cross media marketing will become critical

No man is an island. Likewise, no single marketing channel is the answer to your marketing needs. All of the television advertising in the world will only do so much for your business because over time, people will become numb to it. The same goes for any medium. For example, most outdoor advertising companies will recommend their clients to move their billboard ads to different locations after several months because over time, people will become accustomed to seeing the ad and will begin to block it out. This isn’t the only factor in play here though. The other reason you need to utilize a blend of marketing channels to promote your business is because we live in a time-fragmented world today. With cell phones, email, TiVo and incredibly busy lives, prospects can’t be effectively reached in the same ways that used to be possible. On top of that, your competitors (as well a millions of other unrelated companies) are constantly bombarding the same prospects with their marketing messages, so you need to stay at the forefront of their mind – which means being everywhere. Ideally, you should utilize at least three to six channels to reach your prospects. For example, you could develop a campaign consisting of organic search engine optimization, online advertising, email marketing, direct mail marketing, and radio advertising, which would allow you to reach your prospects on their way to and from work, when they visit their favorite websites, when they check their email, use a search engine and even when they arrive at home.

Pricing models will change dramatically

Two distinct pricing models will thrive; extremely exclusive pricing and extremely competitive pricing. Consumers will look for one of two things, either something which they will gladly pay a premium for (Starbucks has done an outstanding job at this) or something that they view as a commodity and want the lowest possible price (E-Trade, for example). The middle ground will become no man’s land. The businesses that succeed will be those that determine where they stand and position themselves accordingly. If you need help deciding exactly how to position your company, you should read Blue Ocean Strategy and Trading Up.