Andrew Zappavigna
Creating Your Market Dominating Position (Part 1) - A Five Step Differentiation Process
Effective and compelling communication is essential to the success of any business.
To help you get started on knowing and understanding the critical fundamentals required when building a successful business you will learn how to...
- differentiate your business from your competition.
- stake out a "market dominating position" for your business.
- discover five ways to separate your business from all others in your industry.
- learn the 3 categories that will make your business unique.
Create Your Market Dominating Position
Businesses, generally, are established in response to market demand for a product or service.
What happens when that demand slows or stops?
What happens when the competition sets up shop with a “new and improved” version of your product down the road?
How do you keep your offering fresh while growing and maintaining your client base?
The answer: innovate your business and offer extraordinary value by creating a “market dominating position”.
Choice and Differentiation
Every choice you make when buying a product or a service represents a point of differentiation between one company and their competitors.
Why did Dominos become a billion dollar behemoth in an overcrowded market in just a few years?
I'm certain it's because they didn't offer the EXACT SAME pizza as ALL of their competitors!
They talked directly to their target market - and made sure they 'got the message'.
They created a market dominating position... which was fast hot pizza, targeted specifically for hungry college kids.
All acheived without a *hint* of nutrition being part of their marketing message (or value proposition).
I mean, what kind of college kid cares about nutrition when bunking down for exams, when they're hungry, just got home from the college party, and can't be a@#$'d cooking, right?
Hungry + Can't Be Bothered Cooking + Need it Now = 1300Domino's.
Simple.
What, if anything makes your business different from your competitors as perceived by your targeted prospects and customers?
For the vast majority of businesses that answer is price Market Dominating Position.
Nike offers a wide range of shoe, apparel and equipment products, all of which are currently best sellers globally.
And yet Target sells an excellent imitation for around $40… but Nike outsells them by more than 10 to 1.
Starbucks coffee… their typical customer spends between $3.50 to $4.00 on every visit.
That’s around 4X higher than any of their competition.
Obviously low price isn’t the driving force here.
These top selling companies have staked out a specific and targeted market dominating position.
Nike’s position revolves around being the best athlete, being hip and in stylish (on trend)… along with the perception of quality.
Starbucks position - delicious hand-crafted beverages which they claim is the secret to making life better.
A Combination of Benefits
When you create your own market dominating position, you will consistently get businesses and individuals to choose your business over your competitors.
A “market dominating position” is any value-added customer perceived benefit, or a combination of benefits, that differentiates you from your competitors... and does so in a strong enough manner that it makes your business the logical choice in the minds of your prospects and customers.
A dry cleaner that offers pick-up and delivery would be the only logical choice for anyone that values convenience.
The key is to create added value in everything you do.
Prospects and customers DON’T buy based on price... they buy based on the value they receive for the price they pay.
Creating added value is a strategy that can take the form of a product or service that’s added to your original offering for free or as part of a discounted package.
Revisit the value you offer, or your customers will be drawn to your competitor who consistently innovate their business so they offer exceptional value that you don’t
Everyone can add value to their business. The key to adding value is determining what your customers and target market perceive as valuable.
Understand their needs, wants, troubles and inconveniences. Adding value will also add to your profits.
Added value works for product and service-based businesses.
5 Step Differentiation Process
Step #1... determine your strategic position in the market
What specific niche market or segment of the marketplace should your business focus on?
Determining this involves combining the skills your business has with the unmet needs of your targeted prospects and then designing your product or service to fulfill those needs.
Step #2... determine your primary market dominating position
This is the most dominating advantage that separates you from your competitors.
Domino’s claimed it could deliver its pizza in 30 minutes or less... or they would give it to you for FREE!
This was the primary advantage that met the needs of their newly defined market position – hungry college kids that wanted food fast.
Step #3... determine your supporting business model
How will you specifically deliver what your strategic position and primary market dominating position promises?
What changes, if any do you need to consider making to your business to ensure you deliver consistently on your position and your promise?
Domino’s built low cost, plain vanilla stores strategically located near college campuses and hired additional delivery staff and drivers on a stand-by basis.
Step #4... determine your secondary market dominating position
What additional competitive advantages does your business offer that your customers will perceive as being different from your competition?
Domino’s secondary benefits might include special pricing, assorted sizes, a much broader selection of toppings or additional menu items.
Step #5... create your market dominating position statement or elevator pitch
This is a statement you create by combining steps 1 – 4.
This helps you to state unequivocally what differentiates you from your competitors to your target market.
An expanded version of this might say: “Domino’s provides busy customers with fresh hot pizza and other food items within 30 minutes or less.
Our assorted pizza offerings combined with our value pricing makes Domino’s affordable to everyone”.
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