digital marketing – how to use it to beat large competitors
TRANSCRIPT
How to Use Digital Marketing to Beat Large Competitors
Christopher Ryan, CEO
Small Fish…Big Fish
Being a smaller fish in a pond full of big fish can be a daunting position.
So be the Underdog
…because…
You’re a Mystery to the Competition
Your competitor probably doesn’t
know you as well as you know them.
You can pivot on a dime where it takes the big
company much longer.
You can also often…
Pivot on a Dime
Fly Under the Radar
Implement new targeting, messaging
and media before they know you exist.
You vs. Them
YouThem
vs.
From a digital marketing standpoint, here are some of the options you have when
faced with larger competitors:
1. Give Up?
Strategic Retreat
No, I am not being funny here.
The competitor can have so much marketing firepower (dollars and people) that you
have little chance of moving the needle in your
favor.
In such cases, a strategic retreat is not such a bad
idea.
2. Compete on Price
This strategy usually backfires. It makes you out to be a ‘commodity’ player
and you still don’t get a fraction of the mindshare
of the big company.
3. Take a Direct Approach
Analyze the competitor’s weakness and attack this
loudly and publicly.
It can work because an industry giant might issue a new release that has more
bugs than new features.
4. Be a Specialist, Not a Generalist
This is the niche marketing, “go where they aren’t”
strategy and it is the one that I usually recommend.
Understand the Battlefield
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred
battles.”
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a
defeat.”
Sun Tzu: The Art of War
“If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will
succumb in every battle.”
So How is Your Competitor Using Digital Marketing?
Discover what are they saying…
…to whom and onwhich media?
For clients, we often do in-depth research on our their competitors’ usage of both paid and non-paid media.
Helps us target our efforts where the opportunity is
strong and the other company is
weakest.
We also take a close look at what is being said in cyberspace about our product
and/or services area.
Select Your Media Carefully
Choose a few that you can really focus on…
…instead of being very shallow in many media.
•Highly relevant content related to its niche market (including consistent blogging).
•Compelling landing pages that convert at over two times the industry average.
•Tightly targeted (and long-tail) pay-per-click promotions with a cost-per-click (CPC) of about 40% of what competitors are paying for more generic search terms.
•LinkedIn content, company and showcase pages, and sponsored InMail.
We put of the efforts (and budget) in just four areas of digital marketing:
A B2B Client Example
About Fusion Marketing Partners
Christopher Ryan, CEO
We Do This:
Brand building/messaging
Website optimization
Content creation
Digital Marketing
Lead Generation
You Get This:
Much greater levels of awareness
Higher quantities of qualified leads
Ability to generate faster revenue
Lots more information at:
http://FusionMarketingPartners.com/
http://Greatb2BMarketing.com (blog)