Woolworths the Fresh, Affordable, Easily Located Food People
This blog calls for a little audience participation. Grab a pen if you have one handy, or just think the answers to yourself within 5 seconds.
Don’t answer on opinion. Answer on marketing and common perceptions.
Ready?
Answer each of these questions with a brand who hold this thought in the market.
1. A safe car
2. Really fast food
3. Fresh food store
4. A prestige car
5. 24 hour courier
6. The coolest mp3 player
7. Basket ball shoes that give you extra airtime
8. Fried Chicken
9. An Australian airline
10. The original denim jeans
11. An ice cream store with lots of flavours
12. Affordable furniture
13. The best colour TV
14. A refreshing soft drink
Now answers vary on geography a little bit, but chances are, 95% of people would answer: 1. Volvo 2. McDonalds 3. Woolworths 4. Mercedes 5. Fed Ex 6. iPod 7. Nike 8. KFC 9. Qantas 10. Levis 11. Baskin Robbins 12. Ikea 13. Sony 14. Coke
This is not a coincidence. Its the result of branding. These companies have gotten so far because they have concentrated on ONE benefit, unique difference of their product, and drilled it in through all their marketing and advertising. Sure, Qantas might have really nice planes, Volvo might have good fuel economy, Ikea might have nice design - but that all comes secondary.
So why is it when you see a small business, they have tag lines like “providing your business with printing, graphic, and online solutions”?
You can’t be everything to everyone, AND expect to be a market leader. You need to think of the ONE word that describes what you do, and use 3-7 words to describe it. Avoid using words like “unique”, “specialists”, “solutions”, “leaders” and other overused cliches. These have lost all meaning. If you are that print shop owner, how about saying “we make you look good”, or “its where the pros go”. Maybe you can be a bit cheeky and tell people if Picasso wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t waste his time with oil and canvas - he’d go to you.
Think about the ONE thing your business does well and that your competitors aren’t saying, and say it well. Say it concisely, in plain english, and use it consistently for as long as its relevant. That is the one way to ensure when someone thinks “i need a good quality print shop” they think of you, before even looking in the yellow pages or google.
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