A trip to Paddy’s Markets in Chinatown Sydney got me thinking as to the infinite options out there and the importance of STANDING OUT and having a strong edge!
One thing I have most certainly noticed when it comes to effective Small Business Marketing is the amount of competition that exists in the market. Be it you own a Cafe down the road you will be up against competition, be it you are a Coach, Consultant, Accountant, Lawyer or whatever the case may be – there are plenty of options out there for people to go too.
In putting on my Marketing Hat this is a good thing! Competition in my own personal situation has often been the “Positive Pressure” for me to have innovation in my own thinking and business.
What got me thinking along this line was a great family day I had in Sydney CBD. We went to the beautiful Darling Harbour and along the way was the world renowned “Paddy’s Markets”. It’s completely amazing with everything from cheap tourist junk, to great foods and some actually quite rare and hard to find Opals, Jewelry and Beach Towels with the Cheesy – to awesome designs.
What blew me away was that in such as relatively small space you HAVE SO MUCH COMPETITION. You have many stalls basically selling the same stuff, it’s all heavily driven by price (it’s a market where you barter!) and it seems success isn’t driven by quality – it’s the one who crams the most amount of “Stuff” into their stall and grabs attention.
Even in a single stall, there are almost infinite options and it brings me back to that all time marketing question:
“In a Competitive Cluttered Marketing, how does one stand out as the supplier / option of choice?”
The Marketers cliche answer to that is “Well you need your edge and your point of difference”. Even though it sounds very simple on the surface, the possible answers and complexity of answering this question can be mind-boggling.
But not impossible – it can be done and any business owner can really explore this element and come up with something new for their business.
For example, how have I survived and have had months of growth working in Sydney? I have quite a unique high energy / direct style, I focus on Sales & Marketing and stay in that Sandbox, I blog all the time and use as many cutting edge tools as I can.
That is say very different to me getting up and saying “Well, I am Edward and a General Business Mentor” – which without any specialization or angle, would be very tough to compete in! (if I did that I wouldn’t be here to write the blog).
When it comes to our own businesses, it’s great to really think through what your unique edge is and get that across to the market. Do you have unique approach? Truly unique products? Is your skill set quite rare and valued? What about your image – does that really stand out and cut through? What part of the market are you focusing on that really pay well for what you have to offer?
My advice and thinking on this one? This side of business is certainly an art-form and you really want to put some creative thought into your true unique edge. You want to keep at it until you can really “Crack” the vault on what is unique about what you do that people will handsomely pay for!
I trust that helps and as another point – it’s great to keep this in the “back of your mind” if you can’t find the answer now. It took me about 6 months to figure out mine!
Thank you for the read and contact me if I can be of service Awesome Friends!
Edward Zia – Marketing Mentor who loves knowing his edge!
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