“How do I gain an advantage in my market when it seems like all of my competitors can outspend me by at least double or more?”
I hear this from our customers all the time and it’s something businesses everywhere struggle with – not just small businesses but any company that is not the leader in its category.
To compete effectively, your marketing needs to be DIFFERENT and BETTER than your competition’s. By “better” I don’t mean that you need to spend a fortune on your advertising. You just need to reach your audience BETTER than your competition, and you can do that – even on a relatively small marketing budget.
Start by THINKING DIFFERENTLY – how can you market to your target customers or gain publicity DIFFERENTLY than other companies in your industry?
Scoops, a locally owned ice cream parlor in Bloomington, created a stir when it opened its location by sending a press release to celebrities. Scoops was overwhelmed by the response to its release: Celebs sent autographed pictures inscribed with “good luck on your new venture” messages. The walls of the shop are now adorned with framed celebrity photos, providing great buzz for a new, privately owned business.
A small lingerie company in New York didn’t have the budget to compete with its big-spending rival, Victoria’s Secret. They realized they needed to THINK DIFFERENTLY, so they came up with a crafty marketing campaign. They couldn’t afford New York’s high media prices, so they stenciled their message (with environmentally safe, washable paints) on sidewalks outside the convention center and other high-traffic areas:
“From here, it looks like you could use some new underwear.”
Risky? Yes. Edgy? You bet. Did it work? Absolutely! Not only did consumers see it, the press noticed it and hundreds of articles were written all over the world about Bamboo Lingerie. You just can’t buy publicity like that!
But it’s not enough just to “be different.” You need to reach your customers BETTER than your competition.
A small bank was looking for ways to attract new customers. It realized that fear of identity theft was having a great impact, with lots of stories in the media, bills before Congress, newspaper articles and television commercials all talking about “identity theft.”
The bank capitalized on this ongoing discussion by hosting a “shredding event” at its local branches. Customers were invited to bring in all of their old bank, credit card and utility statements and have them shredded while they watched, protecting their identity while learning about the bank and its services.
The bank partnered with a local office supply company to bring in shredding machines and a local restaurant to cater the event. It issued press releases to newspapers and handed out flyers to its existing customers. Once word got out about the event, the local newspaper and TV station ran stories.
For the cost of a few hundred flyers and a press release, the bank earned tremendous goodwill with the community, got great coverage in the media, and increased its new-customer sign-ups that month more than 50%!
Start thinking today of ways to market DIFFERENTLY and BETTER than your competition, and run with the big dogs – on a poodle-size marketing budget.
Caroline Melberg is president and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, experts in local small-business Internet marketing. You can reach her at SmallBusinessMavericks.com.
This article originally appeared in The Business Owner Journal, the periodical of choice for owners of small and midsize private businesses. All rights reserved, D.L. Perkins LLC. © 2012.
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