Many small businesses make the mistake of trying to be everything for everyone. They try to market themselves as the solution to every consumer’s need. Their advertising reflects this,
as they have their business card printing and postcard printing done in a cluttered, haphazard style, trying to fit all the information they can onto those small pieces of literature.
The simple truth is that no business can be everything to everyone. Trying to be can very well spell the doom of your business. The key is to find your niche – your place in the business world – and focus all of your energies, and all of your advertising, on promoting yourself within that niche.
How do you find your niche? Moreover, how do you take advantage of it once you do?
What Makes You Different?
Every person in this world (even identical twins) is different. There is something about each one of us that sets us apart from other human beings. This is also true for businesses. Even if you are in a fully saturated market, there is something about your company that makes it different. There is something about your business that makes it unique.
Whatever that something is, find it. Find a consumer need within your market that has not yet been filled, and come up with a way to fill it. If you can be the first company to address a need that consumers have, you will have a great niche upon which you can build your empire.
Let Your Customers Know
Now, once you know what your consumers need, and you know how to fill that need, you have to pass that on to them. Customers are not going to come to you; you have to tell them that you can meet their needs. You need to go after them aggressively.
Take a page out of the “everything to everyone” guys, only with a twist. When you have your business card printing and postcard printing designed, make sure to keep it simple. Everything on those pieces of literature should accentuate your new place in the world – your niche. Do not try to put everything that you think your customers should know on there. They will just get confused and overwhelmed and ignore your business card or postcard altogether. Include only the things that tell your customers what their need is, and how you are filling it.
An Old, But Effective, Strategy
While we are on the subject of postcards, do not underestimate the power of those old-fashioned things. Postcard marketing can be a tremendously advantageous tool for your business if you use it correctly. Keep your postcards simple; send them only to consumers who might need your niche product or service; and always follow up.
You might be surprised at how effective postcards can be.
