Internet Marketing: Stomp on Your Competiors!
01.27.10
Son of a… I mean… Good Lord! I think I just found my Internet Marketing’s Evil Twin and I’m baffled. Maki (the mad genius behind doshdosh.com) just found a way to gather killer blogging, a deep view of marketing and cute pictures of Anime girls (the scoundrel!). This makes me want to either step up on my game or hunt Maki so I can eat his brain and get his superpowers.
I know this is a rather… unusual start for my blog, but I think credit must be given where it’s due and, after months of reading lame techie stuff (that leads to automatic writing of lame techie stuff), this is one of the few blogs that made me say “this is evil… I like it!”.
Now, back to our regular schedule: Want to know how to stomp on your competition? Here’s how.
1. It’s not about them. It’s all about YOUR game.
You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. Gorgeous girls clinging to the arms of… idiots/eyesores/slick guys/older men/penniless guys. How do they do it? You notice it happens often, you notice you’re more (insert quality you consider appealing here) than these nobodies and you feel the world’s an unfair place.
Okay… let’s take a look at you, shall we? If you’re feeling reluctant, now you know what’s wrong:
Confidence.
Whatever you do, be it for your company or for your personal interests, must be oriented to build up trust in yourself. It’s all about your game and how you can beat your own marks.
2. It’s not JUST about you.
Am I contradicting myself here? Not really. What I’m trying to say is that you have to keep your own business as your priority. Learn its commercial culture, know your people, be an expert in your product.
But don’t forget there’s people out there doing the same thing.
Mere confidence won’t cut it. You have to keep an eye on your competition. Get to know them too, learn what you can about their corporate environment, the profile of their people and their product’s strengths and flaws.
It’s not about backstabbing, there’s no need to fake smiles here. You have to know your territory in order to survive.
3. The stomp: NEVER FEAR COMPARISONS.
In the end, that’s what the customer does. He compares prices, services, products, punctuality, post-sales attention and tons and tons of variables for the sake of reassurance. If you’re going to be a crybaby about comparisons, you’re as good as dead. Nice to know ya.
Now, if you can, without breaking a sweat:
- Talk about your product and the benefits it offers over other brands.
- Transmit to your customer why your company is the most awesome thing on Earth without saying “my company is the most awesome thing on Earth”.
- Spot the specific needs of your most eager potential customers.
- Get your way around charts, graphs and technical data without being boring or dense.
… if you can do that, you have your foot on their throats and you’re my hero.
How to stomp on your competitors? Taking higher leaps.
