Market-dominating position.

How to create a market-dominating position.

In this post, I’m going to reveal to you one of the most sought-after business strategies on the planet. It’s one we all secretly want, and when implemented correctly can make a massive difference when it comes to scaling your business. This is, how do I make myself and my business the only logical place for my prospects to do business? 

So what can you do? 

The first step is all about you, not your prospect or your competition but you. Ask the question, what makes us special or unique? Before you can begin to sell your product or service to anyone else, you have to sell yourself on it. This is especially important when your product or service is similar to those around you. Very few businesses are one-of-a-kind. Just look around you: How many clothing retailers, hardware stores, air conditioning installers, and electricians are truly unique?

The key to effective selling in this situation is what we call a “unique selling proposition” (USP). You need to pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of homogeneous competitors to target your sales efforts successfully.

Pinpointing your USP requires some hard soul-searching and creativity. One way to start is to analyze how other companies use their USPs to their advantage. This requires careful analysis of other companies’ ads and marketing messages. If you analyze what they say they sell, not just their product or service characteristics, you can learn a great deal about how companies distinguish themselves from competitors.

For example, Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, always used to say he sold hope, not makeup. Some airlines sell friendly service, while others sell on-time service. Neiman Marcus sells luxury, while Wal-Mart sells bargains. Whatever USP you choose it’s just the first step. Being unique is all about you, this needs translating into something that matters for your prospect.  The next step is to create a market-dominating position.

So what’s the difference between a USP and a Marketing Dominating Position? You can have a unique product or service. If however, it’s too unique or not in your market space then it’s not a Market Dominating Position. You can be unique but if it’s not hitting your prospects’ “Hot Buttons” it doesn’t matter one bit. 

So What is a Market Dominating Position?

When you make a purchase – or a buying decision – every choice you make for that product or service represents a point of differentiation between one company and their competitors. Why did you choose company A over company B? A  “market-dominating position” is any value-added customer perceived benefit, or a combination of benefits, that differentiates you from your competitors… and does so in a strong enough manner that it makes your business the logical choice in the minds of your prospects and customers.

Consider Domino’s Pizza. Why did Domino’s become a billion-dollar company in an overcrowded and highly competitive market in just a few short years?  Are their pizzas different, better, tastier, bigger? No! They offered the same pizza as ALL of their competitors!

They became a billion-dollar Pizza Company because they established a market-dominating position. Their primary market-dominating position… was fresh hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it’s free, which was targeted specifically at hungry college kids e.g a Primary Market Dominating Position. Many of these kids had Domino’s on speed dial.

A market-dominating position consists of 4 elements:-

1. Your strategic positioning, i.e. who do you want to sell to? In other words your target market. The lazy answer to this is ‘everyone’. The smart answer is Hungry College Kids (in the case of Domino’s).
2. Your primary market-dominating position. Again in the case of Domino’s, this was Fresh hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less.
3. Your Secondary Market Dominating Position. This could be a better selection of toppings or a unique set of offerings to existing customers.
4. Supporting Business Model. Domino’s built their restaurants strategically located on or near the college campus so they could meet their 30-minute target.

So ask yourself – what, if anything makes your business different from your competitors? Do your targeted prospects and customers perceive you to be any different? Are you like the vast majority of business owners whose only point of differentiation is price?

Consider these two examples:

1. Nike offers a wide range of shoe, apparel and equipment products, all of which are currently best sellers globally. And yet Target sells an excellent imitation for around $40… but Nike outsells them by more than 10 to 1
2. Starbucks coffee… their typical customer spends between $3.50 to $4.00 on every visit • That’s around 4X higher than any of their competition

Is it obvious that low price isn’t the driving force here? These top-selling companies have staked out a specific and targeted market-dominating position. Nike’s position revolves around being the best athlete, being hip and in style… along with the perception of quality. While Starbucks position – delicious hand-crafted beverages which they claim is the secret to making life better!

When you create your market-dominating position, you will consistently get businesses and individuals to choose your business over your competitors. A “market-dominating position” is any value-added customer perceived benefit, or a combination of benefits, that differentiates you from your competitors… and does so in a strong enough manner that it makes your business the logical choice in the minds of your prospects and customers.

The critical point you must understand is that your prospects and customers DON’T buy based on price… they buy based on the value they receive for the price they pay. Creating added value is a strategy that can take the form of a product or service that’s added to your original offering for free or as part of a discounted package.

Revisit the value you offer, what can you do to increase your value for your customers? If you don’t offer the best value for your customers they will be drawn to your competitor especially if they are constantly innovating their business so they offer exceptional value that you don’t!

 Everyone can add value to their business. The key to adding value is determining what your customers and target market perceive as valuable.  Understand their needs, wants, troubles and inconveniences. When you add value will also add to your profits!

Added value works for product and service-based businesses. If you’re service-based like hairstyling, try treating your customers by offering them a latte while they wait, complimentary shampoo samples or a free conditioning treatment with every sixth visit. If you sell a product, consider offering convenience services like free shipping or delivery to make the customer’s experience a seamless one.

The 5-Step Differentiation Process:

Step #1… determine your strategic position in the market.

What specific niche market or segment of the marketplace should your business focus on? Determining this involves combining the skills your business has with the unmet needs of your targeted prospects and then designing your product or service to fulfil those needs.

Step #2… determine your primary market-dominating position.

This is the most dominating advantage that separates you from your competitors. Domino’s claimed it could deliver its pizza in 30 minutes or less… or they would give it to you for FREE! This was the primary advantage that met the needs of their newly defined market position – hungry college kids who wanted food fast!

Step #3… determine your supporting business model.

How will you specifically deliver what your strategic position and primary market-dominating position promises? What changes, if any do you need to consider making to your business to ensure you deliver consistently on your position and your promise? Domino’s built low-cost, plain vanilla stores strategically located near college campuses and hired additional delivery staff and drivers on a standby basis.

Step #4… determine your secondary market-dominating position.

What additional competitive advantages does your business offer that your customers will perceive as being different from your competition? Domino’s secondary benefits might include special pricing, assorted sizes, a much broader selection of toppings or additional menu items.

Step #5... create your market-dominating position statement or elevator pitch.

This is a statement you create by combining steps 1 – 4. This helps you to state unequivocally what differentiates you from your competitors in your target market.  An expanded version of this might say: “Domino’s provides busy customers with fresh hot pizza and other food items within 30 minutes or less.  Our assorted pizza offerings combined with our value pricing make Domino’s affordable to everyone”.

What makes your business different from your competitors? When you create your market-dominating position, you will consistently get prospects, new customers and individuals to choose your business over your competitors!

In order to get your Market-dominating -position sorted check out our USP Mastery course. Hit button below to find out more.