by Paul Anovick
When I speak with individuals in the Radio Business I hear the following: "My business is so difficult because we are in a commodity business." All my life I have been in sales and marketing, there are no commodity businesses?there are only "commodity sellers." I worked in a supermarket to put myself through college. At that time, chicken was sold at the "poultry counter" for 39 cents a pound. Then some funny-looking guy started advertising that his chickens were different?corn fed, not shipped frozen...guess what happened? Frank Perdue's chickens went for 69 cents a pound and flew out of the stores.
This observation is not just an "Anovickian" theory, Theodore Levitt wrote "Marketing Myopia" in 1960 addressing this issue in detail #available as an HBR reprint, 75507#. The classic example being the "railroad" business, which at one time was a growth business and then perceived as a commodity business; what the railroad executives missed was understanding exactly "what business were they in?" They were in the transportation business! If they had understood that, we'd be traveling on B&O Airlines today.
What you must do is clearly differentiate your product or service. Know your customers and clients and do the things that will make them want to do business with you. Apple changed their name from Apple Computers to Apple Inc. and went on to develop the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iPhoto and of course iTunes. They still sell computers, however, they see themselves as so much more to their customers.
People line up to buy Apple products and in many cases pay a premium to do so. Apple has high margins in most of their product lines. The total customer experience with Apple has customers coming back again, and again. It is not just the products. My son tells me the tablet was around ten years before Apple's iPad came out, yet Apple sold 15 million in the first year of business. How can we apply the lessons of Apple's success to our businesses?
What business are you in? Is a spot just a spot, and are all SPOTS the same? Who determines the price of your 30 second ad? The focus should not be about meeting a CPP, it should be about achieving results and meeting clients? objectives? What differentiates you from all others? What is your unique selling position? If you are unable to clearly articulate your position, then you are in a "commodity" business?by your own choosing.
It is the total customer experience from the initial contact of your website, the AE?s in the market or answering the phone, every point of connection that clearly differentiates doing business with you. Today people want a hassle-free experience and they want results and assurances of who you are and what it?s like to do business with you. You?re in your business every day; you know what the issues are and what clients or customers are looking for as outcomes. Are you working on your business to ensure that the experience is the best it can be and clearly separates you from everyone else?
Are you product-focused or customer-focused? Are you in business to "pay the bills" or do you want to build value for your clients, customers and stakeholders? What business are you in? Answer these questions and you will no longer be in the commodity business.
Coach Anovick Developing Potential, Producing Results. Your comments and feedback are appreciated. Coach Anovick, 201.445.2822.
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