The Art of War For Online Marketing Strategy
What is it that really separates those in your industry that become the big players and those who just stumble along, never really getting a foothold in the market? It isn’t just access to funding, or a unique product, it is all about marketing strategy. As an entrepreneur it is quite likely you have already heard of the ‘Art of War’, the military strategy book from perhaps the most highly respected general and strategist in history, Sun Tzu. So what can be gleaned from this master strategist and applied to your online marketing so that you can dominate your industry?
Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned from the Art of War is to avoid head to head confrontation with bigger and better equipped competitors. Let’s be honest, if you try to take them on at their own USP (Unique Selling Proposition), go after the exact same customers, talk badly about them in the press or drag them into a price war there is a good chance they will annihilate you. Or at the very least cause you to waste so much of your resources that you have nothing left to fight with. In order to win online you need to be able to laser focus your resources on your ideal customers in order to make maximum impact until you can build up your finances.
This means it is much better to begin by honing in on one niche in your market and making it yours. This could be a specific demographic in your industry or by positioning yourself as the faster or easier option. Don’t worry this doesn’t mean that you can’t eventually dominate your entire industry. It is just easier and wiser to take it down one segment at a time.
How can you apply this to your online marketing? You should be using all aspects of your online presence to target your niche from the toll free numbers you use on your web assets to your domain names, the verbal branding you use and the prospects you focus on with PPC or CPM advertising campaigns. Going further you can take various actions to confuse the competition and even cut off their supply lines by making exclusive agreements with other online marketers. Though perhaps most importantly this means making better keyword choices which will yield a higher return for your marketing budget.
