Defining Your Marketing Strategy and Creating a Niche
Creating a Point of Differentiation in Your Marketing Strategy
Austin, Texas: Burger King announced recently that it would only be using cage-free eggs starting in 2017. According to an article in GreenBiz.com, “the Miami-based company is pledging to switch to 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2017 and to eliminate gestation crates for breeding pigs. While other chains already use some cage-free eggs, the news marks the first time a major U.S. fast-food chain is going completely cage-free.”
Now, I’m not really sure that there was a clamoring of fast food customers insisting on cage-free eggs – or even knowing the difference in where their eggs come from.
But Burger King, who has just launched a new menu and massive advertising campaign are trying to establish a position in the minds of consumers — first in category.
According to the classic marketing book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk!, by Al Ries and Jack Trout, the first law is ” The Law of Leadership“: Being first is better than being the better”.
Establishing a foothold in a category is crucial. Burger King has obviously done their market research and found that a segment of the marketplace cares about where their eggs come from. If so, it can be a vistory for the chain.
Personally, I think the niche is too narrow–it’s not service oriented.
It’s not taste oriented.
It’s not cleanliness oriented.
It’s not speed oriented.
Any of which might have been a better “first in category” claim.
However, they have carved out a new marketing category that they think will be successful.
What is your marketing strategy?
We took the route of being the first in digital incentives at the time when most companies were still offering hard good rewards–televisions, stereos, appliances, etc. This has helped us stand out from the crowd, as businesses seek out incentives that can be rewarded through QR codes, peel off stickers and unique codes on their website, such as prepaid movie tickets, music download cards, magazine subscriptions, fitness program downloads, cell phone skins and more.
Being first in a category can help you to create ownership of that niche–and set you apart from your competition.
When companies want old school incentives, they will seek out my competition. That market is too cluttered to make an impact.
If they want to reach a younger demographic, for things such as college recruiting gifts, wellness program incentives and on-pack rewards, our company is top of mind.
What can your company do to establish a new category from which to differentiate yourself?
Give it some careful thought and you can reap the benefits of being first in a sub-category. It often beats trying to be all things to all parties.
