Elements of a pricing strategy are more sophisticated than how-low-can-you-go.

What does it mean to price something right?

Simply slashing prices won’t necessarily get you the desired results. Randomly chosen numbers might place your product beyond the comfort zone of bargain hunters, and too cheap for those who use price to screen for quality. If you’re going to undercut the competition, make the savings big enough for target market consumers to notice, yet not so great that it makes them suspicious.

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Competition is a fact of business. If you can turn competition into collaboration…all the better. Establishing your uniqueness is also a fact of business. If you can turn your uniqueness into attraction and magnetism…all the better.

When it comes to the question of how to spend money, your target market has more choices than ever before. Understanding the businesses around you – the ways in which their businesses work, and the ways they don’t – gives you an essential edge in developing your own business and marketing strategy – and ultimately attracting your perfect clients.

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Surveying the field of contenders for your target market should form part of your daily work routine. Be constantly on the lookout for possible new collaborators and you’ll avoid surprises in the form of competition – and be endlessly rewarded and inspired via co-creation and the benefits of Tribal Marketing.

The key to successful Tribal Marketing: Know What Your “Competition” is All About

Once you’ve identified colleagues that you may want to enter into a tribal marketing relationship with, then comes the process of really getting to know them.

Find out what you need to know to wage a formidable bid for your shared target market. Monitor the way they do business.

Look at the following attributes:

• Products and services they provide, and how they market these to target market consumer;
• What prices they charge;
• How they distribute and deliver products and services;
• How they enhance customer loyalty;
• Brand and design quality;
• Whether they innovate, in terms of business methods AND in terms of products and services on offer;
• If aplicable – Number and caliber of staff;
• How they use e-marketing – what is their website like? Do they use e-mail for marketing purposes?
• How much does personality play into marketing?

Don’t be afraid to examine every relevant detail about your potential collaborators, their strategy and their level of success thus far. You may at first find it unsettling to immerse yourself in a “rival” business, and to digest findings, if they arise, about their good rapport with target market consumers. But your business can only come out on top if you bravely face those feelings head on and determine to take the higher road – entering into the most deeply satisfying working relationships possible.

You can’t call your marketing strategy complete till you’ve developed a clear picture of what you’re up against….or rather who around you is offering similar or complimentary products/services. Identifying “competitors” begins the process of understanding the game.

Getting your sales and marketing strategy right is crucial to the success of your business. In today’s multifaceted world, attracting attention and approval from your audience requires up-to-date knowledge and a healthy dose of creativity. With the right mixture of know-how and drive, even small companies can now develop quite sophisticated marketing campaigns, allowing them to accomplish bigger, better things than ever before.

One of the key matters with which an ambitious business must grapple is the question of competitors. I’d rather look at them as colleagues. Who are your colleagues, what is their marketing strategy, and how well are THEY succeeding?

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