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When You Get Ready To Go Into Battle.... Check Between Goliath's Toes For A Bunch of Little Squashed Davids
By Rich Harshaw
Marketing & Advertising - 66 Strategies: Y2M TIP 54
In the classic Bible tale, David was a young sheepherder who threw a single stone from a sling killing a nine-foot tall giant named Goliath. This is amazing because Goliath was girded with a sword, a spear, and a shield. Of course, if you believe in the Bible, then you probably believe David had the backing of a higher power - a power mightier than Goliath.
But in current competitive scenario - the odds aren't very favorable for little David. Let's assume that you after having heard all the "Cyberhype" of web offering equal opportunity for all companies to compete and succeed, have decided to take your pet store online. Just before that you take a quick inventory of your size and your weapons: you have a 40-page website and $10,000 a month allocated for advertising. Now let's check one of the Goliath's in your space: his name is PETsMART.com and has over $100 million dollars of investment capital, which he can freely spend on advertising. In the Bible, Goliath was about 5 times bigger than David. Right now, PETsMART.com is about 830 times bigger than you. If our 5 foot 6 inches David, challenged a Goliath 830 times bigger than him, Goliath would be nearly one mile tall. At least David had a higher power on his side!
How Many Goliaths Can There Be?
(Answer: Not Very Many)
The little guy's ability to beat the big guy online echoes most myths. The online world has become this mirror image of the bricks and mortar world. In every main category, large, well-financed leaders are emerging and taking the biggest chunks of the market share. In retail, as well as online, they're called "category killers."
Athletic Stores:
Foot Locker
Just For Feet
The Athlete's Foot
Pet Stores:
PETsMART
PETCO
Toy Stores:
Toys R Us
KB Toys
Known national brands. There are mom and pops, local chains, and regional stores that do quite well. But only a few in each category can wear the title of "big boy" or Goliath.
You've Got A Chance If You Aim For Goliath's Weak Spot - His Poor Marketing
Your ability to survive and thrive as an online business depends on the same things as a bricks and mortar business:
- Your desire to become a big player
- Your people
- Your financial backing
- Your systems that allow you to meet and exceed customer expectations
With the frenzy of Internet companies, venture capital and IPOs, it's even more likely that your competitor will have more money and financial backing to spend on advertising than you do.It was bad enough running a local pet store and trying to compete with PETsMART with their enormous advertising budget, but not even PETsMART had $100 million dollars to drop - until the birth of the Internet.
Put together a marketing plan that is built on good, solid fundamental principles that will allow you to have a rapid growth rate for a long period and will give you that extra mileage that is difficult to catch upon.. Your chance to succeed is BETTER than ever...even if you're a David - fighting against a Goliath.
This Newsletter was brought to you by...
Ajay Prasad,
President,
Global Marketing Resources,
Irvine CA, 92606,
USA (949)654-7897.
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