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[C749]Clothes For Big Dogs

by Caroline Melberg, Car

This is one of the main questions I hear from our customers and it's something that businesses everywhere struggle with - not just small businesses, but any company that is not the leader in their category. (Think Pepsi or Burger King - both have large marketing and advertising budgets, but they are not the category leader, and they are routinely outspent by their larger rivals).

In order to compete effectively, your marketing needs to be DIFFERENT and BETTER than your competition. By "better" I don't mean that you need to spend a fortune on your advertising. You do need to reach your audience BETTER than your competition, and you can do that - even on a relatively small marketing budget.

Start by THINKING DIFFERENTLY - what ways can you market to your target customers or gain publicity that are DIFFERENT than other companies in your industry?

A locally-owned ice cream shop in Bloomington created a stir when they opened their location by sending a press release to just about every celebrity they could think of, announcing the opening of their new business. "Scoops" was overwhelmed by the responses they got from close to 400 "personalities" with autographed pictures inscribed with "good luck on your new venture" messages. The walls in their shop are adorned with these framed celebrity photos providing a great "buzz-factor" for a new, privately owned business.

A small lingerie company in New York didn't have the budget to compete with their big-spending rival, Victoria's Secret. They realized they needed to THINK DIFFERENTLY so they came up with a crafty marketing campaign. They couldn't afford New York's high media prices, so they stenciled their message (with environmentally-safe, washable paints) on sidewalks outside the convention center and other high-traffic areas:

"From here, it looks like you could use some new underwear."

Risky? Yes. Edgy? You bet. Did it work? Absolutely! Not only did consumers see it, but the press noticed it and hundreds of articles were written all over the world about Bamboo Lingerie. You just can't buy publicity like that!

It's not enough to just "be different" though - you need to reach your customers BETTER than your competition too.

A small bank was looking for ways to attract new customers. They realized the impact that the fear of identity theft was having, with lots of stories in the media, bills before congress, newspaper articles and television commercials all talking about "identity theft."

They capitalized on this ongoing discussion by hosting a "shredding event" at their local branch banks. Customers were invited to bring in all of their old bank, credit card and utility statements and have them shredded while they watched, protecting their identity while learning about the bank and its services.

They partnered with a local office supply company to bring in shredding machines, and a local restaurant to cater the event. They issued press releases to the newspapers and handed out flyers to their existing customers. Once word got out about the event, the local newspaper ran a story about the event and the local news station did a spot on it as well.

For the cost of a few hundred flyers and a press release, the bank earned tremendous goodwill with the community, got great coverage in the newspaper and television and increased their new customer sign-ups that month by over 50%!

Start thinking today of ways that YOU can market DIFFERENTLY and BETTER than your competition, and run with the big dogs...even without a huge marketing budget!

I live in a fairly rural part of the island where there is anabundance of lizards.

Both my dog and my cat like to catch lizards.

Both are very dedicated to the task and spend many hours each day in this seemingly endless pursuit.

As I have said, both the dog and the cat have the same goal, and yet they approach the task in very different ways.

Ted, my dog, rushes out as soon as the door is opened, tail wagging, barking at full cry and starts his ritual hunt. If he can actually see a lizard he rushes straight after it, but of course the lizards know he is coming almost before he has left the house, and they retreat in a flash to their hideaway.

Undeterred, Ted continues his energetic search of all of the nooks and crannies in which he once saw a lizard.

Rarely if ever does Ted catch a lizard, but he loves to try.

My cat, (no name) could not be more different from Ted if he tried.

Cat never rushes out of the house, but prefers a leisurely stretch, a slow but scrutinizing stroll to his favourite vantage point where he makes himself very comfortable and then he just sits still, sometimes for hours.

Every once in a while, an unwary lizard moves within striking distance of what appears to be the statue of a cat and in an instant, Cat has added another lizard to his long list of trophies.

Cat is a formidable lizard hunter.

So what has this to do with currency trading?

Aside from being a professional forex trader, I also sell copies of my forex trading system, The Amazing Stealth Forex System and I offer a free unlimited email support facility to all of my purchasers.

I receive, as you can imagine, a great many questions and comments with two particular themes being received more often than any other.

One is in relation to my thoughts on what "the big dogs" are doing and the other is why the system did not "recommend" any (or many) trades Yesterday ? Last night ? This morning - or whenever the particular trader in question wanted to trade but did not get a system trade set up.

My answer to the first question is usually similar to this:

I really do not worry about what the "Big Dogs" are up to as it will not affect my system trading, but if you really want to know, you can look them up for free at the "Commitment of Traders" (COT).

And to the second my answer is:

Even a great forex trading system like The Amazing Stealth Forex System can only alert you to high probability trades if there are any. The system highlights the opportunity, it does not control the market.

The most successful traders are the ones who have learned to have the patience and self discipline to watch and wait for the right opportunity?..and then they strike.

It was whilst idly watching both my dog and cat that I realized that if they were both traders, the attributes of the Ted would put him in the category of the 95% of traders that lose money.

Ted is all enthusiasm with no patience. Lots of energy but no self control. Eager to the task but not prepared to watch and wait.

Whereas the attributes of Cat would easily place him in the top 5% of traders that make money.

He has a method that works and he sticks to it. Cat is infinitely patient and has fantastic self discipline. Cat knows that it is pointless to make a move until the conditions put the odds firmly in his favour. When everything lines up, Cat strikes.

For this reason, I highly recommend that you stop trying to trade like a Big Dog and consider trading like a Cat.

Article Source : marketing mix for catering

About Author

Both Caroline Melberg & Martin G.bottomley are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Caroline Melberg has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blogging, Computers and The Internet and Marketing. . Caroline Melberg's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.

Martin G.bottomley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Investing and Trading. Martin Bottomley is a full time professional forex trader and co-developer of forex trading software including:- The Amazing Stealth Forex Trading system. You will find more information at:. Martin G.bottomley's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.