When I start a Business Consultation session I introduce my clients (or refresh their minds) to Category Marketing. Unfortunately most small business and home business do not stop to take time up front to work on Business Planning and laying a solid foundation on which to base their businesses. Failure to do this invariably leads to problems and complications further on down the road. So what is this category marketing about ?
You as the business owner should take time to sit down and plan out which category of the market your product or service fits into. What is meant by this ? consider the manufacturer’s of cars – when they are planning to produce a new car they determine the category of car which will be produced at the design stage. That is to say, the car could be a Mini Car, a Sports Utility Vehicle, a Multu Purpose Vehicle, a Sports Car, a Soft Top convertible and so the list can goes on. A car is not just a car – the master category of car (your product or service) can and must be split up to provide a solid foundation from which to launch your business.
To define the category for your business, take a blank piece of paper, consider the example of the cars and try to come up with at least five different categories in which your product or service can be placed. You may be a plumber but where does your area of speciality lie ? bathroom, kitchens, central heating ? Let’s take the example of a motor mechanic -when building your business it may well serve you to determine where your speciality lies – do you work on brakes, fuel injection, exhausts, bodywork and the list could go on.
It is hoped that this brief post will serve as a catalyst to get you to move toward thinking like a business stategist as you work on the foundation of your business.
For more tools and techniques related to developing your business see http://www.businessmansencyclopaedia.com/
Stephen C Campbell
