Leveraging Your Brand Through Technology

By George Latella

How are you planning on leveraging your brand for the 250^th birthday of our country? Many of the big retailers and food/beverage companies started their Marketing communications right after the New Year and used the Superbowl as a launchpad to talk about the heritage of their respective brands. Nostalgia is “on trend” as evidenced by the return of “The Most Interesting Man in the World”, who took a 10-year hiatus but is now back and in vogue.

On the Food retail front, Amazon has been a game changer by using technology, analytics and supply chain, just like Wal-Mart did 30 years earlier. This has made everyone better. And, with the explosion of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and “the algorithm” it is only going to get worse. (Or better depending on your perspective and how you use the data!)

How many unsolicited emails & text messages do you get each week? How about all of the communications you receive as you scroll through your various social media feeds?  However, I do believe that if used properly, technology can level the playing field for small businesses. Most of the readers of Heady Times are small, family or private businesses that should benefit from this.

So how can you get a “Retail Edge” from being small?

What is your differential advantage? In other words, what do you do better than the bigger competitors? You probably can’t compete on price, but that is also the least defendable position regardless of size. You can certainly compete on the product, promotion, and place which are the other three “P’s” of Marketing.

Think of your “product” as all of the following:

1. All of the physical things you sell
2. Your brand name
3. Customer service 
4. Hours of operation
5. Convenience  
6. Local
7. Family Business

Each of these can be used as a competitive advantage. You can tailor your products to fit the neighborhood and local customers. If you have family running or involved in the business, use it to your advantage! (My guess is that you know many of your customers on a first name basis. If you live near the business let them know that too. The money you make stays in the neighborhood.). Relationships matter more now than ever. Keeping the human element is something that the big companies have a hard time doing.

Do you adjust your hours based on customer demand, day of the week, or time of the year?

Convenience means easy to shop. (Leverage the benefit that your customers can get in/out quickly, or maybe they want to “hang out” on the way home.) We are all short on time, so use this to your advantage.  Local means close to home or work, use it to your advantage. If you have Millennial and Gen Z customers know that they value “experience” and are willing to spend more money to support local business. They should be your two primary targets for new business. Also, understanding which customers have hybrid work schedules could work to your advantage.

You also have the benefit of speed being a small business. Do you adjust your strategy based on the weather? How about leveraging local events like food, music, or art festivals? Do you sponsor any local teams? Did a new office or apartment building open nearby? Are you near a college? Grass roots event marketing should be a big part of what you do as the bigger companies can’t do these types of things. Most of these events are promoted on local social media channels that you or someone on your team should follow. This is a great opportunity to leverage skills that Gen Z have and include them in developing and implementing your communications plan.

Of course, if you are like me, in addition to Social Media Marketing go “old school” with flyers, call them on the phone or talk to them in person. This is your best weapon against larger competition. This is the “R” in CRM or Customer Relationship Management. The key is to keep this list/database and make sure it is accessible by everyone that executes your marketing communication.

Marketing is a race with no finish line!