Small Business Market Position

Video Transcript

"As an owner, part of your responsibility is to figure out how you want the company positioned. Now this is a marketing term, and positioning really refers to ultimately how the general public will think of your business. So it's your attempt to mold public opinion. Let me give you a couple of examples. You can position your company or your products or service as very high end, very exclusive, very expensive, or, you can position your self and your business and your products or services really low end and very inexpensive, or, you can position them as middle of the road but a really good value, or, very convenient, or, very hard to obtain. See these are all kind of emotional characteristics that the general public will put on your business after awhile. The really important thing for an owner to do is to say, "Hey, I want the business, and I want my products and service to be thought of as this," and then begin to sway public opinion so that the public ends up thinking of you as that. What I suggest you do is go into your neighborhood, or go into the city you live in, and find a very expensive grocery store. In Central Texas we've got a grocery store called Central Market. Very upper end, very expensive. Also find a grocery store that's very low end, very inexpensive, and then find a third one that's in the middle. Now the point is, they're all grocery stores. They all sell food, they all sell meat, they all sell milk, but they way they sell them is very different, and this is the kind of decision that you have to make as an owner. How do you want your business perceived or positioned by the public?"